Bikes on sidewalks?

[nowalmart.livejournal.com]

With the weather turning nicer I have been doing more running. Most of my normal running routes take me through Davis Square. I feel like there are a lot more bikes on the sidewalks in Davis Square than there were last year (my only other year in Somerville to compare it to).

Just a reminder:

According to Somerville Traffic Regulations,

Non-motorized transportation conveyances are prohibited from operating on sidewalks and in parks in certain districts as hereinafter defined. Persons operating non-motorized transportation conveyances must dismount said conveyances and walk within these districts.

(a) Davis Square – On Holland Street, from Irving Street to College Avenue; On Elm Street, from College Avenue to Windom Street; on Highland Avenue, from Cutter Avenue to College Avenue; and on College Avenue from Highland Avenue to Morrison Avenue; and on all intersecting ways within those limits a distance of fifty feet from the above named streets.

In addition, Pedestrians shall have the right-of-way over bicycles on all sidewalks and in all crosswalks. The operator of a bicycle shall yield to pedestrians in all traffic situations. (all of this is on page 53 of that .pdf)

That means that if you are riding on your bike, I am coming in the opposite direction, and there are a few people walking between us, I get to go around them without having to yield to you and your bike. I have almost been run into several times, and only avoided it because *I* backed down.

Comments

[androidqueen.livejournal.com]

as an avid biker -- amen! get your asses on the streets, cyclists!

[karmaportrait.livejournal.com]

can't we all get along!

but seriously, bicycles on the sidewalks is just a "Bad Idea"®. however, it does say something about drivers and the (lack of or just general crapiness when actually present) bike lanes in somerville/boston when bicyclists flee to the sidewalks.

[turil.livejournal.com]

Heh. When I see an adult on a bicycle on the sidewalk, I think to myself, "You bike like a ten year old!" I don't say it out loud, or at least not loud enough for them to hear, because I don't think my message would come across well...

And remember, when it comes to roads, every lane is a bike lane!

[charlwoo.livejournal.com]

Some of the things that some other cyclists do in this city freak me out... wrong way on one-way streets, riding on sidewalks, riding at night without lights or a helmet, changing from the bike lane into a car lane without signaling and relying on the car behind you to slow down and see you in time to stop hitting you, stopping short without signaling because someone's passing out a flyer, riding abreast on the bike path or in traffic instead of single file. I am at a total loss as to what to do to effect changes in the cycling community that will help prevent injuries.
It was much safer to bicycle in the dead of winter. The beautiful spring weather seems to bring out inexperienced cyclists.

[tisana.livejournal.com]

The biking at night with no reflectors, lights, or helmet drives me batty. I used to bike, and the idea of doing so in the city frightens me, frankly--it's dangerous even if you play by the rules, because the drivers are often entitled assholes. But when I see cyclists being stupid like that, I want to stop the car and yell at them.

Are there actually any laws about safety measures for cyclists? They certainly aren't enforced if there are. It's not like seatbelts, or obeying traffic signs for cars.

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

yup, there sure are:

http://massbike.org/bikelaw/

[tisana.livejournal.com]

Ah... That part about helmets only being mandatory for 16 and under? That explains some things. Not happy about that. More people should wear them...probably saved my brother's life when he got hit (the helmet was a mess). But, given how they're not enforced at all (and in some ways, that's good, others, not at all), I doubt making helmets mandatory for all cyclists would make a difference.

[ron_newman]

The bicycle-helmet law argument is pretty much the same as the motorcycle-helmet law argument or the car seat-belt law argument. Should there be a law to protect you from yourself?

I tend towards the libertarian side of all these arguments: everyone should wear helmets or seat belts, but the law shouldn't require it.

[nowalmart.livejournal.com]

As a fellow libertarian, I agree with you.

However, I will fully support it when my insurance premiums do not help pay for the idiocy of someone else.

Want to ride your motorcycle with a helmet? Good, sign this insurance contract that says if you are ever are in an accident while not wearing one, the insurance company does not have to pay.

Want to ride your motorcycle without a helmet? Good, pay higher premiums.

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

I would say that as many bikers by ratio are entitled assholes who feel like they've got the right to go 16 mph in the middle of one of the lanes during rush hour.

[ron_newman]

If they're going 16 mph at rush hour, they're surely moving faster than the car traffic. Which is a good reason to bike instead of driving.

[yangelina.livejournal.com]

Yup! And I only ride in the middle of the lane (but never between) if I'm about to make a left turn. It kind of requires me to move over. Otherwise, I agree with sticking to the side of the street.

[tisana.livejournal.com]

This is true. I get almost as annoyed with stupid cyclists (and there probably are more, by ratio) as I do with stupid drivers. But stupid drivers are much more protected by their vehicles if they have an accident. A stupid cyclist is likely to end up, as you put it, a smear. I don't want to do that any more than they want to end up that way...so why is having reflectors or lights at night such a hard concept? Or helmets? And why are these idiots mostly around colleges? You'd expect they'd have a bit more sense.

