This morning on my way to work I saw no less than a half dozen bicycling asswipes riding on the sidewalks. Get a clue, you idiots, sidewalks are for pedestrians, not mental 10 year olds. If you can’t deal with traffic, then take the fucking bus. And don’t expect the simpletons at city hall to put in bike lanes – they are way too busy wasting our tax money on fucking cat laws.
This article appears in Dec 6-12, 2007.
I used to live in Halifax and I had a bike. When it was safe, I rode on the street, but at times I rode on the sidewalk. I have never rode my bike up a busy sidewalk like Spring Garden Rd under any circumstances, nor did I ever ride fast while on one. Anytime I passed a pedestrian, I was extremely polite and ALWAYS gave them right of way; either I stopped my bike altogether while the pedestrian passed, or else I provided a very wide berth, moving onto the grass while passing slowly. If someone had a problem with this (which they never seemed to), then it’s too bad; I will NOT risk my life on streets full of speeding cars and 18-wheelers at 5pm, or ever at places like the willowtree. If I dont feel safe on the road, and it’s innapropriate to be on the sidewalk, I’ll get off and walk it until I have an option. If people could employ some manners towards eachother, maybe everyone could get along. As far as the new cat bylaw goes, they damn well should be liscensed, and leashed. I once ran over a cat with my car that darted out in front of me, and being a huge animal lover I was devastated. As well as that, I almost hit a pedestrian while swerving to avoid the cat! I’m also sick to death of being caught off guard and having my arm nearly yanked off by my dog when a cat suddenly pops into view, like most dogs, mine has the instinct to chase them!
Michelle, I commuted 30km per day by bicycle, in rush hour traffic, five days a week, for five years. By being constantly attentive, cautious, and respectful of other road users, and by knowing when to let the bullies have their way, I avoided ever having and accident or even a close call. If you don’t have the nerve and/or the SKILL to ride in the road where you belong, get a bus pass.
I can totally understand where Michelle is coming from but I agree with Coyote on this one. When a cyclist approaches from behind on the sidewalk they cannot be seen and sometimes cannot be heard, particularly if I’m listening to my i-pod. As a pedestrian I do not come equipped with signal lights or rear view mirrors. I can totally understand why clyclists do not feel safe on the streets of HRM. I’m all for cyclists, however, as a pedestrian I am not prepared to do shoulder checks and signal my intention to turn and walk down a side street while I’m walking on the sidewalk. Crosswalks in this city are difficult enough to navigate. With all due respect to cyclists I am not particularly interested in sharing my walking area with a “vehicle” that is legislated to be on the road. Dedicated bike lanes are the way to go.
You better clue in, sweetheart, riding on the sidewalk is ILLEGAL, no matter how polite and considerate you are. If you feel so entitled, why shouldn’t every cyclist, polite or otherwise do the same? I’m sure Halifax pedestrians would just looooovvvvveeee the be bombarded with flying wheels up their collective asses. You obviously don’t have the confidence to ride on the road where you are supposed to.Coyote, you’re my type of cyclist. Michelle, you could learn something from his post.
I cringe when I see this debate over and over, and the common sense you “Pedestrians” seem to lack. Automobile Vs Cyclist (a collision)= Severe Damage and/or Death, usually to the cylistCyclist VS Pedestrian (Collision) = A Brused body part maybe, brused ego.Does it seem easier for someone to step out of the way of a 150 pound person on a 10 pound bike, or a car perhaps triggering a greater accedent on the road by trying to avoid a cyclist?Does a Cylist have to pay for insurance??; especially if they were to hit a car, who pays that? Who assumes liability? Also another point is that a portion of gas tax goes back into infrastructure repair and renewal. Perhaps you should take issue with rollerbladers and kids on skateboards, are they walking? Lets throw motorized wheel chairs too since they are not correctly “using the sidewalk” as it is mentioned in the discussion above.
As long as there are cyclists getting killed on the roads (and we read about one every other week), they should be allowed to use the sidewalks. They are NOT motorized vehicles, they are NOT licensed, and for the most part, they DO NOT have designated bike paths on most roads in Halifax. Peds have to learn to share the sidewalk with others too. I think anyone who uses their bike daily to travel to and from their work places are heros in their own right. Show a little respect.
