I have no idea what the rules are in any of your jurisdictions, but here “children under twelve, and adults accompanying them” have an explicit exemption from the rule requiring you to ride on the road.
I’m afraid to park on my street because no one knows how to drive. I’ve had one vehicle totaled from a neighbor backing straight into it and it sucked worse because it wasn’t my car. I have to admit I blocked my sidewalk for awhile when I had 1 car stuck in the middle of my driveway and had to park behind it since there was no space on either side, but I felt very bad about it and limited it as much as I could.
Even the police where I live don’t know or can’t get it straight. My son was ticketed for riding in the street after another cop told him to get off the sidewalk. I’m assuming it varies by city, and it probably doesn’t help that I live on the intersection of 3 cities.
Yeah, if they wanted people only to walk on it, you’d think they’d give it some sort of name that indicated that. 
But yeah, it’s rude to block the sidewalk, and actually dangerous as some have noted. If it really bothers you, call the local traffic control or police and see if they will cite the violators. I can imagine situations where I would do so.
I just walk around their car, right through their yard. I’m not going out into the street.
Ours are. You could park on the street but that’d leave a car’s width room between the parked car and the grassy strip on the other side. If there are no other cars parking in the street – during the day, say – then yes, we park on the street. If there are multiple cars parking on the street then people will drive up on the grassy area/sidewalk so other cars can get through.
Nobody complains. People just walk around them while being mindful of oncoming vehicles.
you really shouldn’t assume things are the same everywhere as where you live…
That’s because- contrary to DrCube’s claim- it’s legal in Michigan.
- Unless prohibited by an official traffic control device, an individual may operate a bicycle upon a sidewalk or a pedestrian crosswalk but shall yield the right-of-way to pedestrians and shall give an audible signal before overtaking and passing a pedestrian and has all of the rights and responsibilities applicable to a pedestrian using that sidewalk or crosswalk. MCL 257.660c*
edit: actually, it’s legal in Illinois too.
Where I live, there used to be an ordinance against cars blocking the sidewalk, but it was ignored by both residents and the police.
The Village Board’s solution? Repeal the ordinance. :smack:
I’ll be the loyal opposition in this thread, I guess:
Around here, blocking the sidewalk with a parked car is common. I’ve never heard a person ever make a complaint about it. Culturally, around here, no one cares – not even people that use sidewalks regularly, apparently.
I used to walk around the neighborhood with my kids all the time. We’d use the sidewalk, and go around any obstructions. We didn’t usually have to go into the street to get around a parked car blocking the sidewalk … but when we did have to go into the street, it was pretty much risk-free because there’s little through-traffic.
Essentially, around here … parked cars have ‘right-of-way’ on sidewalks over pedestrians :shrug: I don’t know what the letter of the law says about it, but I do know it has never been even a hint of a public concern.
What are these “sidewalks” of which you speak? (Seriously, grew up in the city. Know about sidewalks. But current community doesn’t have them. Everybody walks in the street.)
Interesting; thanks. For those who, like me, want to check: the relevant section of this link is Sec. 11-1512, and it says essentially the same thing in different words as the Michigan quote above.
The extent to which riding a bicycle on the sidewalk is (a) safe, (b) legal, and (c) a good idea is going to vary based on location and circumstances. YMMV; offer void where prohibited.
Michigan is beautiful but kinda cold in the winter, especially Marquette in January/February. The outhouse races are cool (read fucking cold) though.
I was in court one day as a young man was charged and convicted for doing that (in a situation where the car was clearly illegal). His bad luck that the car was actually an unmarked police car.
Definitely rude and I choose to go around by cutting through their grass.
Rude.
Also rude:
Driving the exact same speed as the person in the lane on either side of you, for miles on end. STOP IT.
Parking your grocery cart on the left side of the aisle while you mull over items on the right side of the aisle.
Blocking the flow of traffic at arenas, stadiums, public pools, churches, etc. by sitting on the stairs or camping out and conversing in the aisles.
I have a driveway that is barely long enough for two vehicles. We back in to our driveway. I keep almost two feet from my rear bumper and my wife’s front bumper. So we can walk between the vehicles.
That leaves my front bumper about three feet from the curb.
Thankfully there aren’t any sidewalks on my street. So I’m not blocking anything.
Pedestrians are rare on my street. Except for kids and they walk on the road.
Simply an ancedote.
My father was once underneath his car, working on it, and it did extend across the sidewalk. He noticed a pair of legs standing by the vehicle. Pulling out from under he greeted the cop. One of the neighbors had turned him in for parking across the sidewalk. Cop just gave a warning, no ticket, although it was against the city ordinances to block the walk. The same neighbor always kept a lookout for other minor violations of city laws, and would turn his neighbors in. Like having a third garage sale in a year, when the limit was two.
getting OT, but part of the reason I like living here is that by the time I’m sick of hot weather, it starts cooling down, and vice versa. The seasons are all just about as long as I like them to be.
I think it’s very rude. I never understood the type of person that thinks children should ride their bikes and walk in the street because the public sidewalk is reserved for them to park their cars there. I walk a lot, when I have to go around a car, I make it a point to touch it a lot. I know they hate that.
So the people on either side of you are being rude as well since they are also doing what you described, correct?
mmm