Commuting - Need clarification on sidewalk riding

I'm extremely new, so be gentle. I've read in other threads that sidewalk riding is illegal in many states. Why is this? I've seen kids coming out of school riding smaller bikes on the sidewalk, teens about 14-17 riding there, mom's riding with their children, and older guys on lowrider bicycles - all on sidewalks. Is there a certain age range that you must drive on the street, or just a certain type of bicycle?

When I tried riding on the street (I'm in Arlington, Texas, people drive 60-70 on the 40mph streets)... Every. Car. Honks at you. (maybe not every, but close). They ride up too close on your backside, wait until the left lane is clear then pass you and give a dirty look and gas it so you smell the fumes. I can't fathom wiping out on the street or having a flattire with a car .0001 meters behind me. Instant pancake. Come to think of it, I've never seen a bicycle on a street where a sidewalk was available.

The sidewalk seems a better alternative, granted I need to go slower and beware at intersections. Your thoughts? Maybe my town is different than most others.

When you're going 25-30mph on a road bike, a 40mph car's only coming up on you at 10-15 mph. Most of the time, drivers would just stay behind me at those speeds cause that's what the speed limit is anyway, I'm going just fast enough that I'm not holding them back that much and I stay in the draft of the car in front of me.

I'd find a side street with less traffic. Going 15mph on the sidewalk's a sure guarantee you'll hit someone and wipe out.

sidewalk riding also can damage a bike, if you ride fast enough. Look at how fast the lowrider guys and mom with kids are riding, then see how fast you are riding, and there should be a difference, as in you going much faster.

Studies have shown that it is more dangerious to ride the sidewalk. I saw a sailor riding on the sidewalk on the navy base here a few mionites ago so I guess it's not illegal there. Pennsylivania has a nice website for bicycling they explane why it's not legal there.

Joe

All good points, thanks for the tips. I'm stalking Mapquest to find a new route that hopefully will have less traffic. I normally love the freeway sidestreet and there's a huge stretch of it with no traffic whatsoever, but so arrive in that area, I have to cross two hellish intersections with no "bike lane" or emergency lane to speak of. It's literally FROGGER trying to get across when the light turns green (crossing freeway onramp, then another down the road).

It is not illegal to ride on the sidewalk where I am at.

I tend to ride on roads, sidewalks, trails, access roads, even where no path or trail exists. There are a few things to consider when selecting a route.


How well will you mix with other users on the road/trail/path ? If you choose to ride the sidewalk, then you will be safest if you behave more like a pedestrian. Move very slowly, yield alot, and be prepared to talk to other users. If you are on a road you will need to behave more like a vehicle. Move with the traffic flow. Signal your intentions. Maintain a better than walking pace. Follow ordinary traffic rules and generally behave in a manner consistent with the rest of the road users.
Speed differential. I try to avoid mixing with traffic that is going much more than twice my speed. This generally means I will stay off of a road that has a speed limit of 40mph or more unless special provisions have been made for low speed vehicles (that's me). High speeds mean less time to react to situations as they emerge. Since I live in a relatively old (for the Midwest) city this is not too hard to work around. In fact much of the city's core predates the wide use of automobiles.
Traffic density. Always better to pick the less traveled route. The fewer opportunitites you have to interact with other traffic, statistically, the safer you will be.


Much of what you fear is just based on inexperience. You will adjust to riding on the road pretty quickly. Everyone does.

Dan

Riding on the sidewalk is more dangerous. You say that cars are honking at you when you are on the road? That just shows that they can see you. They might be pissed of at you for being there ( which they shouldn't be, but that's another matter ) but they can see you ( most of them won't try to hit you by the way, they just don't realize how close they come ). When you ride on the sidewalk you are invisible, drivers expect pedestrians moving at walking speed, not bikes moving at close to the same speed as them. And being invisible when you have to go through an intersection is a very bad thing. Add on the fact that every single driveway and road is now an intersection and you are much more likely to get hit than if you were riding in the road. It's just much safer to learn to ride on the road.