[ron_newman]

One-way streets are no big deal, unless you mean busy ones like Elm Street. Most of the local residential streets are plenty wide enough to accommodate a car going one way and a bike going the other. I do it all the time on Mossland Street and Orchard Street.

But if you do it at night, please use lights, both front and rear.

[0-pueo-0.livejournal.com]

Riding the wrong way on one-way streets is a recipe for getting run over, especially on a street like Orchard Street, which has a lot of intersections with one-way streets, and a surprising amount of traffic. Drivers look for oncoming traffic before turning onto a street like Orchard. But they don't necessarily look for Orchard St. traffic coming the wrong way up the one way street.

Say a bicycle rider is riding the wrong way up Orchard, approaching the Dover St. intersection. There's a driver, stopped at the stop sign on Dover, getting ready to turn left on Orchard. The driver looks to the right to see if they have the ability to turn left onto Orchard. The driver makes the left turn after seeing that no car is coming down Orchard (the correct direction) from their right. If the cyclist tries to proceed across Dover, this could be a problem.

This driver is operating lawfully and predictably, but the cyclist is not. Right of way belongs to the driver unless the cyclist dismounts that bike and crosses Dover St. on foot.

Here's a blurb on wrong-way cycling in general (not just on a one-way street) from a document on the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition website: http://massbike.org/info1/stats.htm

"Wrong-Way Cycling Cycling against traffic is one of the most dangerous cycling behaviors. The obvious danger of a head-on collision with a lawful cyclist or motorist is only one of several types of crashes caused by wrong-way cycling. A motorist pulling out from a stop sign, commercial driveway, or turning right at a stop sign or traffic signal (including right turn on red) looks in the direction of traffic, not in the direction of the wrong-way cyclist, and then often has no time to avoid a collision. Cyclists riding against traffic accounted for nearly 1/3 of car-bike collisions in the Hunter et al. 1996 study and ¼ in the Boston area study (Plotkin and Komornick 1984)."

Just don't risk it.

[nalz.livejournal.com]

Not only is it A Bad Idea - it is also absolutely against the law. Bicycles are supposed to follow traffic laws - and traffic laws state that a one-way street is a one-way street. Not a one-way for cars and either way for bikes.

[ron_newman]

In the Netherlands it is common to see "Do Not Enter" signs for one-way streets, with a second sign under them saying "Except Bicycles". I absolutely believe this would work well in Cambridge and Somerville.

[nalz.livejournal.com]

I'll just agree to respectfully disagree. Too many times I have had close calls with people on bikes who feel no need to: A) Stick to the side when riding down a one way street the wrong way, or B) ride against traffic on a two-way street, or C) obey traffic lights at all and just go when they think its safe..regardless of whether it really is safe or not.

Either way, unless it's changed it is still against the law. I would be absolutely devastated if I hit someone on a bike with my car, regardless of whose fault it was. If everyone (cars & bikes both) actually obeyed traffic laws, there would be a heck of a lot less chance of this.

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

I have to agree with this. It's ridiculous to expect bikers to follow slow-street traffic signs.

[denonymous.livejournal.com]

While on the subject, I have to present the probably unpopular opinion that joggers don't belong on the congested sidewalks of Davis Square, either. You have a million and one streets all around -- must you run down Elm (the red-brick portion from Cutter to Day) on a busy Saturday afternoon?

It's great that you like running, but I don't really care. Take it to Holland Ave.

[nowalmart.livejournal.com]

You bring up a good point.

Once a street (it is almost always the stretch of Elm you speak of) reaches a certain density, I will run in the street.

About the only problem I have had with that is when I am going against the flow of traffic and pedestrians will suddenly try to cross the road without looking in both directions. A minor problem, but... Oh, and I also almost ran into a couple of opening car doors.

But you are correct - at a certain point it is better to run on the street.

[yangelina.livejournal.com]

Your original post was EXCELLENT - I've been very irate with other cyclists that do not follow bike laws, now that it's nicer out (I also ride in the winter and it's much nicer because there are less bike traffic, therefore less bike idiots).
This most recent point, though - how do we bikers avoid crashing into a jogger, if they're in the streets? Especially joggers that run against traffic on the side of the street -- cyclists are supposed ride there, not on that sidewalk, so if joggers take to the streets, where do we go? I've had to swerve around joggers into traffic a few times and it's very scary. That combined with people who open car doors without looking...doesn't leave very much room for the cyclist, since we're REQUIRED by law to ride in the street and not on the sidewalks in Davis Square, regardless of foot traffic. So, on behalf of cyclists who obey the law and ride on in the street, I'd say it's better for joggers to stay on the sidewalk.

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

Good luck catching me on my bike.

You're telling me that a minor inconvenience on the sidewalk is worse than me getting smeared all over the road by some asshat driver? Get over yourself.

