Does it bother anyone else to see cyclists on the sidewalk? Personally, it drives me crazy...more so when there are pedestrians on the sidewalk. (In my car a few weeks ago I almost rear ended someone who had to stop suddenly for a cyclist who decided to just keep going on the sidewalk and ride a crosswalk). The sidewalks are for pedestrians. If you're walking, it can be annoying and a bit frightening to have a cyclist tearing past you on a sidewalk. As well, motorists aren't expecting bikes to suddenly ride in front of them on pedestrian crosswalks. We aren't going to make any friends by riding illegally and annoying pedestrians. If a cyclist doesn't know how to ride in traffic...then maybe he or she should re-think his or her mode of transportation... OR get involved and support better pathway development and driver education.
Bikes on Sidewalks
Submitted by Anonymous Coward on
big question
Submitted by critninja on
to answer your question - depends. heres why...
i think i can assume that everyone in here knows that adults are not allowed to ride bikes on sidewalks.
however, (and its a big however) there are places in the city where riding on the sidewalk is the only safe thing to do due to poor road design making riding on said section of road dangerous to your health. there are many posts in here about areas in the city where this problem exists.
but, riding on the sidewalk is illegal, so i think if you are going to do it, you should yield to pedestrians and other sidewalk users and dont blindly ride off the curb across roadways and crosswalks.
this is not a simple situation - especially in calgary - where the automobile is king and the rest of us are just jesters.
when i see an adult on a bicycle, i do not despair for the future of the human race.
- h.g. wells
http://critninja.blogspot.com
sidewalks
Submitted by 2wheeler on
I completely agree, sort of. It's illegal for adults to ride bicycles on the sidewalk in Calgary. That being said the pathway system has all sorts of areas where the designated pathway becomes a sidewalk. There is no way to tell the difference unless you look at the pathway map. Whenever I ride on these stretches I feel guilty, but it was "designed" that way.
There is a guy in my neighbourhood who rides a tandem on the sidewalk of busy streets with his son. They go very slowly and don't pose a danger to anyone else. I think exceptions need to be made under some circumstances.
pathway sidewalks...
Submitted by NW_Tri_and_Bike on
That being said the city is putting neighborhood paths in place of sidewalks. Personally I dislike the design that would force a cyclist to become a pedestrian every block when viewed under the existing traffic laws/bylaws. I don't forsee enforcement unless there is an accident.
Try to not to ride on the sidewalk.
Submitted by BCDon on
Well, I "try not" to ride on the sidewalk but I will if I deem it safer. I have parts of my route that the only choice is to either ride on a sidwalk for a 1/2 a block or two or get off and walk. And generally those areas don't have any people. So, I ride on the sidewalks. A couple of them do end up at crosswalks with flashing lights. I approach the road, come to a full stop, if there is not traffic I just go, if there is traffic I either wait (which invariably causes someone to stop) or I'll hit the light. YES, I do ride across, a) It is faster, b) It is easier than unclipping from my pedals and attempting to walk across with shoes not really intended for walking.
Little tolerance
Submitted by InglewoodGuy on
Personally, I have no time for an able bodied adult riding on sidewalks. My opinion is entirely clouded by the fact I have been hit twice while walking down downtown sidewalks by bike couriers. Both were pretty damn indignant that I dared get in their way. I might roll the odd stop sign, but I never ever ride down sidewalks.
When there are reasonable alternatives.
Submitted by BCDon on
When there are reasonable alternatives to riding on the sidewalk, fine, use them and you should. BUT, the few sidewalks I ride on I do so because it is a heck of a lot safer. For example, on one of them (where I have NEVER seen a person walking while I'm cycling), it is uphill. I have 1 block to cross over 2 lanes into a far left turn lane and I'm sure as hell not doing that in rush hour traffic when my speed is already slowed down by having to stop befored getting onto the road which isn't a nice wide 2 lane road, then my speed will stay down because it is uphill. So to protect my ass, I ride on the sidwalk for 1/2 a block and then wait to cross at the crosswalk.
One other area I ride on a sidwalk is where I cross 17th street. I go across a crosswalk and on the other side there is NO road as the road doesn't extend from the North to 17th. So I have no choice but to take the sidewalk (and have not seen anybody on it either).
