Originally Posted by
Buzzatronic
Here's the situation, you guys tell me what I can do better. First a diagram of the area:
1. Dedicated MUP. I cross in the crosswalk with peds and other bikes
2. I take a right onto the sidewalk
3. I take it slow on the sidewalk (under 10mph) because I don't like being there in the first place
4. I cross at the cross walk and take a left into the bike lane.
I agree that you should - ideally - pick to be either a pedestrian or a vehicle. But from a practical point of view, I'd hate to turn left from the main road onto the bike lane at [4] though: I can envision all sorts of nasty situations from drivers not paying attention, or even if you make a mistake in judgment one day because you're tired, distracted, etc.
Could you split the difference? Assuming the sidewalk is not heavily traversed by pedestrians, ride on the sidewalk at you do, but then dismount, cross the crosswalk at [3]/[4], and then resume cycling at [4]. It seems that it's not so much the sidewalk itself, but how you get from one side to the other that is the real issue. If you're dismounted and then walking across, it's pretty obvious you're using the crosswalk as a pedestrian.