Email sent to Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition (svbcbikes.org),
2008-07-06.

I have a number of ideas to help improve bicycle safety. I'm
particularly interested in applying these ideas to Bryant Street in
Palo Alto, but they are probably generally useful. I'm drawing upon my
experiences from living abroad for a number of years.

I was thinking of bringing up these ideas with the local city council,
the local police, and local city planner, but I thought I'd contact
you first to coordinate with existing similar efforts already
underway.

Here are some of the ideas:

1. Replace two-way stop signs with yield signs. Because of the
   (unfortunate) prevalence of four-way stop signs, drivers just stop
   and go without looking, not realizing they are at a two-way stop. I
   swerve around these drivers *every day* and have even hit several.
   The yield sign would make it clear that the cross-traffic does not
   stop. Most other countries in the world prefer a yield sign to a
   stop sign, since coming to a full stop is worthless if you don't
   yield.

2. Enforce traffic laws to bicycles also. Your web site mentions the
   Bay Area bicycle accident statistics, but it doesn't mention that
   half of them are the bicyclists fault. I blame half of these on the
   bicyclist running stop signs and red lights. These people should be
   cited. 

3. Educate drivers to follow the laws and not to encourage bicycles to
   break the law. I blame the other half of the accidents on the
   drivers who encourage cyclists to proceed and encourage these bad
   habits. This behavior is frustrating for cyclists who follow the
   rules since we aren't going to pull out in front of an auto who has
   the right-of-way, especially when we can't see them, which is
   usually the case mornings and evenings when the sun is in your eyes
   and generates glare on the auto's windshield. If a driver lingers
   at a four-way stop sign waving someone through (who can't see them
   or isn't looking at them), they cause confusion and delay for all.
   Had they just gone when it was their turn, there wouldn't have been
   any delay for anyone.

I'm sorry to have missed the related meeting last week, but I only
just looked up your web site today. Were any of my ideas discussed at
that time by any chance?

How would you recommend that I proceed?

Thank you.