[kjc.livejournal.com]

Minor inconvenience? Maybe you, alone, are a minor inconvenience. Getting around crowds, people walking 3 or 4 abreast who won't let anyone pass them, cell phone weavers, joggers, and MULTIPLE bicyclists is pretty freakin' challenging for a pedestrian.

This is one of those things that drives ME batty - everyone thinks that he or she is the only person in the world. Complaining about something immediately triggers this response - as if you're the only one causing this problem.

Taken individually, a biker on a sidewalk isn't that big of a deal. But viewed as a systemic problem, every sidewalk bicyclist encourages the behavior and we end up with LOTS of bicycles on the sidewalk and lots of problems.

I walk all over Cambridge and Somerville and there are many MANY bikes on the sidewalks. I don't mind the ones taking it easy and gently steering around us pedestrians, but the ones who speed like maniacs and weave in & out, without taking mobile obstacles (people stopping, doors opening, people with baby carriages turning left) into account, are insane and dangerous.

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm all for folks not smashing into babies. But seriously, why don't you jog in the bike lane?

[kjc.livejournal.com]

But seriously, why don't you jog in the bike lane?

Are you talking to the original poster or me? Cuz I don't jog, I walk. No running, no jogging, no biking, no drunken slaloming, just walking. A lot of walking.

And I don't walk in the bike lane because the sidewalk was made for walking. Hence the name.

[nowalmart.livejournal.com]

But seriously, why don't you jog in the bike lane?

Brilliant! Let's open up the bike lane to joggers and move the bikers onto the sidewalk!

Your two posts, taken together, imply just this. Are you seriously suggesting this?

Or are you just suggesting more of a general "people should do whatever the hell they want" sort of anarchy? Since obviously traffic laws work best like that.

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

My posts do not imply that. You infer that. I'm suggesting that anyone who's stressing out about some bicycles on the sidewalk might do well getting off the sidewalk. Plenty of joggers do just fine, or jog along routes where bikers don't bother with the sidewalk. I'm of a mind that if I have a problem with the choices of others, I'll do my best to accomodate them and still find my own way. I don't ball up my hands into little claws, sit and fume, try to get dogs leashed and a freaking bicycle off of the sidewalk.

It's erroneous to assume that all bikers are experienced or comfortable enough to ride in bike lanes. I'd rather some jogger with a tendency towards type-A be irked than some poor kid smeared all over the hood of my car.

When I ride on the sidewalk, I take pains to let people know I'm coming. If there's going to be a problem because of volume of humans, I'll take to the street until it clears up, then go back on the sidewalk. And that's the way it should be.

[yangelina.livejournal.com]

This is one of those things that drives ME batty - everyone thinks that he or she is the only person in the world.

I couldn't agree more. That is the fundamental issue that causes problems between pedestrian/jogger/cyclists/cars. Too many people are unaware of the world that surrounds them. PAY ATTENTION, folks. The laws are there for a reason, so follow them. As a cyclist, I do not go on the sidewalk, regardless of pedestrian traffic. Our place is on the street, or on the bike path, PERIOD. If I need to go anywhere else with my bike, I walk it. And don't even get me started on red-light-running-cyclists, the cyclists-with-head-phones-and-do-not-hear-me-passing, the cyclists-that-ride-in-the-middle-of-the-path, the cyclists-who-ride-abreast, cyclists-who-ride-down-wrong-way-on-one-way-streets...

For those of you are so against these laws, at least be aware of people around you. You don't have to obey the laws, I don't care, but if I am and you are getting in my way, friggin' move. Seriously. Drivers/cyclists/joggers/pedestrians alike. We all pay for these streets, so let's learn how to share like good little boys and girls.

[nowalmart.livejournal.com]

If you are concerned by that, then:

a) Find an alternate route through Davis. You are allowed to ride on the sidewalks everywhere else in Somerville. Davis is the exception here.

b) If you must go through Davis, then follow the law and walk your bike.

Or is walking your bike too much of a "minor inconvenience"?

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

a) Oh, in the heart of Davis? Like on Elm? That's pretty stupid, it's so clogged with people, who would want to ride on the sidewalk in the first place?

b) I don't bike on the sidewalks IN davis, just randomly on the streets around it.

[ron_newman]

Yes, this topic is all about the major commercial streets, not the little side streets. I've had to deal with two bikes coming in opposite directions on an Elm Street sidewalk while I was just trying to take a slow walk; that wasn't much fun.

By the way, Union Square is another place where you legally shouldn't ride on the sidewalk.

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

I stand corrected!

[curiositykt.livejournal.com]

Yup. No bike for me for the same reason..

[ron_newman]

I have to agree. Bikes on sidewalks are a hazard in a busy commercial district full of pedestrians. Ride in the street or walk it on the sidewalk, unless it's 5:30 am and nobody's around.