Originally Posted by
lil brown bat
CMY, what are your sidewalks like, and what kinds of speeds can you ride on them? I'm picturing them as very different from the ones that I see, which (in addition to having a lot of peds, so many that sometimes it's hard to keep from bumping into people if you're walking) are often narrow and/or partially impeded with mailboxes, newspaper boxes, trash cans, lightposts, bus shelters, trees, ornamental planters, hot dog carts, etc. I just can't ride at the sort of pace I'd need to ride at to not run into people on these sidewalks -- literally, I'd be going so slow I'd fall over like Artie Johnson.
1. I'm not concerned about speed, and I never pay attention to that.
It's about not ending up as roadkill.
2. They are usually as pictured above- empty, except occasionally at one of the intersections that has a bus stop and bench. Nobody really walks in L.A.
[Edit: Here's another way to look at them- it's like this when I ride, unless I happen across another bike.]