Cyclist sparks outrage with photo of dangerous situation on local street: 'Obviously something you're not supposed to do'

By and large, the U.S. government has not lived up to its promises regarding the changing climate. But American citizens are doing their best to reduce their carbon footprints, especially as it pertains to riding bikes. Bicycling has increased nationwide, and many cities have passed legislation that makes the activity safer for riders, pedestrians, and drivers alike. 

On the other hand, selfish people will always exist, and pro-bike legislation can't snuff out that strain of humanity on its own, as a post on a subreddit dedicated to bicycling in Chicago suggested.

In the post were two photos of a car parked square in the middle of a bicycle-only lane, clearly marked by the green paint and bollards. This is all to say that the odds of a person parking in this spot on accident are incredibly low — they knew what they were doing.

Many drivers are more responsible than this person, to be sure, but instances like these are still common and frustrating enough to prevent people from abandoning cars altogether and biking on a regular basis, which is disheartening. Living car-free can save people thousands of dollars yearly and minimize pollution. 

Of course, it's impractical to expect or hope for an immediate mass movement away from cars, at least in the United States. The world's largest transportation polluter by a mile, nearly all its cities have been remade to be as car-friendly as possible, to the point where only a few have robust public transit alternatives. But improvements are on the horizon for subways and buses as well as pedestrian and bicyclist infrastructure. 

Commenters were not pleased with this driver's actions.

"Parking your car on top of a road drawing of a bicycle is so obviously something you're not supposed to do," a top response read.

"This guy will tell you to 'just bike around it, what's the big deal?' but would also lose their absolute f****** mind if they had to switch lanes to safely pass a cyclist on the street in front of them," another user stated.

Another Redditor was more solution-oriented, suggesting: "Fold their passenger's side mirror. It's harmless but it's annoying enough to bug them, and make them think twice before doing it again."

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