Originally Posted by genec
You can't drive around another car within the same lane... nor can you take a car into a shop if you can't find parking. No, I am afraid the differences between a ped and cyclist are far fewer than the differences between a bike and a car.
In most lanes in my area, I can't ride a bike around a car in the same lane either. What does parking a bike have to do with what we are discussing?
Originally Posted by genec
You were contrasting mobility and speed, and using speed and differing mobility to illustrate why bikes and peds don't mix... but that same difference in speed and mobility exist between bikes and cars... yet you insist that they should mix... do you not find a bit of a dichotomy in that?
Maybe you're confused or I'm not being clear enough. I did reread my posts and found nothing misleading in them though. I wasn't talking about why bikes and peds don't mix due to speed. I was talking about how cyclists, even at ped speeds, have a much easier time operating as vehicles than as peds. My examples included stepping up onto curbs or moving off the edge of the roadway without stopping. These are both situations where a runner who decided to slow down to pedestrian speeds could easily go into pedestrian mode when previously operating as a vehicle. A cyclist could not, at least not without dismounting first. Due to this limitation that cyclists have, it's easier for them to stick to operating strictly as vehicles then switching back and forth between two different modes. Note that I am saying nothing about JAM's who don't want to slow down.
Originally Posted by genec
An even larger contrast exists when you consider that both the ped and cycist have in common the fact that they are human powered, whereas most other road using vehicles are powered by a fuel which results in the equvilent of several horses of power.
So what? Quite often, motorists are travelling as less than ped speeds and even more commonly, less than average cycling speed.
Originally Posted by genec
Again, the greater differences exist between motorists using cars and cyclists using bikes.
In regards to what a cyclist needs to operate efficiently and what a motorist needs to operate efficiently, compared to what a pedestrian can get by with, I don't think the differences are that great. Because cyclists use the same facilities as motorists though, those facilities are all wider than we need them to be. I see little reason to complain about this other than environmental reasons.
Originally Posted by genec
Your orginal comment regarding ped speed seems pretty lame at this point.
My original comment had to do with runners acting as vehicles while at running speed and acting as peds while at walking speed. What is so lame about that? Or are you talking about a different comment?