groverdill

When I was a kid (about a thousand years ago it seems) we were taught to get off our bikes and walk them when crossing a street at a marked crosswalk. Is this still a thing? I don’t even know if it was an actual state/national law, or just the neighborhood overprotective moms trying to keep us kiddos safe. I see current day examples of both, people riding in crosswalks and people dismounting and walking across and it has me wondering if there are laws dictating the proper way to handle a marked crosswalk. 🤔

79pmooney

Look at your state and city laws. (One of the gifts of our founding fathers is that each state is autonomous and for the most part, gets to make up its own laws.)

Marcus_Ti

Depends on local law.

In My Fair City a few years ago a cyclist was riding a crosswalk with a full-stop pedestrian signal and markings. Motorist hit him turning right. IIRC, killing him. Motorist didn't get ticketed because the cyclist didn't dismount. Lincoln, NE had a city ordinance that you MUST dismount to cross a street in a ped-crossing. There was a push to change that ordinance after that.


BUT....And this is the kicker.

That was pedestrian crossings. an MUT/bike-trail, like we have everywhere, you are supposed to RIDE and NOT dismount. A man a few years ago was hit and cited for dismounting where he shouldn't have (driver was as well, but it was deemed both were at "fault")...it was news to him.

So saying things monolithically about this is impossible. It is all about local law. What applies in Lincoln, NE does not apply to Waverly NE up the road not even 10 miles.

wolfchild

I ride through and so do majority of other cyclists. Around my area nobody ever stops and dismounts.

Daniel4

If I'm physically in the pedestrian crosswalk, I walk my bike. If I intend to ride across, I ride outside of it where the cars drive.

GlennR

You should be riding in the road, crosswalks are for pedestrians.

JanMM

Where are you riding your bike? On a sidewalk? On the street? On a multiuse path that crosses a street?

gringomojado

here in Chicago, the wife of a friend dismounted to walk her bike thru a crosswalk. for "greater safety" and got mowed down. by a turning SUV

TimothyH

Children ride toy bicycles bikes on sidewalk and use crosswalks.

Bicycles with wheels > 20 inches are vehicles and belong in the road, not in the crosswalk. The crosswalk is for pedestrians.


-Tim-

Skipjacks

You assume a lot

I ride a rail trail regularly that has cross walks painted at every intersection of the trail and a main road

Am I supposed to avoid that crossing because there is a crosswalk paint on the road?

jade408

In a crosswalk I walk my bike. I also ride outside of the crosswalk when needed for protection or visibility.

Machka 

If you're riding on the road, where you belong, you don't have to worry about crosswalks.

subgrade

Here it is allowed to ride bicycles on sidewalks. It is not encouraged - the law says cyclists should ride on the road, or must ride on bike path/lane; but if there is no bike path/lane and the conditions make it too dangerous or impossible to ride on road, you are allowed to ride your bike on sidewalk, provided you don't interfere with pedestrians which have priority there. Since the distinction of what constitutes "too dangerous" is arbitrary, and bike infrastructure is rare in this city, many casual riders choose to ride on sidewalk at all times.

That said, it is allowed to ride through crosswalks, but only at speeds that don't exceed typical pedestrian speed. This amendment came into effect 3,5 years ago, but I still see people who dismount and walk their bikes through crosswalks quite often. Drivers seem to have learned this rule by now (which wasn't the case in the first couple years).

noimagination

I normally don't use crosswalks, I generally ride in the road as a vehicle. However, there is one intersection where I ride fairly frequently where making a left from the turn lane is significantly more risky than proceeding straight through the intersection and then making the left by waiting for the light for crossing traffic, acting more like a pedestrian - though still not using the crosswalk. (For the many of you who know it, this is the intersection just south of the GWB, where Bruce Reynolds intersects Hudson Terr. and the "bike path"/sidewalk (MUP?) is on the northbound side of Hudson Terr., I use the MUP to get to the south end of Henry Hudson Dr. through the park). It is possible to continue south on Hudson Terr. (I think it changes its name south of the bridge) and make the left onto Hudson Dr. from the road, but 4 lanes (2 each way) reduce to 2, plus downhill makes traffic in the same direction pretty fast, and the curve south of Hudson Dr. and the fairly constant north-bound traffic make the left turn nerve-wracking, despite the width of the lane that gives drivers plenty of room to pass on the right while I'm waiting to make the left. For me it is much less stressful to use the MUP.

