Auto-Centrism

This morning I had to take a different route to work because I was dropping off a rental car at the Budget place. So I put the bike and my work stuff in the back, dropped it off, and rode to work. And I discovered something that I already knew, but illustrated in a way that I hadn't considered before.

My bike is not heavy enough to set off those pressure plates under the road that control the traffic lights. I sat through two iterations of the light at the corner of Lane and Fyffe/Fred Taylor on tOSU's campus before this occurred to me. I was trying to turn left and no one else was, so I finally had to wait for an open spot and fly through. My attempts to be a considerate cyclist and follow the rules of the road were waylayed by the auto-centric roads.

Most of the time that hasn't been an issue, as there have been plenty of cars to trigger the lights via their gas-guzzling weight, but not today. And that strikes me as pathetic and anti-pedestrian/cycling.