The New Hotness

The sign makes it fairly clear what NYS DOT intended, even if they don’t dogfood their designs:

Raymond Avenue vs pickup - bikes in lane sign — Raymond Avenue vs pickup – bikes in lane sign

We ride to the left of the fog line for good reason:

Raymond Avenue vs pickup - drain grate — Raymond Avenue vs pickup – drain grate

Those are nominally “bike safe” drain grates, but some of the joints between the catch box and the grate can snag a bike tire, so they’re best avoided. Bonus: not all the drain grates are bike safe, so making a mistake will be costly.

The lane has enough clearance for passing cars, presuming you don’t flinch at the wrong moment:

Raymond Avenue vs pickup - lane clearance — Raymond Avenue vs pickup – lane clearance

That same DOT engineer told me the correct way for cars to pass is to drive up on the sloped curb onto the median. Some drivers do that, but further down Raymond they would collide with various obstructions.

Not flinching is difficult to do when there’s a horn blaring immediately behind you:

Raymond Avenue vs pickup - overhanging load — Raymond Avenue vs pickup – overhanging load

I wonder if the mattress was on its way to the dump.

We’ve begun exiting at Chapel Gate and riding through campus:

Raymond Avenue vs pickup - Chapel Gate — Raymond Avenue vs pickup – Chapel Gate

Which is exactly what the DOT engineer who designed Raymond suggested we do. Why a state agency can recommend riding on private property to get off a nominally standards-compliant state road remains a puzzle, but, hey, I’m no longer a Registered Professional Engineer.

IMO, the man needs a bigger pickup:

Raymond Avenue vs pickup - not enough truck — Raymond Avenue vs pickup – not enough truck

Just another day riding on NYS DOT roads, where bicycling is always an uninterrupted delight.

Searching for Raymond will produce more examples of NYS DOT’s design prowess.

The New Hotness

Raymond Avenue: Bikes In Lane