Bike Fun
From:
phædrus (Jason Goray)
Date:
May 07 17:19 UTC
Short link
Regarding Sidewalk Riding.
Riding a bicycle on a sidewalk is illegal in some places and unwise or
to be done with caution in most places.
When it does make sense for a bicyclist to ride on a sidewalk, they
really do need to moderate their pace and be aware that the
pedestrians do have the right of way and often act unpredictably. If
there is any sort of potential for pedestrian cross traffic, they need
to be that much more careful.
Most areas where it is illegal to ride on the sidewalk are marked as
such. It should be noted that in these areas, bike parking is
sometimes on the sidewalk mid block so it is sometimes necessary to
take the bike the partial block from the nearest curb cut. Strictly
speaking, one should probably get off the bike and walk it, but I
suspect that many responsible bicyclists do ride it at low speed and
with proper caution.
> Robin, I invite you to come to the University of Minnesota
> campus -- the Minneapolis campus is completely within
> your Ward. Note that neither cars nor bicycles are
> permitted on the sidewalks (except bicycles are permitted
> in marked bike lanes). Let us know how many cars you see
> driving on the sidewalk; how many bicycles you see riding
> on the sidewalk. Then try stepping into one of the
> crosswalks at traffic circle at Pleasant Ave SE and Pillsbury
> Drive SE. Try it at, say, noon and 5:00pm. In my experience,
> and it is considerable in this matter, 99.9% (or more)
> of the cars will stop, and 99.9% of the bicycles won't
> even slow down. Rather, the bicyclists simply head for
> the pedestrians (usually without even slowing down)
> apparently assuming that an opening will be available by
> the time they get there. Of course, not all bicyclists
> operate this way. I see a bicyclist stopping for
> pedestrians at least a couple times a year (well, OK,
> at least once a year).
Extrapolating the behavior of bicyclists and/or pedestrians on a
university campus to society at large is kind of like sitting in
Kenwood and saying "boy, this city sure is wealthy". For that matter,
drivers who regularly drive in University areas are usually quite a
bit more cautious in those areas as they've learned that you can't
count on people not sprinting in front of you unexpectedly on a
semi-regular basis.
That said, I was amused after reading this email last night to observe
the following when I stopped at the light to cross University Ave SE
at Pillsbury Drive SE this morning. Two bikes pulled up behind me
while I was waiting for the light - one in the wide space between the
curb and the car that was waiting and the other behind the car and
signaled a left turn. All three bikes waited for the light to change
although honestly, on most days, I would have run it when there was no
more cross traffic.
Of the ten pedestrians taking the intersection one way or the other at
the time I was there, two did not jaywalk. Its possible, however,
that that is because when they reached the intersection, the light was
in their favor. Its worth note, however, that none of them actually
cut anyone off.
FWIW, I also didn't see any cars run or roll anything and, more
impressively, I didn't note any speeding significantly.
Perhaps everyone's just more reasonable at 10:30 am or maybe things
are just nicer a block over from where you've made your observations.
(I actually don't disagree with you that some bicyclists on and around
campus tend to really act like jerks but it was amusing that, after
reading your post, my next experience in the area was so well behaved.
It really does incense me as well when bicyclists violate
pedestrian's rights. I once corked a critical mass who wasn't letting
an old lady cross in a crosswalk with a walk signal.)
- phaedrus (jason.goray), 3-6, minneapolis, minnesota, usa, earth.
.