In any case, when I do encounter pedestrians on the multi-use pathways, I do slow down and sometimes end up sitting behind them at very slow speeds waiting to get around them.
I wouldn't judge everyone's ability by what you've seen from a few bicycle couriers. But, I'd also say that riding on sidwalks downtown when there is perfectly good roadway is pretty dumbass.
In summary, "there is a time and a place" for pretty well everything. The trick is to find both.
Agreed. Time and place.
Submitted by scottmeyers on
Agreed. Time and place.
The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart. ~Iris Murdoch, The Red and the Green
yea i feel like a chump
Submitted by enidcoleslaw on
yea i feel like a chump riding on the sidewalk, but in some circumstances i do.
i am not going to run into anybody though. mostly used if i am going up a steep hill on a road with no bike lane.
I ride on the sidewalk to
Submitted by Springbank Dave on
I ride on the sidewalk to get to and from 3 street SW to the Banker's Hall parkade and back. In the morning, the traffic turning left from 3 street to 9 Avenue and then turning left from 9 Avenue to 2 street is TOO crazy. Taking the sidewalk saves probably about 5 minutes.
Leaving to go home, I ride on the sidewalk to get from the parkade to 8 Avenue to ride west. The idea that I have to take 9 Avenue to 2 street, north to 6 Avenue and back to 8 Avenue is just a little crazy.
Now, I know I'm in a technical breach of a bylaw. However, I have frequently seen bike cops acting in an equally heinous fashion--to the point that I wonder if bike cops even know about the bylaw. Further, I ride very slowly, making sure to make eye contact with each pedestrian and keep as far away as I can.
I hope this doesn't raise the ire of any other cyclists.
The whole loop-de-loop up to
Submitted by pinkrobe on
The whole loop-de-loop up to 6 Ave. is just plain silly. It was easier when there was an alley behind Penny Lane. You would just cross 3rd, go down the alley to 4th, cross that, go down that alley and pop out onto 5 St. Now I head to 1 St. and make my way from there. My wife crosses 9th and rides on the south sidewalk to 5th.
Regarding the bike cops - they are above the law. The normal rules of the road do not apply to them. They go wherever they need to go in whatever manner they feel is appropriate. If they're riding side-by-side, on a sidewalk, or the wrong way, that doesn't mean you can do it.
___________________
Who causes accidents?
I agree the excemption is justified but
Submitted by NW_Tri_and_Bike on
they can "use" it with more discretion. They do have the advantage of stealth compared with their patrol unit couterparts...
A case like this comes down
Submitted by scottmeyers on
A case like this comes down to cycling efficency as well... After all that is one of the reasons I personally ride as I can bend some rules and get places faster and more efficently. In my opinion this one of the reasons messengers have chossen the bicycle for downtown deliveries. I am pretty sure it isn't for all of the delightful car bike interactions.
The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart. ~Iris Murdoch, The Red and the Green
Ah yes, efficiency.
Submitted by BCDon on
And yesterday morning, when I turned down 50th Ave it was chock ablock with stopped cars. No room to go around them so I hopped the curb on the left and rode for 1/2 a block on the wrong side of the road BUT, no traffic, then took my usual turn off to head over to Glenmore Park.
So yes, one of the things that I do when I ride is attempt to be efficient. With a commute that takes me an average of an hour, cutting out 1/2 a kilometer of distance can make a real difference. Especially in the morning when I have an overall elevation gain and muscles that aren't quite awake. My commute home is about 3KPH faster on average.
Where there's one there's many.
Submitted by PedalFaster on
So many people here are giving examples of how they 'just do it for a short distance'. Last night at around 5:30pm I kept my eye out for cyclists on the sidewalk and on just about every block on my route through downtown I saw a cyclist in full gear, lights, helmet, decent clothes, riding a block or two, riding across crosswalks, etc. These were not couriers, they were people heading home from work. So if everybody does it for 'just a few blocks' we now have sidewalks full of cyclists which is what I can honestly say I see a lot of downtown and also many other places in the city.
