tomcryar

I do not have any faith in "your" ignorance....................

tomcryar

I ride quite a bit on the sidewalks, and I usually average 10-15 miles a day. I would say that was fairly frequent riding. "faith" does not lead to poor decisions, inattention and inexperience leads to poor decisions.

obscenesimian

Thats a good first step. You are beginning to learn, Grasshopper.

tomcryar

Thank you, father. At which point does the novice cycler become the master?

vrkelley

Well I never rode on the sidewalk untill seeing this thread about a year ago. Bellevue doesn't do left turns, so to get to my bldg, I have to go around the block, and down a total of 3 blocks out of my way - plus sit at a light. Untill...I discovered, that at the light, I can hop on the sidewalk and go across the bridge less than a block (no driveways)...

I've been converted

tomcryar

As long as you do it legally, sidewalks can be good choice for parts of commutes. Make sure you find out if it's okay to ride on the sidewalk in that area.

vrkelley

Agreed... I'm not THAT converted. Around here, when the MUP ends, they force you onto the sidewalk to cross roads etc.

noisebeam

Here is a City of Phoenix, AZ 2000 study - with data on number of sidewalk and x-walk accidents.
Check pages 12 and 16
https://azbikelaw.org/Bikestudy00.ppt

Al

rando

yes, 17% of accidents happened on the sidewalk. 40% of them happened in the street! crosswalks are dangerous, yes!

the vast majority of people who had accidents in this study were teenagers also, if I'm reading it correctly.

noisebeam

40% in x-walk+18% sidewalk = 58% 'pedestrian mode' accidents

However all this is meaningless as the numbers are not rates, but totals.

Al

tomcryar

If riding on the sidewalk were so f-ing dangerous, then there wouldn't be so many people doing it!

LittleBigMan

Maybe.

I started out riding on the sidwalk, until I got so many near misses at driveways. Add to that the uneven bumpy surface, signposts, storm drains, pedestrians, glass, open cracks...none for me, thanks!

AlmostTrick

Most people who ride on the sidewalk are not going fast, and typically don't ride very far . If you want to ride at a good rate and actually get somewhere quickly, (without a collision) few sidewalks will allow for this. I hardly ever have to slow down on my streets. I could only safely ride sidewalks at a highly reduced pace, being ready to stop at any intersection or for any pedestrian.

wheel

MY 2 cents,
Aside from using the side walk for small portions when needed, these people amaze me.
Why work harder than you have to?
I watch people on sidewalks going up and down grades, over bumps, around obstacles. I say do they like this challenge? How can you feel safer with all that going on? More importantly how long would that take to do 15 miles of sidewalk?

I think these people ride like when they were children.

Today a person was trying to be fast on a sidewalk. Talk about Pathetic.

I was taking my lane (taking my time) watching him fly on the sidewalk and then through an intersection, As a motorcycle pulled up at the same time and stopped short to let him by (had a stop sign). I then was entering the intersection with the right away. I looked at the motorcyclist smiled and shrugged my shoulders, he smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

It was a wierd moement in time where we were both like WTF!

tomcryar

Who had the stop sign?

wheel

Today I saw a cyclist with a ANSI 1 vest and no helmet riding on a sidewalk.

The other day I saw cyclist thats was on a sidewalk. There was bicycle lane and a street with traffic claming even 25mph.

noisebeam

We live in sidewalk riding hell.

Even when I ride in 25mph quiet low traffic, wide roads I very often see grown adults riding on sidewalk.

Al

tomcryar

That was probably me. Thanks for noticing!

wheel

Yeah if all those cyclist took to the streets we would have a critical mass roaming about.

c0urt

i dont know if it helps any,

but i have to ride down international drive in orlando to get to work, i am on and off the sidewalk on that strech because there are very narrow shoulders, and I got hit by a mirror a few weeks ago. but sidewalks suck on the whole, i think they do more damage to my rims than potholes

i wish i lived in an area with either good bike lanes or less traffic, but sometimes you have to take what you can get


oh at night i ride a pedal cab, for some reason i am under the impression we have to keep those on the sidewalk as much as possible

powerhouse

This is what happened only a few days ago.

One rainy night I was walking on the sidewalk to to a convenience store down the block for a few grocery items. For visibility, I wore a blinking white light that was strapped to my forehead and leg bands with blinking yellow lights. As I began to step around a deep pool of water, a cyclist riding in the opposite direction almost ran me down. He was riding at a rapid speed, his bicycle wasn't equipped with any lights or reflectors, and he didn't call out to let me know he was approaching. WTF?

As a fellow cyclist, there have been times when I have needed to ride on sidewalks. To that end, I proceed cautiously, make sure that I am visible, and call out to people if I'm not. Should the sidewalk be too crowded, I dismount and walk my bicycle until I can continue on the sidewalk as before or resume riding in the street.

I don't support riding on the sidewalks unless it is necessary and safe for everyone.

tomcryar

You actually walk a block with lights? I'm not buying it.

SunFlower

I have had numerous friends hit by cars while riding their bikes. All of them were in the street. I have had no friends hit by cars while riding on the sidewalk.

tomcryar

And you probably never will. People who ride on the sidewalk, I think, are more skilled than those who ride only in the streets. They have to deal with more, and they adjust, unlike those that think the streets belong to them.

Bikepacker67

More proof that God looks out for drunks and fools.