Philadelphia Weekly

1. Anonymous said... on Nov 30, 2009 at 08:12PM

“Damn law breakers! They need to get busted! Running red lights, ridding on the sidewalk...

Seems that the only people who showed up were bike carriers... GEE, I WONDER WHY?”

2. Justin Swain (PBMA) said... on Nov 30, 2009 at 10:25PM

“You obviously werent there and dont know that other people other than messengers were there. How many times have you jaywalked today? How many times have you talked on the cell phone while driving today? Obviously you arent the saint on the road neither. Only he who hast no guilt can throw the first stone and as far as i see it no one should be throwing anything. Oh and its spelt "riding"”

3. Stewart said... on Dec 1, 2009 at 12:14AM

“Last year I was hit by a driver running a red light on 15th, crossing Walnut. Not only did I get fully T-boned and thrown 15 feet, but the woman that hit me pulled up beside me and began hurling comments at me, despite eye-witnesses all accusing her of running a red light. 45 minutes later a police officer showed up on the scene, took the woman's statement and told me that my statement was unnecessary. Two weeks later my auto insurance carrier called me to ask me if the acts in the statement were true.(?) I told them that I hadn't read the statement. The statement, as told by the woman that nearly put me in the hospital had me running a red light, and after being "nudged" by her vehicle, I attacked her car with my bike lock.

Needless to say that it would have been hard for me to do such a thing from the ground, and had there been no eye-witnesses on the scene the woman that hit me, and the cop that refused to take my statement, could have gotten away with, well, murder.
”

4. Stewart said... on Dec 1, 2009 at 12:22AM

“my point being, that whether you are a messenger or not (and I wasn't at the time of my accident), the city seems to be mounting anger, aggression, and intolerance toward the mode of transportation that makes the most sense in this city.”

5. Mackenzie said... on Dec 1, 2009 at 11:00AM

“Hey! I was there last night, along with my 3 best friends. We are fully supportive!!! Oh, and not one of us is a "bike carrier" OR a "bike courier".”

6. Fury said... on Dec 1, 2009 at 12:08PM

“I was there last night in support of Rachel Fletcher. I was a courier in NYC years ago, but am not now and never in Philly. My face was smashed 18 months ago by a hit and run driver. I am still not recovered. I lost my job, all my savings and my business. Next will be my house if I can't pay my overwhelming gigantic medical bills. I still can't really eat, am in significant pain, earaches every day, hearing loss on th left, asphalt tattooed into my face, scars that won't let me lift my head... Cyclists are not the danger here.”

7. SarahL said... on Dec 1, 2009 at 12:53PM

“Hey Justin Swain (PBMA): There is a saying - "Physician, heal thyself". It means attend to one's own defects before criticizing defects in others. If bicycle messengers want to think of themselves as being off the grid, then go to Alaska. Center City Philadelphia has too many pedestrians for a group like bike messengers to think it's acceptable behavior to run on sidewalks and run through red lights, all to get from point A to B. Clean up your own house and you guys will get the respect you crave. Oh yeah, Spelt is an ancient grain, among other errors in your post.”

8. Anonymous said... on Dec 1, 2009 at 10:20PM

“SarahL, you would notice if you've ever been inside of the city that most of the douchebags coming up onto the sidewalk and being generally reckless are the assholes with a messenger bag and a deathwish, not an actual messenger. Messengers need to ride reckless to keep themselves and others safe, and from all the messengers i know they would stop to see if the person was alright, if it was indeed the messenger's fault in the first place. As a pedestrian and not a seasoned cyclist in the city I feel that the pedestrians are more reckless than the cyclists, and I've heard the same opinion from the countless other pedestrians I know. Lady you have no idea who is and who isn't a messenger, so stop blaming all of the bad behavior on the messengers, most of those people riding illegally are the assholes who think they're trendy and can't ride a fixed gear for their life and probably only have a converted road bike anyway.”

9. Sarahl said... on Dec 2, 2009 at 02:28PM

“Hey Anonymous: You said "Messengers need to ride reckless to keep themselves and others safe". WTF? As one of the others, as in pedestrians, and I do not jaywalk, I owe a hearty big shout-out for reckless riding bike messengers because they make me safer.”

10. PJ said... on Dec 5, 2009 at 03:07AM

“I am a pedestrian, yes I jaywalk... but I always make sure to look out for both cars AND bicycles. I know pedestrians are much more reckless when crossing the street than a cyclist is riding. Most people just step out, will see a bike and keep going anyway. Many step out from between two parked cars without looking then get angry when they get smacked by a bike. People swing their car doors open without looking hitting cyclists and some push them into oncoming traffic. When Anonymous said messengers have to ride reckless, I am sure they meant they have to make those sudden movements or risk being killed. If anything it is pedestrians that cause many cyclists to ride the way they do. You can't really know until you ride (and I mean RIDE). Every cyclist has been a pedestrian, but not every pedestrian has been a cyclist.”

11. SarahL said... on Dec 5, 2009 at 07:26PM

“PJ: I agree with you that pedestrians when jaywalking are as bad as reckless bicyclists, and jaywalking is illegal and should also be ticketed. But that is another issue and is really just a ploy to divert attention from this topic. My issue is that bike messnegers are all of a sudden upset at being maligned. My observations of bike messengers are not made up, they aren't just look-a-like messengers. Not when they have the radio on their shoulder and are clearly transporting things. They are not the only group of bicyclists out there riding aggressively either. But this topic is about them, their rally and their reluctance, in my view, to collectively acknowledge they need to do their part to make the streets calmer. There is no need to aggressivley ride on sidewalks or blatantly blow through redlights, just to make a delivery. They need to choose another line of work if they can't deal with the rules of the road and recognize there are others out there besides them.”

12. SarahL said... on Dec 5, 2009 at 07:27PM

“PJ: I agree with you that pedestrians when jaywalking are as bad as reckless bicyclists, and jaywalking is illegal and should also be ticketed. But that is another issue and is really just a ploy to divert attention from this topic. My issue is that bike messnegers are all of a sudden upset at being maligned. My observations of bike messengers are not made up, they aren't just look-a-like messengers. Not when they have the radio on their shoulder and are clearly transporting things. They are not the only group of bicyclists out there riding aggressively either. But this topic is about them, their rally and their reluctance, in my view, to collectively acknowledge they need to do their part to make the streets calmer. There is no need to aggressivley ride on sidewalks or blatantly blow through redlights, just to make a delivery. They need to choose another line of work if they can't deal with the rules of the road and recognize there are others out there besides them.”

13. SarahL said... on Dec 5, 2009 at 07:28PM

“PJ: I agree with you that pedestrians when jaywalking are as bad as reckless bicyclists, and jaywalking is illegal and should also be ticketed. Bu that is another issue and is really just a ploy to divert attention from this topic. My issue is that bike messnegers are all of a sudden upset at being maligned. My observations of bike messengers are not made up, they aren't just look-a-like messengers. Not when they have the radio on their shoulder and are clearly transporting things. They are not the only group of bicyclists out there riding aggressively either. But this topic is about them, their rally and their reluctance, in my view, to collectively acknowledge they need to do their part to make the streets calmer. There is no need to aggressivley ride on sidewalks or blatantly blow through redlights, just to make a delivery. They need to choose another line of work if they can't deal with the rules of the road and recognize there are others out there besides them.”

14. SarahL said... on Dec 7, 2009 at 12:01PM

“Sorry for hitting Enter too many times.”