I agree with coyote, Raoul, Ellbee, Dr. Darkside and (if this is a good statistical sample ) the majority of haligonians.a cyclist cannot possibly hurt a pedestrian as much as a motorist can hurt a cyclist.Michelle, you said it yourself, your beef is with the city here. When halifax gets its act together and installs some bike lanes, and starts to convince motorists that cyclists belong on the roads, then cyclists will have to stay on the roads. At the moment, however it’s dangerous, and so many of them use the sidewalk. Until things change at city council cyclists have every good reason to disregard the law and ride on the sidewalk.
oops, I messed up the names coyote, and Michelle argh! you know what I meant.
There isn’t a cyclist killed every other week, theres been two in the past 7 years or more, not that two isn’t too many.I’m a 5 day a week year round commuter, and I almost ran into a cyclist with my recently. He was biking up the sidewalk on the wrong side of the road (not that it matters I guess since he was on the sidewalk, left and right rules of the road must go out the door as well) and when I yell at him to get off the fucking sidewalk, what is his excuse? “The roads aren’t safe”. Umm…?
Oops, with my car recently. D’oh.
cranky:first of all, if you’re a 5-day/week year round commuter, then I can only hope that you live too far away to use the bus, and are either too old or sick to get to work any other way, because otherwise you have no right to criticize how other people get around.And don’t play the whole “I’m just a self-rightous eco-hippy” card here. The reality is there is an overwhelming body of evidence to show that a population that uses cars like you do is rapidly turning the planet into a place that future generations won’t enjoy living in.Unforunately our city government is bending over backwards to accomodate inconsiderate people like you, thereby nullifying any ethical basis that would have otherwise compelled me to obey their laws./still riding on the sidewalk.
hmmm … maybe “inconsiderate” was a bit harsh … sorry, this whole thing just ticks me off.
What the fuck are you talking about? You lost me after “first of all”. Could you repost in a more clearly worded message? That’d be great.I think what I was saying is that even though the sidewalk is considered ‘safe’, it actually isn’t. I expect to see cyclists on the roads, and give them the distance they need, even staying behind them when I approach an intersection I know I’m turning right at. But, yeah, I almost ran over one pulling out of my driveway, didn’t see that one coming.
Oh, I think I get it (kind of, your whole post was kinda out there) When I said I was a 5 day a week year round commuter, I meant that I was using a BICYCLE. Haha. Too funny. Been doing it for going on 15 years now. Learned a trick or two that kept me alive this long, one of which was ‘never ride on the sidewalk’. Had some close calls, most were my fault(but not all), actually.
Brendan, cyclists like you who think they’re safer on the sidewalk really need to do some research. 85% of car/bicycle collisions are of the “T-bone” variety. And the majority of those collisions occur when the cyclist is riding ON THE SIDEWALK. The reason being, motorists are not expecting traffic approaching them at 20km/h ON THE SIDEWALK, and they cannot reasonably be expected to anticipate that event, because cyclists are not supposed to be on the sidewalk.You are NOT safer on the sidewalk. The best defences against injury are Vigilance and Skill. If you’re using your bicycle as a toy, then stay on recreational trails. If you’re using it as a vehicle, then learn to ride it properly.
Cranky:oh jeez, total miscommunication there. my bad, you can criticize whoever you want, but I still disagree with you.Coyote: I disagree, because I have been biking for years and have done everything possible to avoid collisions but there’s one thing you can never avoid no matter how cautious you are : the door. There is nothing stopping someone from opening a door at the wrong moment, and the only way to avoid that is by being on the sidewalk. We may disagree on whether its safer to be on the sidewalk or on the road (I usually bike on the road, but I still think I have the right to go on the sidewalk if I please) But can we all agree that the city needs to get its act together and implement the city bike-route plan that was commissioned in 2003 with our tax-dollars and has been collecting dust ever since ?
Actually, Brendan, you can quite easily avoid the door by not riding in the “door zone”. Sometimes that means “taking the lane”. Every well educated cyclist is familiar with these terms. That constant vigilance I keep harping about comes into play as well. You’re riding alongside a row of parked cars. Are there occupants in any of them? A person sitting in a parked car means a possible door related incident. You reduce your speed accordingly and anticipate stupidity. I’m not cycling much these days because I live a ten minute walk from work. But up until a year ago I clocked 150-200km per week on my bike. I know what I’m talking about.And yes, a bike route plan would be great. It might be a mixed blessing though, because it would give motorist another excuse to bitch at us: “Hey, you’ve got your own damn lanes! Get off the road!”
Where I live now, there are bike lanes. During rush hour, especially near the tube stations, pedestrians are on them constantly, leaving no room for the cyclists. They spill out from the sidewalk, the considerate ones darting back onto the sidewalk when they see a bike coming. Car drivers also use them, especially taxis. All I can say is atleast it isnt like Seoul Korea, where they drive motorcycles at top speed up the sidewalk and cars reverse at 40km/hr.
