It isn’t illegal everywhere.
Seems to me that it’s more “don’t be an idiot if you ride on the sidewalk”. I ride on the sidewalk when I have to and you know what? I don’t go whizzing across intersections or driveways ! gasp It’s possible to slow down/stop at intersections even if you are on the sidewalk. The two are not mutually exclusive. What kind of idiot rides on the sidewalk at speed and blasts across an intersection?! (Obviously many do, but that is because they are idiots, and if they were in the street, they’d be doing some other idiotic thing.)
Note that where I’m riding it’s not like there is a driveway or other break in the sidewalk every 500 feet or something, they’re pretty few and far between.
I should add that I’m in a suburban environment and not a bike commuter. Frankly, I wouldn’t ride a bike in a really urban environment, because there is no safe way to do it in most cities.
This may be true in some areas, but I don’t think you can say this unilaterally. There are plenty of places I’ve been where this is NOT the case. As in my area, where there are never pedestrians on the (suburban) sidewalks (which are often long, unbroken stretches, not intersection/driveway riddled) and there are also no bike lanes and the roads are narrow enough to make passing a bike an iffy prospect, on curving roads where cars drive very fast. I will not argue that in some locations, the road is where bikes should ride. However, I also maintain that in other areas, the sidewalk is the safest place for bikes to ride.
Anecdote related to an earlier conversation in the thread: I was a child riding my bike down the bike lane on the side of the road once, when I was growing up in Tucson. A van drove up behind me and honked. Startled me so bad I almost rode into a ditch full of cactus.
I was responding to the issue in the OP and discussion earlier in the thread. That’s something that happens on a message board–deal with it.
Now that I’ve finally finished the thread, my primary observation of the thread is… wow… “lowbrass” is a total “blinders on” asshole the likes of which I haven’t encountered on the board in a while. I hate that type of person, who ignores half of what is said in order to continue to blather on and on and feel important.
Hey Opal - do me a favor. If you’re gonna talk about stuff that has nothing to do with what I’ve said, don’t fucking quote me directly above. :rolleyes:
I cited a survey proving that it’s safer to ride in the street than on the sidewalk, so yes, I can damn well say it. What is your evidence? Anecdotes? Um, sorry.
If it’s just riding on sidewalks that is so dangerous, why are parts of bike trails in my area on sidewalks?
No sir, you’re not hung up on speed. Not at all.
In case you’re wondering, the main trail I’m thinking of is the eastern end of the W&OD, on which Lance Armstrong wannabes are more dangerous than anything else.
Not sure if I’m following you. Are you asking why this bike trail is partly on sidewalks, then citing how dangerous it is? Or are you talking about 2 different trails? You really need to start being more clear.
? You said it earlier in the thread, I was addressing that conversation. :rolleyes: yourself.
As for the “studies” and so forth… overall statistically speaking, it might be safer to ride in the street. That does not mean that it is always safer in every situation in every location. Not that that is going to get through your pig-headed thick skull, of course.
I have never seen any reason to assume that public policy reflects the reality that is demonstrated in studies such as the one scr4 cited.
The bike trails are on sidewalks because the designers are stupid.
Same reason for the situation I outlined at the beginning of the thread - when I have to choose between something that is (a) legal and safe but terrifies drivers and makes them honk and curse at me, and (b) illegal and unsafe but which seems to make drivers happy.
Same reason that my city is building a new multi-use path that isn’t connected to any existing bike infrastructure (lanes or paths), and pretending it is for cyclists. No sir. I have no desire to bike to work on a 6’ wide path filled with dogwalkers and joggers and baby carriages.
The difference between bike-friendly cities and bike-unfriendly ones (like mine, and Lute’s) is that in the latter case, bikes are an afterthought in the planning process, and bike infrastructure is poorly planned and badly neglected.
WTF?
Either you were responding to me or you weren’t. If you were, then you were not on-point. If you weren’t, then you shouldn’t have quoted me directly above. Jesus Fucking Christ, Opal - it’s not rocket science.
Yes, I’m asking why this bike trail is partly on sidewalks if they’re so dangerous, then citing how the part that is on a sidewalk is less dangerous than the rest. There are a couple other trails here that are on sidewalks but I’m not as familiar with those.
In case you haven’t figured it out yet: riding on sidewalks is legal here as long as the cyclist is courteous toward pedestrians, yields to traffic at driveways & intersections, and doesn’t suddenly pop out from behind fences/hedges/etc.
The problem is, if you rode like that in this city, you would pretty much be riding at walking speed anyway. It is far more likely that people ride on the sidewalk without meeting those conditions, thus making the sidewalk more dangerous for everyone.
If I was a lawmaker I would prohibit sidewalk riding for exactly that reason. There are simply too many pedestrians, driveways, intersections, fences, hedges, etc for it to be remotely practical to ride on the sidewalk. I definitely believe that some people do ride courteously on the sidewalk, but the vast majority don’t.
And if people are going to ride unsafely or uncourteously, I would much prefer they do it on the road, because everyone (except maybe the cyclist) is safer that way.
I was responding to you and the general points being made about the topic.
And yet you seem unable to grasp it. Sad, really.
Ok, this thread and especially you in particular have gotten very boring.
Sorry - I’m not seeing where you proved that the parts on sidewalks are less dangerous.
Besides which, it makes no sense to isolate a small segment of the journey and say, “Gee, this 10 feet I rode on the sidewalk was really safe”. If you want to do such a comparison, you’d need to compare a whole trip on a trail that uses sidewalks vs. a whole trip on a trail that does not use sidewalks. I’m sure you’d find the latter to be safer.
When did I say otherwise? Smart ass.
Pardon me; my area is very bike-friendly. This county alone has 36 miles of shared-use trails, 23 miles of bike lanes, and 30 miles of connecting bike routes (warning: large PDF), and the government is continually working on adding more. All buses in the area are equipped for bicycles and most bikes are permitted on the subway during off-commuter hours.
Apologies. My bad. I guess I just wouldn’t feel welcome if I was obliged to ride on the sidewalk, where I had to keep slowing down for intersections and pedestrians and driveways and hedges. I feel much safer on the street.
But I’ve never been to your city so I shouldn’t assume.
That’s exactly right. Here, none of the “sidewalk riders” ride that way. They barrel down the middle of the sidewalk, forcing pedestrians to jump out of their way. They race out into crosswalks without looking. I have NEVER seen a serious bike rider use the sidewalk. The ones who know what they’re doing ALWAYS ride in the street. The sidewalk riders are generally young, uneducated punks. They do not wear helmets, their bikes are in poor condition, and their seats are not adjusted properly. In short, they don’t know what they’re doing.
Ooh! I hope that means you’ll go away.
It’s in the link I provided earlier. This trail has existed since 1974, during which time there has been 0 fatalities in the 2½-or-so mile section that I know uses a sidewalk.
Then don’t go besmirching my right to ride on the sidewalk. 
“If you follow the rules you’ll be fine” applies everywhere.
See, right here is the problem: the riders themselves, not the sidewalk. All of this behavior is illegal here.