While cycling yesterday on Speedway between Harrison and Houghton I came upon a Tucson City maintenance vehicle with the driver side of the vehicle in the bike lane and the passenger side over the curb.
While taking this photo, the driver of the vehicle, who had been repairing the nearby irrigation system took my photo! So, I struck up a conversation with him by asking, why if you can put two wheels over the curb, you don't just put the entire truck over the curb and keep the bike lane clear? His response, "then I block the sidewalk and the handicapped person in the wheelchair can not pass". My next question, then why not move the vehicle further off the road where there appears to be plenty of space? His response, "then I Drive my truck over the irrigation system and damage it". This was all a very respectful conversation on both our parts, and his final thought was. His hope was that when a cyclist approaches and seen the flashing lights on the top of his truck he slows down, assess the situation and pass his parked truck safely when traffic permitted. This was an excellent learning situation for me, as my first thought was the driver of the truck had no regard for cyclists using the bike lane. The reality of the situation was, the worker was very consciousness and was trying his best to look out for the public best interest.
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