honestly i think that riding on the sidewalk is super dangerous. if you're only going 5-8mph i assume that would be actually pretty fine. I mean, YMMV, but as long as you are very observant of pedestrians, you might be fine.

the thing about roads is that there are well defined rules which creates a highly predictable atmosphere.

riding with pedestrians is very unpredictable. nobody expects to encounter a bicycle moving at a high rate of speed when they cross a bike path. (duh!) people don't look both ways when crossing bike paths. they stop dead in their tracks. they stand on teh wrong side of the path. it's scary becuase you don't know which way they will move to get out of your way. sidewalks are even worse because unless you are a kid you're basically not supposed to operate a vehicle on there. i guess that it is location specific, but sidewalks would typically have lots of telephone polls, pedestrians coming out of doors, thin sections if you had to pass somebody.

anyway if you are serious about vehicular cycling, then riding on the road is the best way to go. somebody like me who relies on my bike to get from point to point simply can not stay alive if i am forced off road onto sidewalks. I'd kill somebody or somebody would kill me.

What amazes me about this whole debate is the 'absoluteness' of it. Both sides say they're right 100% of the time. The fact is there are times when it's safer to ride on the street and there are times when it's safer to be on the sidewalk. Take the examples I gave. I feel much safer on the sidewalk than in that traffic circle or going up that hill. Now downtown is different. Most times you can't even walk on the sidewalks in Georgetown much less ride a bike. And the traffic is usually clogged up. So riding in the street is the way to go.

Not everyone rides the same roads or deals with the same drivers. Every place is unique.

Really? Let me quote my first message on the topic:

or perhaps my follow-up to I-Like-To-Bike:

or maybe my next response to him:

By the way, I-Like-To-Bike will not admit to having any position in the debate, he will simply say that he's against anyone who makes any claim of any kind.

a good read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bike_lane_debate

Awww. Don't be like that operator.

Fact is, parents tell there kids to "stay on the sidewalk" all the time. Unless someone does some research, they'll probably continue to think that's a safer way of riding.

/s

Half right I don't have a specific position on this issue. It is every cyclists right to make their own decisions on what is best for them WITHOUT Xpert Nannies hectoring them with voodoo studies about risk.

I am against self appointed Experts who repeat each other's specious rants/claims about cycling risk; Claims based on statements with no substantiation, or on sophomoric studies/reports that are devised and conducted from the outset to reach an agenda driven conclusion sought/believed by the so-called expert.

Do you have a specific list of members for the Committee for Appointing Experts then?

Or perhaps our lives should be guided by common sense reasoning alone. Riding on the sidewalks is safest. Streets are too dangerous for cycling, but if you must ride in the street, ride facing traffic for maximum visibility.

Me, I'm going to take a look at this fancy new math and get with the 19th century.

What idiocy.

A good read indeed if you want to read a screed about bike lanes written by a John Forester wanna be.

It appears that all wikipedia entries on bicycle facilities are written by Forester disciples. One bit of truth stands out as evident:
"Caution is required when approaching discussions of the topic. Some of the claims and counter-claims regarding cycle facilities might be best interpreted as competing ideological doctrines rather than established engineering truths. The use of such devices has been a source of a great deal of controversy since the 1930s and some commentators inaccurately use various terms interchangeably. In some cases this is done out of simple ignorance but in other cases this may result from deliberate attempts to confuse matters that involve serious accusations related to fatality, injury and legal culpability."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segrega...cle_facilities

Those who can't (or choose not to) differentiate between sidewalks and sidepaths should consider that some states including California mandate cycling on a sidepath if it is present rather than an adjacent highway. If Sidewalks=Sidepaths then California cylists should ALL be riding on sidewalks when present. Fortunatly it is only an academic/rhetorical problem in that sidepaths as distinct from sidewalks hardly exist outside of parks in the US.

The bottom line here is that if you are going to be riding around a lot of pedestrians go slower and be very careful. I try to give them the right of way where possible when I'm on a sidewalk. Every situation is different so it is up to the cyclist to be aware, just like it is up to the driver when you are behind the wheel.

Can't we all just get along? (okay, probably not)