While I can't disagree that there are sometimes, very rarely, situations where it is very much safer (and therefor prudent) for a cyclist to take to the sidewalk I think most of the examples given in this thread are an indication that folks are doing it for convenience and not really for safety. (Aside: Although I ride the road under the train tracks I can't blame those who do not. this is a situation where I think cyclists are justified in riding the sidewalk as the city has really given no room for us on the road. There are other situations I could agree with too, but not many, and having ridden most of the city by road at one time or another I think cyclists just need to get better at being safe on the road and get off the sidewalks.)
So you have to ride around the block to get where you're going, what's the big deal? I have to do this all the time downtown, so do drivers, but that's what we have to do to be part of traffic. Certainly some intersections suck because of construction or rush hour traffic, but there are ways around, alleyways are great shortcuts and on a bike I can detour a block out of my way to avoid a trouble intersection with little trouble.
While some have commented that part of the reason we ride bikes is for the liberty and convenience of being able to take these kinds of shortcuts I think that is unfair reasoning from a pedestrian's point of view. Pedestrians would probably love to jaywalk everywhere instead of having to wait at lights, wouldn't that be one of the advantages of not being in a car? It's still illegal though and I hear enough criticism of jaywalkers walking into the path of oncoming cyclists (and cars) here that I think the point is clear. Just because it is convenient doesn't mean we have the right.
The only way we, as a community, are going to gain the respect we need to be safe on the roads, and be treated safely by drivers, is to abide by the rules and not get in the face of drivers or pedestrians. We need their help and understanding to get the laws passed and the money to build the infrastructure that we desperately want. Why irritate them all by breaking the rules while criticizing them for doing the same?
I would like to reference a recent post by Critninja on this topic as well: http://bikecalgary.org/?q=node/1687
well said...
Submitted by critninja on
...dan. IMO - you hit the nail on the head here.
see ya tonite.
when i see an adult on a bicycle, i do not despair for the future of the human race.
- h.g. wells
http://critninja.blogspot.com
Re jaywalking
Submitted by mercator on
Interesting discussion here, I don't have much to add on the main topic as I do not ride on the sidewalk. However, I do walk around downtown a lot and I can say with some confidence that in many cases jaywalking is safer than waiting for the light at the crosswalk.
Again, tru dat
Submitted by pinkrobe on
I'm not stupid enough to just wander out in front of traffic and expect everyone to grind to a halt for me, but I will often cross mid-block when it's clear. As peds we're supposed to cross at corners, but most drivers treat red lights and stop signs as yields when they make right-hand turns, and I've had way too many close calls doing the Right Thing...
___________________
Who causes accidents?
A defense of jaywalking
Submitted by amf673 on
Some might find this article interesting.
http://www.slate.com/id/2234011/
" ... that jaywalking is the single greatest risk to the urban pedestrian, that pedestrians wantonly solicit injuries and death with their depraved behavior, and that properly corralling pedestrians could solve all our traffic safety problems. All of which is wrong."
i jaywalk lots
Submitted by critninja on
generally speaking, when walking, i will cross whatever road i am needing to cross where i feel it is safer for me to cross. that could mean the ped light, that could mean the middle of the block. i feel safer choosing when and where i cross, as opposed to waiting for cars to hopefully stop at the painted line.
having said that, i do not step out into traffic expecting anyone to stop for me and if i choose to jaywalk, i try to do it so cars have no reason to stop for me.
i guess what i am saying is that if you are going to ride on the sidewalk dont do it in such a way that people (peds, cars) can easily critisize you. we are all guilty of riding on the sidewalk at some point in our lives. personally, i ride on the sidewalk in front of my house 3-4 times every single day without issue.
IMO - riding on the sidewalk, downtown, during the day, is not helping our cause.
when i see an adult on a bicycle, i do not despair for the future of the human race.
- h.g. wells
http://critninja.blogspot.com
agreed
Submitted by vonbergm on
I absolutely agree. And taking a slight detour on the road to avoid a sidewalk is usually not any slower and often faster, since you will be riding much faster.
On the road under the train tracks, I don't see the issue with riding these at all. You just have to claim a whole car lane.
"So you have to ride around
Submitted by Springbank Dave on
"So you have to ride around the block to get where you're going, what's the big deal?"
You obviously didn't understand my post.
If I go on the street from Banker's Hall parkade I have to go on 9th Avenue (half a block in backed up traffic) north on 2 streed for THREE BLOCKS (busy backed up traffic) to 6th Avenue and then ride on 6th Avenue (very busy backed up traffic) for a block or two and then take 5th, 7th or 8th street (all busy and backed up) back south to 8th Avenue.