There is another reason which is that by riding on the sidewalk you have to deal with anyone who is walking there. And pedestrians follow no rules when they are on the sidewalk. They can stop, turn, swerve, jump up and down, and just plain get in the way and that's their right. If you hit them, no matter what, it's your fault.

I can't say what the law is where you are, but where I am it is illegal to ride on the sidewalk unless your wheel diameter is below a certain size. The main reason for this is to allow kids, who don't have the ability to deal with vehicular traffic, to learn to ride. And I don't really think it's a safe place for them to learn to ride either but there ya go.

Anyway that's my spin on it. The book to read for more is " Effective Cycling " by John Forrester ( I think I got the title and author right, anyway if it's not it's something similar )
Enjoy the ride,
Cheers, Dave

I've read in other threads that sidewalk riding is illegal in many states. Why is this?
I sympathize with you, Akirafist. In order to negotiate motor traffic, it's a good idea to get some training, first.

Sidewalk riding is dangerous. Motorists and pedestrians alike don't expect, or see, a fast-moving bicyclist to be cruising down the sidewalk, so you're more likely to get hit or cut off, or to even hit a person on foot with your bike.

Sidewalks are for people walking.

Some municipalities here forbid bicycle riding on the sidewalk. Here in Madison itself, it's illegal to bicycle on the sidewalk at any place where the building directly abuts the sidewalk. I saw a cyclist on a sidewalk (with a directly-abutting building) get hit by a car coming out of a driveway; this underscored the logic of this ordinance.

In any event, sidewalk riding has its hazards. If you have traffic regularly speeding on surface streets by 50-75% of the speed limit, your community has problems that go way beyond bicycling. The community needs to get together and create changes that will stop, or at least severely limit, this practice. Traffic light timing and citizen "pace car" exercises are just a couple of the possibilites that come to mind immediately.

I'm extremely new, so be gentle. I've read in other threads that sidewalk riding is illegal in many states. Why is this? I've seen kids coming out of school riding smaller bikes on the sidewalk, teens about 14-17 riding there, mom's riding with their children, and older guys on lowrider bicycles - all on sidewalks. Is there a certain age range that you must drive on the street, or just a certain type of bicycle?

In many states of Australia the law says that only children under the age of 12 are permitted to ride on the footpath/sidewalk, and that may be the case in your part of the world. Of course, to get an idea of what the law says, actually reading it will be a better guide than watching the actions of others.

From a safety perspective I wouldn't recommend anyone ride on the footpath. Heck, I find walking on it unnerving from time to time. Your biggest danger will come from people pulling out of driveways and so on without looking for you, you're more chance of being seen by these people (and have more time to react) when riding on the road. As far as the honks go, I get them virtually everyday. After 10 years or so riding around here and being honked/abused daily, I no longer care about them.

All good points, thanks for the tips. I'm stalking Mapquest to find a new route that hopefully will have less traffic. I normally love the freeway sidestreet and there's a huge stretch of it with no traffic whatsoever, but so arrive in that area, I have to cross two hellish intersections with no "bike lane" or emergency lane to speak of. It's literally FROGGER trying to get across when the light turns green (crossing freeway onramp, then another down the road).

Don't take the maps for gospel. Look carefully for streets that appear to dead end. Often times there's a 50' connector path to the next street. Cars can't go through but bikes and peds can. A parallel route along with these connectors can be fun to explore.

Here in WA, we have multi-use trails (allows bikes to ride on a glorifed sidewalk). Where bikes are allowed there seems to be a strange set of posts that act as a "on-ramp". Of course nothing is written down. My point is that if you go exploring, you may find more than just streets and sidewalks.

