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

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

Are you unnerved by cyclists passing quickly, say, a foot or two away? Are you unnerved by cyclists that you do hear in advance? (The hearing thing is part of what puzzles me, because bikes are quiet but they're not silent, and I've *never* been surprised to be passed -- I always have a fair estimate of speed and closing time before bikes pass me, based on what I hear. I don't think I have unusually good hearing, either. So I find it very odd that other people seem to be surprised when they are passed.)

[stariel25]

I'm especially unnerved when I'm walking, on the sidewalk, on the right side and a biker HITS me trying to squeeze between me and the wall of a building while I walk around a telephone pole. For that reason (I've been hit by bikers a couple of times) it's quite unnerving to have bikers pass a foot away while riding fast, especially when they don't give warning.

I've also found that a lot of bikers either don't warn at all, or bellow "LEFT!" 3 seconds before they whiz past.

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

I file this under the above -- "bikers shouldn't be on the sidewalk" (unless we're talking little kids who are slow-moving anyway). Feel free to maim these people.

Regarding passing

[yangelina.livejournal.com]

-Bikers absolutely should not be on the sidewalk in busy section of the town, and should not pass on sidewalks, ever, because they must ride at walking speed
-when passing on left (on a bikepath), they should go into the on-coming traveling lane, leaving enough space between you and the bike (about 4-6 ft) so it dosen't surprise you. If there is traffic in the on-coming lane, they should slow down enough until they can pass slowly/safely.
-when on a bike, 3 seconds before passing is about 30-50 ft. My experience is that most people never hear me until I'm 5 ft behind them, I usually end up having to holler at the top of my lungs, multiple times. This may sound like bellowing, or even frantic screaming, in my case. :)
-Re: post about getting a bell--WONDERFUL idea.

I understand that most bikers are just as bad as pedestrians, and there are pedestrians that do follow bike path rules. My goal is to talk about the rules enough so that more people learn them and practice them more often. I could easily have said "well, fuck it, no other biker is doing this." but breaking the law just becase the majority is...doesn't help the situation.
Again -- leashing pets and keeping eyes on children (thanks for the remdiner, ukelele) is especially important. Because a bike can cause very serious injuries (even death) to those smaller beings! Nobody wants that to happen.