"Women who ride"... on the sidewalk...

[Grog]

Here in Portland, there was some discussion (bikeportland.org) about whether or not to press for seperated bike lanes....like they have in parts of Europe:

traffic /parked cars / bike lane / sidewalk. instead of

traffic / bike lane / parked cars / sidewalk

I could not think of a single reason NOT to do that...yet there was vociferous objection from the "cycles as vehicles" contingent.

One of the major reasons is, again, intersections: fast-moving vehicles (that need to turn) are not expected to be on the right of parked cars. I am afraid that having the cars and bike lane separated by parked cars will make cyclists more invisible to drivers, and increase the number of right-hooks.

[mimitabby]

In European countries where roads are much narrower than ours, cars and bikes share the road nicely. The drivers of cars know that the bicyclists are fellow human beings and treat them as such.
In Seattle, it seems to me that bike numbers are increasing on the roads; this is good, as motorists get used to them, they're not going to react with surprise and anger as much. (crossing fingers)

[elk]

geez I don't know...We have no sidewalks in my neighborhood and when I am walking the dogs, we have to walk in the street. I deck us out like christmas trees with lights and reflectors...and people look at us and don't slow down AT ALL.

I think that most ppl are SO in their heads that they don't even realize they are in cars...I want as much room as possible between me and them....

[Geonz]

The infrastructures & cultures are significantly different in Europe. We're simply not going to turn into Europe by building separate paths... as if I could even *imagine* that being added to our transportation budgets. In Illinois, we don't even *get* what is added ot the budget - most of it never gets distributed and simply gets sent back to the Feds. Somehow they're supposed to send X percent of stuff back, so they take bunches of it from "unimportant" stuff like cycling facilities. (THis year, though, they didn't bother to distribute the funds for Safe Routes to Schools, so there are a few moms upset and of course it doesn't sound nearly as inoccuous as saying "well, we trimmed the budget from these cycling frills" as it is to have not given out the funds awarded to help kids get to school.)

Separate is nice, in theory... but again, unless that separate path doesn't cross other roads and driveways, every conflict is a gamble.

http://www.resourceroom.net/pcc/windsorpath1.htm is the photo essay I did of what's not such a bad path... but I can fully understand why somebody who wants to get *home* would prefer the road. Most of these issues would be just as true with the path on the other side of parked cars.

[Eden]

Here's a great illustration of why it is not necessarily safe to ride on sidewalks

This accident occured yesterday between two bicycles, one was on a multi use trail and crossing the street (legally on the green) the other on the sidewalk and crossed his path perpendicularly.

[q] I was crossing with the green on the crosswalk going westbound to work, upon getting past the street another rider came down the west sidewalk going south, but she didn't stop, and there was a bus waiting on the southbound lane so she just "appeared"[/q]

This can of course happen with cars too! In fact the same intersection where this happend is kind of nasty as many cars do a right on red without stopping (illegal!) and seemingly without looking (stupid!), even though there is a very well known bike path that crosses the street there.

Even though it was at a slow speed (he said about 12mph) the cyclist who wrote about the accident broke the frame of his steel bike! and the other person involved had taco'd wheels and took a trip to the ER.

Never assume that sidewalks or bikepaths are automatically safe!

[Deborajen]

Here's a great illustration of why it is not necessarily safe to ride on sidewalks

This accident occured yesterday between two bicycles, one was on a multi use trail and crossing the street (legally on the green) the other on the sidewalk and crossed his path perpendicularly.

[q] I was crossing with the green on the crosswalk going westbound to work, upon getting past the street another rider came down the west sidewalk going south, but she didn't stop, and there was a bus waiting on the southbound lane so she just "appeared"[/q]

A big part of this problem is that people on sidewalks seem to think that no stop sign specifically for them means it's o.k. (or even safe) to go - no need to look, no need to peek around a blind corner, etc. Then again, that's assuming the rider on the sidewalk was familiar with the intersection in the first place - Perhaps that rider didn't know the sidewalk was intersecting with a bike path and, therefore, needed a stop and a glance - ?