I've only had accidents on the sidewalks. Cars can't see me, and I can't see them. As you get better you'll be able to get to the light before the guy that just gassed you takes off, and look at him like he made an ass of himself to sit at a red light. They'll know too, man that tees them off. They won't even look at me now, they know, I love that, watching them squirm, cause they were a total dink.
In Minneapolis there are a number of areas that have the circle with the line through it over a bike painted on the sidewalk, but it does nothing to deter people. I think that is where a lot of our bad rap comes from, not from riding in the street, but on the sidewalk.
Tonight on my commute home, through the traffic that was still downtown for the Timber Wolves game (drunks). I watched this dude on a bicycle weave all over the sidewalk. Well, he saw me and got down in the street and weaved all over in front of me, coming close to getting hit by a car. As I passed him I made a snide remark (me?) about he was doing better up on the sidewalk. I guessed I teed him off, cause he decided to ride harder, and run red lights, like he had something to prove. He did, he was proving he was a bigger dummy than I first thought. He had no reflectors, or blinkies, so was totally in the shadows as cars approached him. He was wearing dark clothing, and was all over the road to boot. I had to chuckle cause he was also peddling way over his MHR, and couldn't shake me, even though I stopped for the lights, and traffic. Finally he pulled off, and coasted out of sight under a street light.
I bring it up only cause here was a guy that was dangerous on the street or on the sidewalk. It's just not smart. I take alternate routes, and explore other avenues than ride a sidewalk. I know I'm in the minority, but I'd rather be in the minority than a statistic.

Aside from local laws, I personally look at all the variables and try to do what's the safest. There's a few stretches on where I ride were I almost alway uses the sidewalk because the fairly narrow street is full of cars full of young kids and families eating ice cream cones on thier way to cruise the beach (which is cool), and I'll be straight..I just feel safer on the sidewalk there. Call me paranoid if you like. If however, there's more than a pedestrian or two already on the sidewalk, than I will take the street and jump onto the sidewalk after I pass them. I'm usually only going about 13-16 mph, and I've got MTB tires, so it's alot easier for me to do this than for someone doing 25 on a road bike.
I also bear in mind that I need to keep the eyes open as I approach the entry/exits of the ice cream shop and other key points, espcicially if I'm on the sidewalk as I pass by.
Actually, there's another busy street with no shoulder along that same part of town I that I ride the sidewalk on also, for just a couple of blocks. Once again, if I'm going out around 5:00pm, there's a ton of cars on my side with sun in their eyes, so you'll see me on the sidewalk there to.
I try to find alternate routes as well to avoid non-bike friendly streets whenever possible, but will admit that I resort to the occasional sidewalk when I beleive it's much safer, and I'm not ashamed to admit it :)
-jeff

Sidewalks are bad m'kay. Don't ride on them m'kay

Seriously The vehicle codes of all 50 nifty united states allow you to ride on the road (some insist on it) so do it.

Sidewalk riding is dangerous. Motorists and pedestrians alike don't expect, or see, a fast-moving bicyclist to be cruising down the sidewalk, so you're more likely to get hit or cut off, or to even hit a person on foot with your bike.

As with any law, or with any rule of thumb, it is important
to use your own common sense, too. There's one hill here in
Seattle I used to ride up in the street. Now, when I take it at
all, I take it on the sidewalk. Why?

The hill is not the worse, and it's not long. It's a nice, straight
stretch of road, two lanes in both directions, but starting from
an intersection of one-lane roads and ending in an intersection
of mostly one-lane roads, so the traffic is usually not bad, and
the lanes, although not expansive, are wide enough to share.

One day I was chugging up the road and some kind of truck
passed me, too close. Something brushed the TOP of my
shoulder, and I heard it go by my ear. It was a metal panel/lid
to some side compartment hanging open. If it had been any closer
it would have taken my head open. If it had been any lower it
could easily have taken my arm off. A passenger in the truck
yelled at me to get off the road.

Although they were completely, 100% wrong, and obviously
jerks as well, I took their advice immediately, and have never
ridden that stretch of road again. (I wish I had had the presence
of mind to take their license plate number as well, but I was
so flushed with relief at being alive, by the time it occurred to
me, they were well up the hill.)