This isn't "riding around the block"--it is riding around four blocks in BUSY BACKED UP DOWNTOWN TRAFFIC. I feel reasonably safe on busy roads, when traffic is moving. However, when cars are lined up and trying to get the jump on each other, I feel VERY unsafe. It isn't just a quick affair either. To do this loop, in this traffic would be a good 15 minutes, sitting in car exhaust.
Other than to be on a high horse, why would anyone do this??
"And taking a slight detour on the road to avoid a sidewalk is usually not any slower and often faster, since you will be riding much faster." This comment doesn't fit my reality AT ALL.
I concur completely.
Submitted by pinkrobe on
I concur completely. 9th Ave. to 2nd St. to 6th Ave. to 5th St. to 9th Ave. represents 7 [8?] lights, and heavy/aggro traffic on 6th and 5th. If you miss the light cycles [likely], 10-15 minutes is a very reasonable estimate unless you do some major filtering.
___________________
Who causes accidents?
How 'bout a tall bike instead of a high horse?
Submitted by PedalFaster on
As I stated before, I accept and respect the judgment of riders who take to the sidewalk under conditions they feel are unsafe or unreasonable. If you feel there is no other safe alternative to arrive at your destination then I suspect you are making a sound decision.
But I strongly feel that if we want respect we need to follow the rules.
What I am primarily interested in is advancing the cause of improving the situation for cyclists in our city and I just don't think that riding on the sidewalk is really helping our image all that much.
Also, whether you like my viewpoint or not, you will still get a ticket for riding on the sidewalk if a cop feels motivated to hand one out that day. As well you will be 100% at fault in the case of any accident involving a pedestrian OR if you ride off the sidewalk and have an encounter with a car.
"Other than to be on a high
Submitted by FZ6S on
"Other than to be on a high horse, why would anyone do this??"
Because riding on the sidewalk is illegal, and not at all conducive to getting pedestrians to show us the love.
Like I said, if you're not comfortable riding in traffic, maybe rethink your mode of transportation...and keep working on the lobbying to get better routes in place for us.
sidewalk
Submitted by 2wheeler on
Is it unreasonable to dismount and walk when on a busy downtown sidewalk? Walking a block ain't so bad.
No one is perfect.
Submitted by BCDon on
Lets turn this around. Once everyone in cars obey the laws then I will. Telling bicycle riders that things will get better if we all obey the laws is simply not true. We will always have people not "following" the laws and while some of it really annoys me and can be terribly unsafe, there isn't much I can do when a cage takes my space other than get out of it. And quite frankly, I don't trust them to follow their own laws and regulations anymore than they trust us. In fact, as a cyclist (and motorcyclist), I trust cages far less than when I'm a driver and see cyclists and motorcyclists.
Now, top it off with antiquated laws and public opinion which is so slanted against anything other than cars and we have a real issue on our hands. In my case, the issue is firstly, my own safety and "Staying Alive", second comes getting around and third comes laws (like say signalling which I do FAR more of than 95% of the vehicular traffic, heck signal once a day and you beat them).
weak
Submitted by 2wheeler on
argument
Actually it isn't
Submitted by ggdub on
Car specific roads and infrastructure weren't built because all the driver's got together and followed the rules and behaved. They were built because there was a demand for it.
What's weak is to believe that if we all just rode our bikes like cars and didn't take advantage of the inherent advantages of a more nimble vehicle, then the city will take us seriously. You'll never get everyone one to agree to that (again look at motorists and pedestrians as a guide) and taking away the advantages of the bicycle will likely result in less people cycling.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating being a d!ck and flouting laws for the sake of flouting them, but stating that riding on the sidewalk to avoid some sketchy and busy roads (or in my case, riding across the Bow/Sarcee intersection) will result in less clout for the cycling community is BS.
I have coworkers who would choose not to ride if they couldn't hop on the sidewalk going under the tracks on 8th street. IMHO, it is more valuable to advocacy to have those people riding to work regardless of whether they are riding legally 100% of the time, than it is to lose those people from the numbers of people choosing the bicycle as a form of transportation.
stretch
Submitted by 2wheeler on
so your saying that the more people break the law on bikes the more likely we'll get infrastructure?
