Living Car Free - Cyclist Strikes and Kills Pedestrian

I know this should probably be on A&S but since this topic comes up a lot here on LCF I thought I would share. Thoughts?

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1048256--cyclists-defend-using-sidewalk-where-pedestrian-was-struck-and-killed

What are the details of the accident that killed the pedestrian? The article doesn't mention that crucial bit of information.

I am philosophically opposed to cycling on sidewalks; bicycles belong on the road. However, that doesn't prevent me from doing so if I feel it's the only safe option. :p In mega-suburbia, where the through roads are few, high-speed, and heavily traveled, and where almost no one walks, I view the wide, deserted sidewalks as a low-rent MUP. Closer to the center of town, it's almost always easier and safer to ride on the street, but on those very rare occasions where using the sidewalk becomes necessary, I ride at close to walking speed (<4mph), and if there are more than 2-3 people on the sidewalk in any given block, I will even get off and walk the bike for a bit. (Riding on the sidewalk is legal where I live.)

Looking at the video I would probably ride the pavement also but wouldn't endanger pedestrians. This highlights poor road design that endangers pedestrians and cyclists. Enforcement of by-laws against cycling on the pavement would lead to more deaths.

The solution should be an engineering one.

The solution should be an engineering one.

Yeah, riding on a sidewalk when there are peds isn't cool. Neither is riding on a fast highway when there's so much traffic that it's hard for motorists to move over safely when they overtake you. All you can do is take the outer lane and let traffic back up behind you. Then you can pull over to the right whenever there's a safe place to do so and let some of the accumulated traffic pass you. (This is similar to how slow trucks and buses handle mountain roads.)

To fix the problem, they should widen the outer lane and make it either a sharrow or a bike lane. Another alternative would be to make a sidepath for bikes parallel to the pedestrian sidewalk. It looks like there is space for either solution along most of the road, although there area few squeeze points.