Dealing With Aggressive Pedestrians/Runners

I ride in Chicago and try to survive (fodder for another thread). One thing that is annoying and threatening are the runners/wa;kers in the street going against traffic. I think they like softer asphalt rather than the sideWALK.
Usually I have space to get by, but some don't hug the curb,and some go two or three abreast (not being sexist here). This forces the cyclist out into the middle of the traffic lane, which usually has traffic. They refuse to hop on the sideWALK, and cuss if one rings their bell.

How do you urban riders deal with similar situations?

No we are getting electric scooters added to the mix!
gm

they can come out here for the great Columbia crossing , Astoria and have both lanes,
for a 10K competition run/walk

and social morning walk closed to traffic..

Otherwise its not legal to walk on the bridge, though you are a vehicle, on your bike..



(Last 'jumpers' abandoned their cars mid span.. )






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As I pass I often ask "Is the sidewalk broken?" I also tell men to shave their legs.

This. I'm now considering adding an admonition re. the correct use of starch.

Same happens here. Pedestrians will walk in the street with a sidewalk just feet away.

They do it for the same reason joggers do it. None of them want to pick their feet up but an inch or two off the ground. A street is much more level than a sidewalk that has rises and valleys in it. For people too lazy to watch the sidewalk and pick up their feet to keep from tripping, they just walk down the street on their "public" phone call oblivious to traffic. I think these type of pedestrians actually dare vehicle traffic to hit them.

Maybe experienced pedestrians and runners feel that the road is safer and are simply taking the lane.
Isn’t that ironic as a lot of narrow minded cyclists feel they can flaunt traffic laws and take the lane at will because they personally know what’s best...

Happens rarely around here on the city streets, but occasionally I will encounter one or two. They usually are moving against traffic and move over upon seeing me. If they are traveling in the same direction I give them room if traffic permits me to move over, otherwise I will call out, ring my bell, etc., which usually precipitates them moving aside. If they don't, I just slow and follow and pass when I can. This is accompanied usually by some gentle but suggestive comments.

Sometimes I come up behind a runner who seems to be on a 5 minute mile pace. Then I draft.

I have to say I hardly ever see runners in the street here and when I do they usually move over as much as possible. I'd never think of saying "get on the sidewalk" since I hear that enough myself, and they're allowed in the street anyway.

If I had bunches of them clogging up my lane I'd probably be annoyed. Even so, on the Greenway where I commute and sometimes run, even the big groups tend to be conscientious about getting out of the way. Maybe this is a cultural difference, Chicago vs South?

Get a Loud Bell and use it? I just have a quieter one, give a couple dings

as I approach from behind not going fast, and 3 abreast walkers and dog walkers

'Make a Hole' .. on the river side MUP..






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Sounds like broken infrastructure.

In all seriousness, bet it's challenging in a wheelchair, too.

Good point. Same with baby strollers, but to a much lesser degree.

A lot of mom's here will risk their infants and toddlers in the road with vehicle traffic for the smooth ride. The dad's I encounter seem more willing to lean or lift on the stroller handlebar to raise the front or rear wheels to go over concrete height differences.

Runners perspective: sidewalk sucks for running. For one, they are not exactly common in my town...Most that we do have are in horrible disrepair, completely unsafe to run on if it’s near dark. Also, they are too firm and in my experience result in more joint pain and increase chances of repetitive stress type injuries.

Still, I completely sympathize with the OP on this one. Every time a car or cyclist comes to pass me (not super common, because of the time of day I’m out) I move as close to the curb as I can. I see other runners/walkers who feel like they can claim the center of the road and other traffic should just “figure it out”. What I’ve noticed is 99.9% of drivers/cyclists are happy to give you a wide berth when you show them a little respect and move to the curb.

Fully agree with that. The runners around here run against traffic, so when I'm riding we rarely cross paths.

My puzzlement is mainly with pedestrians, not joggers or runners. The joggers around here run a stable and predictable course. The pedestrians around here do not walk a stable and predictable course. Plus, pedestrians will walk 3 or more wide so they can all talk to one another. Which can take up a whole lane.

Who do they think they are? Astronauts?

I don't have that problem to the same degree you do out here in civilization, but I've found that a 6' tall guy wearing a bright yellow shirt with a bright flashing light on the helmet and handlebars can be hard to miss when I pull over to the right and let the people on foot decide if they want to get further out in traffic or use the flat slab of concrete designed for foot traffic that is a few feet to the other side.

+1

The sidewalk is probably the least desirable surface to run on.


-Tim-

I used to be a really competitive runner with 60 mile average weeks for the year. Often that got close to 100 miles at peak time. I agree that sidewalks suck. Nothing like being really fatigued and trip over uneven concrete or bumps in asphalt from tree roots. But sloping surfaces to allow drainage on road shoulders is bad for knees too. My solution was ride my bike to a good spot to run.

Yes that’s true

I check the lane of traffic behind me and if it's possible, I swerve further out into the road to go around them. But if there is traffic, and it sounds like there usually is for the OP, I go in the other direction and put the peds between me and the traffic. When I do that, I try to act all nonchalant like it's normal because they shouldn't be out in the road. I have swerved out on occasion only to have a jogger coming toward me go even further out so he/she are passing me on the left. I try to be courteous at all times, but some people really try my patience.

They have the right to the road, like anyone. They don't have to use the sidewalk any more than you have to use the cycle lane.

Yes they're a pain in the asre for you, I guess, but it is what it is.

Ride defensively, give them room, signal other traffic if you intend to change position, give way where required, etc.

Stay alive, don't get sued.

I don't have sidewalks in my neighborhood. people do walk in the road and I am probably one of only three people who regularly ride bicycles. We just wave, smile and go about our business. I have lived in congested areas where people are hostile toward each other and did not enjoy the stupidity.

I would either take the lane forcing cars to follow me or stop dead in my tracks forcing the runners to go around me. especially those running 3 abreast? seriously?

Aggressive Walkers/RunnersHere in Boston, early morning darkness in the winter and early spring is training time for the Boston Marathon in mid-April, and I have been surprised by runners coming my way. So I've got to keep that in my mind, keep the headlight beams a little higher, and look farther ahead.

I grew up in Chicago in the 1960s and 70s (7000 North).

One of the things I took for granted until I moved away, is the incredibly vast "grid" system of streets in the city. With a few exceptions (Elston, Lincoln) I could simply move over one block and be able to ride down a less crowded street.

I tried to do that in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and sometimes do that here in Colorado Springs. How ever the nature of how the streets are laid out here leads to few or no options in some cases. On the other hand, there is far less traffic here than in Chicago.

I know Chicago streets are even more crowded now than 40 years ago, but sometimes your best option may not be the street with the bike lane.

Omg, I have to slow down and adjust to an easily perceived obstacle! The horrors!

I think this is the absolute least important issue facing cyclists today. I have more trouble with fallen branches in the road and avoiding running over turtles.