Sidewalks are just loaded with hazards and they're mainly built for pedestrian traffic which doesn't move very fast. Put a bike on it, the bike goes faster/can't stop as quickly/isn't as likely to be anticipated by car traffic, etc. - the cyclist really has to fend for him/herself. I don't have the answers, but I'll stick to riding on roads that have room for me and where I can ride like a slow car and be predictable to the cars.

Deb

[mimitabby]

When I choose to ride on a sidewalk, I am always going VERY slow.
I generally ride on sidewalks when there is not much of an alternative; like
going from King street to Jackson Via 6th, that one block is 1 way the wrong way; so I ride the sidewalk and cross Jackson via the crosswalk and from there
I get back onto Jackson into the street.

[kat_h]

The drivers of cars know that the bicyclists are fellow human beings and treat them as such.

That is key. Calgary has bike paths along the rivers, but no bike lanes on streets. There is one street that has a picture of a bike painted on the pavement at the start of each block. When those are visable drivers on that street are quite decent, because they understand that bikes are supposed to be there too. When those are covered in snow then that street is just like any other in town.

[mimitabby]

That is key. Calgary has bike paths along the rivers, but no bike lanes on streets. There is one street that has a picture of a bike painted on the pavement at the start of each block. When those are visable drivers on that street are quite decent, because they understand that bikes are supposed to be there too. When those are covered in snow then that street is just like any other in town.

You know, I think those things are helping in Seattle too (crossing my fingers)

[KnottedYet]

I know I've said it before, and I'm sorry to constantly repeat myself; but I think the "Bicycle Boulevards" in Berkeley CA are just an amazingly elegant solution. (traffic calmed streets just off the main streets, signage, and sharrows.)

[elk]

we got Bicycle Boulevards here in Portland...and we're getting bike boxes at 14 intersections!!!!

It's a start!!

[kfergos]

I guess I'll throw in my $0.02...

I've only been hit by a car one time in my two years of fairly intensive commuting. Here are all the things I was doing wrong:

1. Riding on the sidewalk in a downtown area (ironically, I was afraid of cars!)
2. Riding against traffic (on the left-hand sidewalk)
3. Riding at night with only a faint blinky light
4. Crossing an intersection without slowing down at all
5. Crossing an intersection without looking for turning cars

Not surprisingly, a driver turning right hit me as I rode the wrong way across the cross walk. He probably didn't see me at all. I walked away unscathed, and my bike was fine, but after that I switched to riding on the road just like a car. I've never been hit again.

I guess I have to admit that, after that experience, I've fallen into the Vehicular Cyclist camp. When I ride, it's always in the road, following traffic laws, and taking the lane when potholes, parked cars, ice, sand dunes, turning cars, or other obstacles make it unsafe to stay near the shoulder. By and large drivers respect that behavior and treat me more like a car, only occasionally edging me out in that nerve-wracking "If I'd twitched I'd be dead" way. I also never "filter through," but always wait in line with the traffic. I've had too many close calls with drivers unexpectedly swerving to the right and almost hitting me. (Once my front wheel touched the side of the car, it was so close. Good thing I was going slow enough to stop on a dime!)

Bike lanes don't make much of an appearance in Metro West Massachusetts. However, my Seattle bicycling experience has made me leery of them: Bike lanes seemed more like shoulders with a bike painted on the road, rather than anything special. The proximity to parked cars and the door zone, in addition to the high glass and grit accumulation in those lanes, made me rather leery of thinking they were all that great. I spent most of my time in the driving lane or the shoulder. Perhaps the issue with bike lanes is they tend to usurp common sense, so a normally cautious rider thinks "I'm safe in this lane," which is no more true than in a regular driving lane. Exercising caution wherever you choose to ride -- even to what feels like an extreme level -- can never hurt.

OK that's more like $2, but there it is.