Advocacy & Safety - "Riding your bike in the street is a safety hazard to pedestrians and motorists."

Received the village (River Forest IL) newsletter today. On the front page is an article titled "Jogging Safety" which states: "Summer is the season for outdoor exercise activities. Please keep safety in mind while enjoying the warm weather. Pedestrians, joggers, and bicyclists should use public sidewalks when one is available". It then goes on to quote the Ill. code about staying to the right if you are a ped. It concludes by stating "Remember: jogging, walking, or riding your bike in the street is a safety hazard to pedestrians and motorists".

I always knew the administration of my town wasn't bike friendly, and this really shows the degree to which they are. I'm working on a response and if anyone has any suggestions, I'd appreciate hearing them. I think I'll mention that 5,000 lb vehicles are a greater threat to peds than a 30 lb bike, and that driving your car in the street is a much greater safety hazard to peds and cyclists than riding your bike is.

And can someone explain the villages statement - "walking..... in the street is a safety hazard to pedestrians...." They're one in the same, no?

"Remember: jogging, walking, or riding your bike in the street is a safety hazard to pedestrians and motorists"

Technically states:

"Remember: Jogging your bike, walking your bike, or riding your bike in the street is a safety hazard to pedestrians (Peds in the street?) and motorists."

Cleverly written for the anti-cyclist.

-Kurt

traffic "accidents" kill 45,000 people a year in the united states.

i submit that driving your car in the street "is a safety hazard to pedestrians and motorists".

There is also the point that a vehicle moving at 15-20 mph probably isn't the most comfortable thing to have sharing narrow paths with pedestrians. But yeah, driving automobiles on the road is a hazard to everyone.

To me it sounds like they are talking about small children on bicycles, and poorly written at that. I bet the person who wrote it pictured kids with training wheels in mind. Some people are completely ignorant of bicycles and do not realize adults use them. Some people cant get it in thier head when they see my bike in my office I ride to work cause I want to, and I (OMG) bring it inside. like it might crap on the carpet. I would think riding your road bike on the sidewalk at 25 mph is a hazard to them pedestrians they were talking about. Quit reading that governemtn propaganda and ride.

Is it even legal to ride your baike as an adult in your village?

Be sure to include references to Il law allowing bicycling on the road. The point above about the writer referencing children probably carries a lot of truth. I'd be sure to slightly discuss the differences between a child riding a bike and an experienced adult bike rider.

This seems a bit garbled. Are they talking about joggers or about bicyclists?

If they are talking about bicyclists, other than those traveling at a few miles per hour (e.g. tricycles or very slow bicycles), if your town is anything like ours - cyclists would be safer traveling with traffic on the road than on the sidewalks.

Accident statistics in Fort Collins show two leading situations for cyclist accidents are: (1) traveling the wrong way and (2) riding on sidewalks. It is not too hard to see why, if you are on a sidewalk traveling at ~15mph+ you aren't part of the mainstream of traffic and hence "appear from nowhere" at road intersections, driveways, etc.

The other issue concerns conflicts between pedestrians and cyclists in sharing sidewalks. This can work ok if speeds are down, there is some width, there are some clear protocols ("on your left") or there just isn't anyone on those sidewalks. However, again depending on the situation in your town, I might expect conflicts to arise if you have cyclists zipping down narrow sidewalks with many pedestrians.

So the situation is going to vary on the specifics in River Forest, but that prescription wouldn't work here. In the very downtown of Fort Collins there is no bike riding allowed on sidewalks and in general cycling on sidewalks is discouraged.

They state both, but the focus of the article is joggers and walkers.

What is troubling to me is that the village thinks bikes are a safety hazard to motorists. The idea that bikes don't belong on the street is enforced for the average reader who drives everywhere, so when they do see bikes on the street they may think "why is that bike on street"?


This seems a bit garbled. Are they talking about joggers or about bicyclists?

If they are talking about bicyclists, other than those traveling at a few miles per hour (e.g. tricycles or very slow bicycles), if your town is anything like ours - cyclists would be safer traveling with traffic on the road than on the sidewalks.

Accident statistics in Fort Collins show two leading situations for cyclist accidents are: (1) traveling the wrong way and (2) riding on sidewalks. It is not too hard to see why, if you are on a sidewalk traveling at ~15mph+ you aren't part of the mainstream of traffic and hence "appear from nowhere" at road intersections, driveways, etc.

The other issue concerns conflicts between pedestrians and cyclists in sharing sidewalks. This can work ok if speeds are down, there is some width, there are some clear protocols ("on your left") or there just isn't anyone on those sidewalks. However, again depending on the situation in your town, I might expect conflicts to arise if you have cyclists zipping down narrow sidewalks with many pedestrians.

So the situation is going to vary on the specifics in River Forest, but that prescription wouldn't work here. In the very downtown of Fort Collins there is no bike riding allowed on sidewalks and in general cycling on sidewalks is discouraged.

Good question, and the answer is yes. But be sure to license your dogs, buy your village car stickers, and don't park on the streets overnight or else!