My uphill pace is sufficiently slow that I am no danger to
pedestrians.

So, if there's a law against sidewalk riding here in Washington State,
I'll happily break it in that location. And I can't imagine anyone
enforcing it there, either.

Common sense is a good faculty. Cultivate it.

I dont know 'bout other countries but here in malaysia it's ok to ride on the side walk due to less people riding on it... but still, like dskunk wrote "Riding on the sidewalk is more dangerous", common sense is still the best "gear".

One day I was chugging up the road and some kind of truck
passed me, too close. Something brushed the TOP of my
shoulder, and I heard it go by my ear. It was a metal panel/lid
to some side compartment hanging open. If it had been any closer
it would have taken my head open. If it had been any lower it
could easily have taken my arm off. A passenger in the truck
yelled at me to get off the road.


I get this sort of rubbish everyday. I'm still not willing to risk the footpath/sidewalk where it would be just as bad (yes, people do drive and park on them around here). If anything a driver does really worries me, I just call the cops. A lecture from a police officer generally puts a stop to it.

When the wheel size is 26" and larger, cycling on the sidewalks is illegal here.

But in general, it's more dangerous to ride on the sidewalks - motorists aren't expecting you there and when they make right or left turns, you run a greater risk of being hit ... unless you're prepared to come to a stop at every intersection and check for traffic from all directions.

One day I was chugging up the road and some kind of truck
passed me, too close. Something brushed the TOP of my
shoulder, and I heard it go by my ear...A passenger in the truck
yelled at me to get off the road.
Drivers like this should be forced off the road. Sometimes trucks try this crap on the freeway when I'm driving, like riding my bumper. My wife once had a truck do this to her and she had to stop suddenly. The truck behind her skidded and tapped her rear bumper just hard enough to punch some small holes in it.
These drivers need to be removed from the road, period, no excuses.

I used to live in Seattle, WA, and please if there is someone here lives there correct me if you can. It's sort of... illegal to drive on street, why? Because the sidewalk in WA is huge, and there usually not many pedestrians on there. I got yelled from drivers many times tell me to get to the sidewalk (not that I was riding slow).

I even think it's considerate if I drive on sidewalk, because on the stree when there is only one lane, you don't block any traffic because if you drive on street with one lane, most of the times the drivers will not pass you.

Note: Unlike NY drivers, people in WA are very nice.

I used to live in Seattle, WA, and please if there is someone here lives there correct me if you can. It's sort of... illegal to drive on street, why? Because the sidewalk in WA is huge, and there usually not many pedestrians on there. I got yelled from drivers many times tell me to get to the sidewalk (not that I was riding slow).

I even think it's considerate if I drive on sidewalk, because on the stree when there is only one lane, you don't block any traffic because if you drive on street with one lane, most of the times the drivers will not pass you.

Note: Unlike NY drivers, people in WA are very nice.

What? That made no sense.

What? That made no sense.

I think it made sense if it's true. He said that it's illegal to ride in the street because the sidewalks are large enough to hold bike traffic. But I live in NYC so have no idea first hand.

I ride anywhere there is solid ground. Most of my riding is done on the sidewalk.

We ride on the subway platforms here also.

I used to live in Seattle, WA, and please if there is someone here lives there correct me if you can. It's sort of... illegal to drive on street, why? Because the sidewalk in WA is huge, and there usually not many pedestrians on there. I got yelled from drivers many times tell me to get to the sidewalk (not that I was riding slow).

Just because a driver told you to do something doesn't mean they are right, or that the even know the laws pertaining to bicycles. Believe it or not, driver ignorance is not beyond the realms of possibility.



I even think it's considerate if I drive on sidewalk, because on the stree when there is only one lane, you don't block any traffic because if you drive on street with one lane, most of the times the drivers will not pass you.

Considerate to whom? I've been a pedestrian in that situation plenty of times, and I have some pretty definite ideas about where people should "drive".


