Bike Paths are for Bikes, too

[yangelina.livejournal.com]

I commute from between Alewife/Davis on the bike path. It's only 8 minutes, but almost everyday I find myself incredibly frustrated after the ride.

-If biker says "ON YOUR LEFT," it means that you should move to the right, s/he is not asking you to move to the left.
-Stay on the right side of the path. This particular section of the path does not have a line down the middle, but the rule still applies.
-LEASH YOUR DOGS. Today a German shepard, no leash, charged a small dog on a leash and I almost ran over them both. I said, "Please put your dog on a leash," and a pedestrian had the nerve to say "actually, it was the one ON the leash that got in your way." That is not the point. The German shepard should not be able to scare the small dog from so far away.
-If wearing headphones, either play the music at the level so that you can hear biker's warnings when passing, or make sure you stay to the right of the path at all times. It's very dangerous to be in the middle of a bike path when you can't hear any warnings. This goes for other bikers/rollerblade-rs, etc.
-Please don't walk side-by-side, blocking the entire path. Share.

And for bikers:
-Wear a helmet. You look dorkier without.
-Bike on the right side of the path! A biker should know better!
-Use lights if biking at night
-Please, please, please use hand signals

I would love to encourage others to commute by bike. It is better for your health, better for our environment, and should be more enjoyable than being stuck on a bus or train. But without cooperation from all bike path users, commuting by bike becomes a pain in the neck. It's really a shame. (and then there's biking in traffic--which is another realm, I won't get into that now..)

In light of the recent post re: one way street, I wish there is a way to tag the folks that do not follow bike path rules. :\

Please share the path!!
http://www.minutemanbikeway.org/Pages/guidelines.html

Comments

[alphacygni]

True. My experience with that problem has mostly been on sidewalks in Cambridge, actually, not on the bike path.

[treacle-well.livejournal.com]

And really, the bikes shouldn't be on the sidewalks.

[yangelina.livejournal.com]

You're absolutely correct; bikes should NOT be on a sidewalk. Especially busier sections of town(Davis/Central/Harvard, etc), it is illegal for bikers to be on the sidewalk. Other areas (with less foot traffic), bikes are allowed on the sidewalk, but they are NOT to pass pedestrians -- they must ride at walking speed.

On the bike path, a good cyclist will always pass on your left, because the rule is for all traffic to stay on the right and pass on left. This is why it becomes confusing and dangerous if people walk on both sides of the path.

So if you are on a sidewalk and find that bikers are racing past you and catching you off guard (and there's no reason for anyone to be rude to you), feel free to tell the biker to "GET OFF THE SIDEWALK!" They're the ones breaking the law! :)