Originally Posted by chephy

Yeah. Don't forget to add "get on the sidewalk"! Got chewed out by an ignorant driver the other day? Pay it forward! When that jogger gets into his car and runs you off the road (nothing personal, but bikes shouldn't use "car lanes", you know) the cycle will be complete.

How is this different from the behaviour of drivers who are inconvenienced by your presence in "their" lane and want you to get into... say, the door zone bike lane to the right? Or onto a parallel "glorified sidewalk" MUP with broken glass and dangers at every intersection? In both cases, the slower, more vulnerable road user finds the alternative provided unsuitable and uncomfortable for his or her purpose. In both cases he or she uses a more suitable space that faster road users feel they "own".

There is lots of stink raised on these boards about laws on mandatory use of cycling facilities where available (and rightly so). Then why change the stance so dramatically when it comes to mandatory use of pedestrian facilities, even if a pedestrian believes it's an inferior and/or unsafe facility? Are there even any laws in your area that enforce mandatory use of sidewalks? I know some areas have that, but do they all? And a better question is should they have that law, if a sizeable proportion of pedestrians find sidewalks inconvenient enough to use the adjacent roadway instead? Nobody really WANTS to run closer to exhaust and moving traffic, so just like cyclists who avoid sidewalks, joggers must have a good reason to do that.

I'm not a jogger, by the way, and have never been, but come on, people, there are obvious parallels here. Moreover, even as a non-jogging pedestrian I'm often unhappy about the sidewalks here: they are narrow and they are made of concrete that must be pretty annoying for anyone on wheels (wheelchairs, strollers). Why is it standard practice in North America to have concrete sidewalks anyhow? It's not like that everywhere in the world; asphalt works just fine, and most pedestrians (of the ones who give a hoot one way or the other anyway) would probably prefer it, since it's smoother and softer (hence easier on knees).

Before you say that jogging is just purely recreational, btw: I know people who use jogging for transportation (walking is too slow, but jogging is just right). Again, can't help but think of the drivers who say that bikes are all toys and used for recreation and hence shouldn't be allowed on the road....