Note: Unlike NY drivers, people in WA are very nice.

They don't sound like what I'd refer to as "nice" on the basis of this post. To me they sound more like selfish, uninformed yobs.

...I even think it's considerate if I drive on sidewalk, because on the stree when there is only one lane, you don't block any traffic because if you drive on street with one lane, most of the times the drivers will not pass you...

That's the whole point. If a slow moving motor vehicle (e.g., a farm tractor, here in Wisconsin) is in the lane, following cars legally do not pass without entering the left lane, when clear. That is the safe way, and the correct way, to pass a slower moving vehicle that is occupying a narrow lane. The same goes for a bicycle occupying a narrow lane. When riding in that situation, it is important to not hug the curb, but to ride out away from the curb, so that motorists know that it is unsafe to try and pass while in the same lane.

Being considerate is adhering to the motor vehicle laws -- the same ones everyone in a motor vehicle were tested on, and passed, when they received their license. It would be inconsiderate if everyone just went about interpreting the law as they see fit.

Let's be careful not to take one or two bad personal experiences and use that to justify unlawful and dangerous behavior. If we all did that, well, you get the point...

It is illegal to ride on the sidewalk here too; the police put a reminder in the local paper last week. But here is the thing, I live in a city that has like many others grown too big for it's road system. The main drag used to have one lane of traffic in each direction and a parking lane on each side. A long time ago the parking lanes were converted to driving lanes as well. So now we have two lanes of traffic in each direction. The problem is the parking lanes were never meant for driving on and are not very wide; in fact the water drainage section of the road is part of the driving lane as well so cars drive right up to the curb. The result is we now have heavy traffic on two not so wide lanes in each direction.

And to make things worse the lanes are also very beat up from years of abuse. They have been torn up countless times for sewer repair and whatnot. They have potholes everywhere and are unrideable for a roadbiker who one doesnt wish to destroy his wheels and two doesn't wish to be hit by a car.

I work on the other end of this long main street and my company promotes and provides incentives for biking to work, but I have a hell of a time actually doing it. I will not ride my road bike on the road and will get a ticket if I ride my Mtn. bike on the sidewalks.

It's just so frustrating! I want to ride my bike to work but the system of roads just suck and the police won't allow riding on the sidewalk. I keep hoping for the day when they finally repave the roads, but I won't hold my breath. And even if they do repave the roads I will still be stuck with two too-thin lanes to ride on.....
I live 3.6 miles from work and 2.6 of the miles are nearly unrideable/unsafe for bikers. It really makes me sad :(

It is illegal to ride on the sidewalk here too; the police put a reminder in the local paper last week. But here is the thing, I live in a city that has like many others grown too big for it's road system. The main drag used to have one lane of traffic in each direction and a parking lane on each side. A long time ago the parking lanes were converted to driving lanes as well. So now we have two lanes of traffic in each direction. The problem is the parking lanes were never meant for driving on and are not very wide; in fact the water drainage section of the road is part of the driving lane as well so cars drive right up to the curb. The result is we now have heavy traffic on two not so wide lanes in each direction.

And to make things worse the lanes are also very beat up from years of abuse. They have been torn up countless times for sewer repair and whatnot. They have potholes everywhere and are unrideable for a roadbiker who one doesnt wish to destroy his wheels and two doesn't wish to be hit by a car.

I work on the other end of this long main street and my company promotes and provides incentives for biking to work, but I have a hell of a time actually doing it. I will not ride my road bike on the road and will get a ticket if I ride my Mtn. bike on the sidewalks.

It's just so frustrating! I want to ride my bike to work but the system of roads just suck and the police won't allow riding on the sidewalk. I keep hoping for the day when they finally repave the roads, but I won't hold my breath. And even if they do repave the roads I will still be stuck with two too-thin lanes to ride on.....
I live 3.6 miles from work and 2.6 of the miles are nearly unrideable/unsafe for bikers. It really makes me sad :(

So what have you done about it? Have you told the city about this problem? Have you worked with local or national advocacy groups to try to change the city planning mindset? Have you joined a bicycle advocacy group?

