Bikes and Pedestrians -long

[JPD]

In the town I'm in for the summer there are several bike paths that follow the road. At some places there is just the bike path, other places there's the bike path and a sidewalk, and there are some places where there is just a sidewalk.

When you get into town the bike bath ends and there is a sign saying ride with traffic. I was walking on the sidewalk in town, on the side of the street against traffic, someone yelled out excuse me. I looked behind me and there was a bike on the sidewalk, so I moved off the sidewalk to almost get hit by a bike, so I went back on the sidewalk and there was another bike.

Lets see we have a group of three people, ridding against traffic, with two on the narrow sidewalk and one on road.

One more pet peeve of mine. In the area of town where there is both the bike path and the sidewalk it goes like this :Road. grass, bike path, grass, sidewalk. There are always more people walking on the bike path and getting in the way of the bikes then there are people walking on the sideawalk.

[PepperElf]

i'm personally not against bikers using the sidewalk but... if it's a pedestrian-right-of-way area (or rather if they're biking there when they're suppose to be on the road) then they need to stop for the people walking

[Chromatix]

Cycle lanes as part of pavement are very common in some European countries, particularly Germany, Netherlands and Finland. Usually the cycle path is paved differently and has painted symbols and international signs showing what it's for. It still gets ignored, but at least most people (who aren't tourists, that is) seem to understand.

[wolfie]

Cycle lanes as part of pavement are very common in some European countries, particularly Germany, Netherlands and Finland.

In North America, "pavement" refers to the blacktop surface of the road itself, where cars drive. In England, "pavement" refers to the raised, (usually) concrete area where pedestrians walk. I don't know about Finland - which type of "pavement" were you referring to?

[Chromatix]

Well in Finland it's "jalkakäytävä".

But since I'm British...



Now, that doesn't show the different surface types (which are more common in urban areas than suburbia), but it does show a pavement divided into cycle and pedestrian lanes.

[BlaqueKatt]

i'm personally not against bikers using the sidewalk

here it's not legal anywhere a building abuts the sidewalk(personally, I feel the sidewalk is for peds only)-On my commute you wouldn't believe how many bikes I see on the sidewalk-mostly not wanting to wait for silly things like red lights, or not wanting to purchase/wear/use-lights and helmets. I actually saw three people this last week with helmets hanging off a backpack-yup does tons of good there

[Geek King]

I actually saw three people this last week with helmets hanging off a backpack-yup does tons of good there

At least their iPods will survive.

[evilhomer]

i'm personally not against bikers using the sidewalk but... if it's a pedestrian-right-of-way area (or rather if they're biking there when they're suppose to be on the road) then they need to stop for the people walking

A pedestrian was recently killed by a cyclist in my city. If this wasn't enough of a wake-up call, a week of news stories reminding cyclists that it is illegal to ride adult sized bikes on the sidewalk should have been.

Fast forward to last night. I'm hardly in a good mood given my 14 hour shift was topped off by a shut down subway line, leaving me with an option of a one + hour wait for a bus, or a 2K walk to the nearest operating station. I chose the latter. Halfway through I hear this behind me:

Dumbass: Out of the way!
Me:
Dumbass: Coming behind you!
Me:
Dumbass: You could get out of my way!
Me: You could get off the fucking sidewalk.
Dumbass: **huff**

We meet up at the next stoplight and he wants to continue:
Dumbass: Have you ever been hit by a car?
Me: Yes as a matter of fact.
Dumbass: Wasn't much fun was it?
Me: I'm still standing.
Dumbass: Well I got hit and it wasn't any fun.
Me: So you've made your choice: cars or assholes like me. I guarantee running into an asshole like me and my 50 pound toolbox ain't gonna be much fun either.
Dumbass: **huff**
Me: (to my co-worker) I love these guys who think they don't have to obey laws.
Dumbass: **huff**



Anyways, just a funny story of mine. Personally I think you're insane to ride on the sidewalk. Cars constantly blow through the correct stopping zone from sidestreets and only stop once they reach the roadway. It's a constant threat of either getting T-boned, or running broadside into one of them. But to each their own. More people fear cars running beside them who are failing to obey the law of giving a full lane to a cyclist than the few cars coming out of sidestreets. But if you are one of these, sidewalks are for pedestrians. Don't expect a pedestrian to give up their legal right of way because you've chosen to break the law.