Oh, and ‘Coyote’, just because I dont commute ’30km per day’ does not mean I lack ‘SKILL’ in driving a bike! If you think the simple act of ‘being constantly attentive’ is going to prevent an accident then you’re an idiot. If you’re just so in tune with what vehicle is about to make a sudden and disastrous maneouver, costing the life of someone else, why dont you get yourself a lawnchair, a loudspeaker, and set yourself up on the shoulder of the Bicentennial highway. Maybe you can save some innocent lives!
coyote:maybe I’m belabouring the issue, but you really can’t “take the lane” when motorists are whizzing past you, forcing you over to the side. Let’s be honest, car drivers do not tolerate cyclists pedalling in the middle of the road (despite the fact that we actually have every right to be there.) Getting pushed over to the side means having to go right next to the parked cars; and when it’s poor whether it’s hard to see whether anyone is inside those cars. The only way we could have enough room to clear the door zone is with lanes added specifically for bicyclists -which, of course is what I was saying earlier: Halifax is woefully lacking in this department. I recently moved to Kitchener, a significantly smaller city with far more bike lanes established.The tragic irony is that in my countless emails with the citys transportation manager, David McCusker he used the excuse that there isn’t enough room to fit a bike lane clear of the door zone to justify his department’s total inaction over the last 5 years…. ARRGH!
That’s what I used to think too Brendan, that cars wouldn’t allow cyclists to take the lane– but then I took a bike course (CANBIKE-II, the course that all governmental employees required to ride bikes have to take). It made me a MUCH more confident biker and you’d be surprised at how easy it is to simply do your shoulder checks, make eye contact with the drivers, make your hand signals and move into the lane. I’ll admit there are some drivers that won’t allow you, but the majority do. I’ve been doing it for years now, all over Halifax (yes, even spring garden road, the roundabout and Quinpool). It’s really about letting the drivers know where you are and what you are doing. Not to say I don’t disagree with the clear fact that Halifax needs more bike lanes, just that it is possible to ride safely on the streets with cars, as long as you follow the rules of the road.
Taking a full lane is a requirement if you are going to navigate the Armdale Rotary successfully. (Amongst other places, natch)Once you realize that you have to take a full lane (or the full other 1/4 that isn’t being occupied by parked cars, on Quinnpool between Oxford and Robie for instance) in order to ride a bike safely, and it is safer, and get used to it you’ll be better off. You’ll get used to it and be an old hand at it in no timeSorry, you are not safer on the sidewalk, and its only a matter of time before you find this out the hard way.Use common sense and practice safe, legal, riding and you’ll be safe as can be on the streets.
I am not an idiot, NMH. I am skilled, experienced cyclist who has never had so much as a close call despite having ridden thousands of kilometers in rush hour traffic. I stand by my statements, because they are the result of many, many, MANY hours on the saddle of a bicycle. And I have sufficient confidence in my skill not to be reduced to name calling in defence of it.
Is it just me or does anybody else find it ironic that some of the people complaining about being bullied off the road by drivers are now trying to bully pedestrians as to why they should be on the sidewalk. When did two “wrongs” ever make a “right”?
Stay off the sidewalks, cyclists. YOu don’t want to endanger all those newly-licensed, leash-walking felines, hmmm?
Raoul:we’re not bullying, but there is often plenty of room on the sidewalk, why shouldn’t we go there? if there is a certain amount of resentment coming across it is only because cyslists get around in a way that (A) contributes nothing to world pollution problems,(B) reduces municipal problems associated with parking, and (C) traffic, (D)gives us exercise, thus making us less of a burden on the health-care system, and (E) contributes less to wear-and-tear on the roads. Despite these reasons, HRM has promoted a hostile environment where cyclists are seen as a nuisance on the road, and all accomodations have been made to encourage single-occupant vehicle commuting during a global energy crisis.So yeah, it kinda pisses me off.
Brendan, I appreciate your opinions and you make some valid points. However, this thread is not a discussion about the positive aspects of cycling.There are experienced cyclists that are trying to educate their fellow cyclists that you are safer on the street. This is not the first cycling related thread in The Coast and this isn’t the first time these people have posted in similar threads. They come across as credible, knowledgable, and most importantly… experienced! Again, I’m not trying to sound like a heartless bastard; it is a contentious issue. However, from my perspective, pedestrians are at greater risk with cyclists on the sidewalk. Cyclists aren’t supposed to be there in the first place so it kinda pisses me off too.