GlennR

I wouldn't know since I don't ride on sidewalks.

I guess since I live in a suburban area where sidewalks have pavement breaks and 3 feet and there is and intersection every 1/10 mile, you're not going to get very far. Now if you live in a community were the "sidewalks" are really MUPs and you tend to ride around 6mph then I can see using them. But if you ride faster you are a danger to others.... from what I see.

indyfabz

See my amended post.

I live in a city where at least one MUP is used more by pedestrians than cyclists and, thus, is akin to a sidewalk. Most sidewalk riding in the city is illegal if you are over the age of 12. Even if you are not, it's still illegal in certain areas.

GlennR

I would not ride that path, I would feel safer in the street. Others can decide for themselves.

zarbog

There are numerous locations in our city where the offramps from the high speed city bypass dump the cars onto the main throughfairs. Crosswalks at these locations have signs telling cyclists to dismount and use the crosswalk.
There are also quite a few new additions to some of our stoplights. These have a bike logo encorporated into them that lights up red or green. Waiting at a light for the green bike sign to light up is a great way to not get a fine for running a red light.

It is against the law to ride on the sidewalk in this city.

rumrunn6

the OP posed a general question so we're having a field day with all the possibilities across the planet. personally I have a crossing that honestly I have no idea if I'm doing it correctly. there's a crossing light for bikes & pedestrians & we have separate paths across the street. as far as I know the peds walk & the bikes roll. but what puzzles me is what happens at the end. I mean I know what happens at the end I just don't know what the planners planned. because the bike crossing is for a "Commuter Bikeway" & the bikes have to cross over the peds path to continue on the "Commuter Bikeway". Peds can also walk on the bikeway. so we're segregated to cross the road but then it's a free-for-all mish-mash at the other side

I have a better, more crowded clip, just haven't uploaded it to youtube. this looks kinda tame

tagaproject6

Subscribing just to read the comments :

noimagination

I find the emphatic statements against riding on the sidewalk puzzling. Yes, in most circumstances riding on the road is vastly preferable to riding on the sidewalk, for a multitude of reasons (not least being the safety of both the rider and pedestrians). Yes, in many locales riding on the sidewalk is prohibited.

However, I don't see anyone advocating riding on the sidewalk, so the arguments about it don't make any sense. And, there are some circumstances where riding on the sidewalk is justifiable, for example riding adjacent to a multi-lane high speed road for a short distance to connect parts of a ride.

Using the crosswalk does not necessarily imply riding on the sidewalk. The question was about using the crosswalk, not riding on the sidewalk.

delbiker1 

There is probably not one poster in this thread that has never been on their bike in a crosswalk.

wphamilton

Crosswalks and walk signals might as well not exist in my area, because of the drivers who do not honor them. I'd rather ride in the lane with traffic than walk in the crosswalk, with or without a bike.

Technically, here and in most jurisdictions vehicles are prohibited in the crosswalks on streets so we have to dismount and walk to be legal. In practice it makes no difference, unless someone runs over you in which case you're potentially at fault if you're riding.

rumrunn6

I think there's a button to subscribe w/o having to post a comment, but I like popcorn

Kedosto

The only time I ever dismount and walk my bike across the street using the crosswalk (or not) is when I'm openly crossing against a red light and there's a police officer in the vicinity. If I roll through the red, it's a moving violation which will affect my driving record and, by extension, my insurance premiums. If I dismount and jog my bike across, remount and pedal away, it's jaywalking. No moving violation, no misdemeanor... it's an infraction. I have yet to be cited for jaywalking. YMMV!


-Kedosto

mr_bill

In fact, in California, bicycle and pedestrian violations do not generate driving license points, nor do they effect your driving record.

But if you like jogging with your bike....

-mr. bill

sheddle

Seattle rules are "ride safely on sidewalks", which I generally do in specific cases like going against a one-way road for a single block or so (as opposed to doing the three-left-turns-around-the-block thing). I only ride through crosswalks if there's no other pedestrians waiting.

Also if it's a crowded sidewalk, just walk the bike for a block, jeez. We make fun of drivers all the time for blasting through in order to hit a red light ahead of cyclists, so at least be willing to take an extra 30 seconds to walk through a crowded bus stop or something.

dedhed

In his defense, the word "SIDEWALK" does not appear anywhere in the OP

Kedosto

Not exactly true. I never said bicycle violations incur points. Bicycle violations do not generate points, but they're still recorded to your license or California ID.

I'm not sure where we're at with assembly bill AB-902. It's a bill to allow "driving school" for bicycle violations, in lieu of monetary fines.


-Kedosto

delbiker1 

As I stated in an earlier post. In my opinion, this thread is another example of someone reading a post, not the OP, just what they want to read, and then changing the subject. Then proceeding to proselytize on the subject they inserted.

mstateglfr 

I dont dismount to cross streets at crosswalks. I have taught my kids to not dismount at crosswalks. There is no reason I can see why it is safer. The odds they fall off their bike while crossing at a crosswalk are the same as falling over while walking. There are kids- who knows what goofed up thing they will do?!? No rhyme or reason to it.

autonomy

So... not knowing the whole story, is there a local law that states that a cyclist is not allowed to dismount in a crosswalk on a MUP? I just can't see that happening. What if were simply walking my bike on the MUP because it was broken or I was tired or... whatever? Why would it matter what object I had with me if I were crossing on foot? What if it was a unicycle? What if it was a giraffe?

'round here drivers won't stop for you even as a pedestrian, despite the state law threatening up to $200 fine. If you dismount and have a bike with you, even worse. People see the bike and ignore you. Try to cross on a bike = you're completely invisible and if anything happens, at fault. So unless on a MUP and there are no cars or drivers are clearly stopped to let me go, I dismount and push my bike a little bit in front of me with the message of: "Hey, I'm a pedestrian in a crosswalk... you better stop for me, because if you happen to hit this bicycle that I'm touching, that's not going to work out well for your record"


Ahh, lovely place. And you have to watch out for other cyclists passing you on the right and cutting that corner. Plus as you're rounding the bend near the visitor's 'shack' and opposite the two people walking shoulder-to-shouler, imagine that someone decides to pass them in the opposite lane through a blind corner...

GlennR

Looks like the OP was scared off.

KraneXL

Help me out here. How would using the crosswalk effect a cyclist on the road?

OBoile

FYI, it's illegal to ride a bike though a pedestrian crossing in Ontario.

wolfchild

Yes I know what the law says...I live in the suburbs and police never pay much attention to cyclists around here. I've ridden through crosswalks right in front of a police many times and was never confronted about it. I've also seen bicycle cops ride through cross walks even though the law says not to do it. It's also a law to have lights on your bicycle but sometimes I ride like a ninja and have my lights turned off and was never bothered by cops.

wolfchild

Maybe it was all the legalistic vehicular cyclists that scared OP off.

wolfchild

Tell that to roadies and club riders...I've seen countless roadies who come to a red light and instead of stopping and waiting they swerve into a pedestrian cross walk and continue riding as if red lights don't even exist...and yet those very same roadies despise other cyclists who ride on sidewalks and MUPS and do the same thing. Every single cyclist on this forum has broken the law at one time or another.

KraneXL

Police go after big ticket items. They ticket cyclist and pedestrians when they're bored and have nothing better to do, or someone complains and that becomes their mission.