Hoping for change will do nothing. We all have a choice: either be a victim of the situation, or become a part of the solution.

You have me there.

I have donated 4x to League of American Bicyclists but do not actively try to change things at the local level. I just feel like thee is nothing I can do to change the situation. It would cost millions to repave the road and even more to widen it to support bicycle traffic. Also the landowners would lose more property to the road expansion and that never goes well.

I don't know if I'm a pessimist, a realist or just plain lazy.

I don't think anyone, not even delivery guys, can ride a bike at more than 10mph on a regular city side walk in the middle of the day unless you have a cowcatcher in front of your bike.

I don't think anyone, not even delivery guys, can ride a bike at more than 10mph on a regular city side walk in the middle of the day unless you have a cowcatcher in front of your bike.
I agree. The only ones I see on the sidewalk are the delivery guys and people cutting through areas anyway. I do it if I get caught in an area where I have to use the sidewalk.

I have to admit, if I have to, I will use a sidewalk, like sometimes when a street is so crowded with car traffic that I can't pass, I'll stop, get off and walk onto the sidewalk (never fly on to a sidewalk at full speed) and then if the sidewalk is clear, I will ride down it only till the intersection then I will rejoin traffic pass the choke point (garbage truck, etc).

I never ride on the sidewalks.

First, I find it to be really dangerous. Cars aren't looking for you, ped's aren't expecting you, and there are too many places where things can just go wrong.

Second, I ride a recumbent. The first thing to hit a ped/car/door will be my front chainring. While this seems amusing after someone has pissed me off, barreling into a pedestrian exiting their favorite coffee house and ripping their thigh apart would ruin my day quite handily.

Finally, and probably most importantly, when I'm riding as a part of traffic, I find that more drivers treat me as a part of traffic. Now, some of them might get upset, and that's part of life. If they get aggro, I have either my horn, my pepper spray, or my cell phone as a tool. If they jump out and threaten me, they'll get sprayed. If they assualt me with their vehicle, the cops will be notified and I will press charges. If they are about to do something which endangers me, a toot from the horn usually startles them into correcting that mistake.

Finally, riding in the roadway makes a statement which paves the way for others to do so. As more bicycles are seen in traffic, more drivers will become used to their presence, and learn to cohabitate. Except in the Gold Coast, where it seems those who drive will never change. ;-)

All good points, thanks for the tips. I'm stalking Mapquest to find a new route that hopefully will have less traffic. I normally love the freeway sidestreet and there's a huge stretch of it with no traffic whatsoever, but so arrive in that area, I have to cross two hellish intersections with no "bike lane" or emergency lane to speak of. It's literally FROGGER trying to get across when the light turns green (crossing freeway onramp, then another down the road).

Don't stop there. Looks for "dead end streets" with small foot paths that joint to the next street. Some cities use special signs that indicate that foot traffic and bikes can still get through. Others have unmarked bike trails. Some even have maps of the best bike routes that you can view on the web or purchase a printed copy.

What confuses me is when they post signs *asking* bike to use the crosswalk and sidewalk! What-the-Hello kitty?

> I can't fathom wiping out on the street or having a flattire with a car .0001 meters

Don't worry, if you get a flat, the bike won;t just roll over on you. Unless maybe you're on a super steep decent.

...unless you have a cowcatcher in front of your bike.

Whaza cowcatcher?????

Whaza cowcatcher?????

One of these. It's good for pushing pedestrians aside as you ride.

Our area has bike lanes that are generally ok but out in the burbs the city planners still require sidewalks, curbs & planter strips, so there are places you can ride for a mile or more without any cross streets, driveways or pedestrians. As many have said, use your head. A 4 foot or sometimes 8 foot wide sidewalk looks pretty appealing when compared to a 2 foot bike lane with 50 mile an hour traffic in the next lane.