[PepperElf]

that's why i specified that the bikers still had to give right-of-way to the pedestrians



back when i biked on base i was usually on the sidewalk because the drivers don't really pay attention
but i would stop to walk the bike around people who were walking on the sidewalk.


tho yeah i wouldnt mind if it was more like europe in that they had specific bike lanes with their own street lights, in addition to the walkways

[bean]

I used to bike to work regularly. I live on the same street that my store is located on - which is one of the busiest streets in DFW.

Fuck riding on the road. I always took the sidewalk, but I always either stopped or moved into the grass if I came up on someone on foot.

I'm also guilty of cussing out several drivers who stopped in the crosswalk, and put a pretty big dent in the side of a brand new BMW when they ran a red light.. only to stop in the crosswalk due to traffic, while I was in the intersection. Driver flipped me off, I started punching the shit out of his car. Oops. (I had a green light when he nearly hit me, and was riding in the street on a road with a little less traffic)

[protege]

I know a guy...who is damn lucky after an "altercation" with a car...

This guy, and his friend were riding their bikes one afternoon. They were out on the street behind my house, which has a very steep hill at one end. Keep in mind that there's a stop sign at the bottom, and the cross street traffic does *not* have to stop. Also, the posted speed limit is only 25mph.

Imagine my mother's surprise, when she's coming through that intersection, and one of the guys blows through the intersection on his bike, somehow makes the right turn, and keeps on going, barely getting hit in the process His friend wasn't so lucky--he apparently slid on some cinders...and plowed right into the driver's door of my mother's car

Let's just say that his bike was no match for my mother's vehicle...a 1981 Volvo DL station wagon His (expensive) mountain bike was trashed--the front wheel was bent, along with the forks, and part of the frame. He's damn lucky that all he got was a bump on the head and some road rash. As for the car, well, all it suffered was a black tire mark on the door! The impact didn't even chip the paint

That wasn't the only "accident" that guy had. Not long after that...he hit a tree while attempting the same stunt. That time, he broke his jaw.

[LewisLegion]

I feel safer biking on the sidewalk as well. I've tried biking on the road, even in the actual cycle lanes but its almost like a phobia...I start getting nervous, cold sweats, and keep frantically looking behind me. Which is involuntary and tends to make me even more of a hazard and increases my chance of getting hit than I would normally have. I'm far more comfortable on sidewalks even with cars pulling unexpectedly out of driveways (I have less of a fear of getting hit from the side than from behind, don't ask me why). But I always give pedestrians the right of way.

[evilhomer]

I'm also guilty of cussing out several drivers who stopped in the crosswalk, and put a pretty big dent in the side of a brand new BMW when they ran a red light.. only to stop in the crosswalk due to traffic, while I was in the intersection. Driver flipped me off, I started punching the shit out of his car. Oops. (I had a green light when he nearly hit me, and was riding in the street on a road with a little less traffic)

I don't advocate vigilante justice, it is wrong and extremely dangerous. Having said that, gosh darn does it ever feel good. I did a similar thing to some assclown that blew through the stopping zone. He's under his dashboard searching for something and comes flying up only to slam on his brakes and stop inches from oncoming traffic, ten feet past where he should have stopped. If I was there three seconds earlier, I'm t-boned and sent flying into traffic. So I "accidently" ran into the side of his car and hopped on the hood, scaring the living bejibies out of him in the process.

Hopefully these morons realized the error of their ways and corrected them. More likely though, they use these events as foundations for a vendetta against cyclists.


As for riding on the sidewalk, don't get me wrong, I have all the respect in the world for those who chose to do so. Someone who comes along, slows down and politely requests room gets all the courtesy and respect I can give. The ones who come flying along at full speed shouting "move move move" are testing their luck with the wrong guy.