When go through the intersection to cross the 4 lane road to get to the bike path, I ride on the road in the travel lane parallel to the crosswalk except at the end, where there is the dip in the curb leading to a wide sidewalk that is generally used as a MUP (bikes and peds). Note: I've never seen a pedestrian using the cross walk to cross Hudson Terr.

If I did use a cross walk for some reason, it would depend on the circumstances. If there were pedestrians in the crosswalk, I'd dismount. If not, I'd ride across. This doesn't apply to "crosswalks" that are part of a MUP/bike path, for those I a ride across even if there is ped traffic, but those MUP "crosswalks" are generally wider than a standard crosswalk.

indyfabz

Guess you live in a land where there are no MUPs with crosswalks. You should get out more. See the world.

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.0723...7i16384!8i8192

And what about someone riding a Bike Friday (20" wheels) or a Brompton (18" wheels)?

indyfabz

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.0723...7i16384!8i8192

indyfabz

Uncorrect.

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.0723...7i16384!8i8192

And some jurisdictions permit sidewalk riding.

Stop trying to be a know it all, because you don't know it all.

KraneXL

The dismount applies to sidewalk cyclist since they're using the crosswalk signal. If you're riding on the road, dismount doesn't apply. At least I've never seen that requirement on a roadway.I couldn't agree more. I'd never ride my bike on the sidewalk weaving in and around pedestrians. Nevertheless, its not illegal in most cases.

TimothyH

What got stuck in your ass this morning, counselor?

Everyone knows that a crosswalk which is part of a MUP is different.

We are talking about sidewalks and crosswalks, not crosswalks on MUPs.

Stop being so friggin' hyper sensitive.



-Tim-

GlennR

A MUP is NOT a sidewalk.

This is a sidewalk.

delbiker1 

If someone wants to dismount and walk their bike across the road in a crosswalk, why does someone else have to tell them they should be riding because they are on a bike? The OP says nothing about riding on the sidewalk. If the person does not feel safe riding across, kudos to them for walking it. I live in a beach resort area and the traffic is horrendous with a lot of drivers that are either sight seeing, do not know where they are going, or distracted by other thing and I walk my bike across at times, depending on my perspective at that time. If a cyclist does not like that, too bad for them. My safety is up to me, not them.

Kapusta

Sometimes.

Depends.

GlennR

No one is saying anyone should do something that is unsafe.

If you are on a MUP and there's a STOP sign at a crossing... you should stop. Just like when you're riding in the road and come to a stop sign. If you decide to dismount and walk... that's up to you. Just signal so other riders know what you are doing and don't rid into you.

indyfabz

^^^Talk about hypersensitive^^^

And who is "we?" And what about Bromptons and Fridays? Guess you didn't think it through before making the child reference. No problem. It happens. I'll give you pass on that one.

indyfabz

It can function the same way. There is one by house that is used far more by pedestrians than bikes. It goes along a road. It is indistinguishable from a sidewalk.

Take a virtual stroll up and down the path and count the number of pedestrians vs. cyclists. What you will see is a representative mix. Far more of a sidewalk than a true MUP. And there is a big, fat crosswalk across a public street as you get closer to the museum.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9695...!7i5504!8i2752

That aside, the OP said nothing about sidewalks:

"When I was a kid (about a thousand years ago it seems) we were taught to get off our bikes and walk them when crossing a street at a marked crosswalk. Is this still a thing?"

I know of one cyclist who was hit while riding through the above-mentioned crosswalk, so it's germane to the OP.