Is it even legal to ride your bike as an adult in your village?

Quit reading that government propaganda and ride - I will continue to ride as usual, but instead of being proactive about bike safety, the old mindset that cars take precedence on the streets is promoted.


To me it sounds like they are talking about small children on bicycles, and poorly written at that. I bet the person who wrote it pictured kids with training wheels in mind. Some people are completely ignorant of bicycles and do not realize adults use them. Some people cant get it in their head when they see my bike in my office I ride to work cause I want to, and I (OMG) bring it inside. like it might crap on the carpet. I would think riding your road bike on the sidewalk at 25 mph is a hazard to them pedestrians they were talking about. Quit reading that government propaganda and ride.

Quit reading that government propaganda and ride - I will continue to ride as usual, but instead of being proactive about bike safety, the old mindset that cars take precedence on the streets is promoted.

I did not mean that as something nasty to you. Maybe i should not have said that at all, if I was you I might email or snail mail the people who run the villiage a little material about bicycle riding rights, rules and how important it is to some people to be able to ride. Maybe even deliver it by hand.

good intentions, bad wording.

hmmm, where i live, it's illegal to bike on the sidewalks. dangerous too (for both the cyclist and the pedestrians). i'd be terrified of riding my bike on a side walk through an intersection at 40km/h. the cars wouldn't see you coming at all!

Totally cool...I did not take it that way. I know the guy who heads the League of Ill. Bicyclists and he's shown an interest in this and between he and I we will formulate a response and how to deliver it.


I did not mean that as something nasty to you. Maybe i should not have said that at all, if I was you I might email or snail mail the people who run the villiage a little material about bicycle riding rights, rules and how important it is to some people to be able to ride. Maybe even deliver it by hand.

[QUOTE=billwatson58;6965766]Remember: jogging, walking, or riding your bike in the street is a safety hazard to pedestrians and motorists". [QUOTE]

Sounds like they need to attend a writing class first :rolleyes:

Remember:
Reading articles written by two-bit journalists trying to justify their existence may result in gradual loss of intelligence.

-Kurt

I think I'd write the editor rather than the town council. If the paper messed it up, you'll be advising them. If the council messed it up, they'll see it in the paper. In any case, be sure to quote the relavent state law.

To be clear, it was in a village prepared newsletter that goes to residents, not a local newspaper.


I think I'd write the editor rather than the town council. If the paper messed it up, you'll be advising them. If the council messed it up, they'll see it in the paper. In any case, be sure to quote the relavent state law.

To be clear, it was in a village prepared newsletter.

Self-serving twits. What else better describes the typical "village"/homeowners association?

I'll put a bet to it that their B.S. editorials has extended to other fields besides cycling.

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EDIT: http://www.river-forest.us/news/newsletters.php

Get a load of their "tornado preparedness" tips. To read it, you'd think it all boils down to "take cover." How about some advice as to what to take cover under/with?

What about their writeup about being scam-alert? As if anyone intelligent enough hasn't heard of any such scams before. For that matter, where are some examples that the clueless can guide themselves by? Utter waste of text.

Follow that with nonsense about sparklers being unsafe (the idiot that misuses it is the cause of it being unsafe, folks - just like cagers) and statistics-full reports about fireworks - but no suggestions as to how one may safely use either in order to protect themselves from injury.

An article about mosquito control with an ominous warning about West Nile Virus in the headline, despite nothing said about the virus in the text to follow; safety-nanny articles about holiday home-safety tips (so safety in the house is exclusive to the holidays?); ominous finger-pointing about snow-removal contractors being licensed with the village, fire-alarm paranoia, etc.

Of course, if you go down the line of newsletters long enough, you'll see that most of the articles are essentially repeated each year.
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All of it most typical. Candy-coated, we-know-best, propagandizing nonsense that help assure that the doofuses running the village can gain favor with the community when they desire to manipulate residents.

-Kurt

I'd just send them a link or quote of the relevant laws, and remind them to check their document for consistency.

If the law says that bicycles are allowed to be ridden on the road, irrespective of whether they are also permitted to ride on the footpath, then any safety 'information' should be based on the assumption that cyclists are using the road.

^^^this!

"Remember: jogging, walking, or riding your bike in the street is a safety hazard to pedestrians and motorists"

Technically states:

"Remember: Jogging your bike, walking your bike, or riding your bike in the street is a safety hazard to pedestrians (Peds in the street?) and motorists."

Cleverly written for the anti-cyclist.

-Kurt

Hah! Very good Kurt.

How would a bike on the street pose a threat to a ped on the sidewalk? I'm confused.

And can someone explain the villages statement - "walking..... in the street is a safety hazard to pedestrians...." They're one in the same, no?

They feel bicycles are a threat to the establishment and so make life miserable to cyclists.

Try not run over many SUVs. ;)

Try not to be insulting( even though whoever wrote the article is an IDIOT! and I would be sorely tempted to say it were I in your place. ) The more reasonable you are while pointing out the errors the more persausive you will be.I will have to be careful in River Forest .I am just down the street in FP