An interesting interpretation
Submitted by BCDon on
But without getting into personalities I think its pretty obvious neither the author or myself stated nor intimated this. But to naively believe that "following all the rules" will give us more infrastructure is equally absurd. Neither will "do" the job.
The fact is that, as I pointed out, there are as many (and I think more from a percentage perspective) of people in cars breaking laws than on bicycles. Of course it depends upon "WHICH" laws. seeing as the "speed limit" on muti-use pathways is 20 KPH (and 10KPH in some ares), I'd suggest that the majority (by far) of cyclist speed. But so do automotive drivers. We could go on and on about how law abiding either side and we could go on and on about which group is following a "safer" practise but that's exactly what we have been doing.
If you want safety, drive an M1 Abrams, everything else is just a compromise. You choose to take the risk that when you ride "Under the tracks", a Hummer won't come up behind you and clip you. Others choose to ride on the sidewalk. I'd rather get a ticket riding on the sidewalk than be "dead right" but hey, that's just me not wanting to accept the level of risk you chose to.
You're right, we all break
Submitted by 2wheeler on
You're right, we all break the law, and we all use simplistic comparative arguments as a way of justifying it to ourselves.
And when our personal justification fails others scrutiny, well we tend to take it personally. Oh well!
more people on bikes!
Submitted by enidcoleslaw on
yea, i agree with you ggdub.
regarding the "maybe you should rethink your mode of transportation" comments, i don't think discouraging people from riding bikes is beneficial at all.
re: more people breaking the law = more infrastructure.
actually i do think so, in a way. the more people biking the more need for infrastructure. alot of people wouldn't bike if they couldn't get on the sidewalk when they get freaked out.
EDIT: i know my message is all over the place, 2wheeler posted while i was writing my reply and so i had to add some stuff...
wpm
Submitted by 2wheeler on
type faster!
Roads weren't built for cars.
Submitted by BCDon on
Originally, roads (Macadam) was put in for bicycles to use. It later got hijacked for cars and they never looked back. BUT, that's ancient history, just an interesting fact. Sorta like the requirement to ring your bell because bikes were too silent, sorta like having to stop your car at each intersection, get out and wave a flag before getting back in and proceeding. Old, but interesting.
Oh and really nothing to do with this argument but I think it's time to lighten up.
Ahh crap I wanted to use
Submitted by scottmeyers on
Ahh crap I wanted to use that argument.
The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart. ~Iris Murdoch, The Red and the Green
for the sake of clarity
Submitted by 2wheeler on
To be more specific the statement "Once everyone in cars obey the laws then I will" is a weak argument. Taking it to its logical ends would mean that no cyclist would need to obey any law as there will always be car or truck breaking the law. It is an attempt to remove personal responsibility as a vehicle operator and place the blame at the hands of a third party.
Well, I'm just going to keep
Submitted by Springbank Dave on
Well, I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing -- well, maybe I won't share my thoughts here so much. If you see me on the sidewalk riding from the Bankers' Hall parkade to 8th Avenue, give me a wave. Have a nice day.
Don't stop.
Submitted by BCDon on
Heck, don't stop posting your opinons. On a slow day I really enjoy reading them and putting my 2 cents worth in.
I find it interesting that there are some things that some folks are dead against while others think it is entirely normal. My wife for example gets real upset when someone rides across a crosswalk yet I tell her I do it where "I" think it makes sense. There are things we don't talk a lot about though :).
And, it does help to see someone else's view and see if you can see it form their side. May not change, may. Overall, you are and you ride based upon a lot of experiences and a lot of input.
Oh and I got a ticked for having tinted windows on the drivers and front passenger seats a number of years ago - what's that all about. Musta been a darn slow day cause I see LOTS of vehicles like that. At the time I told him I wasn't taking it off.
Just angry Don. I guess I
Submitted by Springbank Dave on
Just angry Don. I guess I am a true Alberta (though, I'd never vote Conservative) and get particular upset when people who don't know what they are talking about tell me what to do.
Hmmm...
Submitted by FZ6S on
I get also irritated by people who don't know what they are talking about, so I try not to be one of them! I've based my statements on almost 20 years of city biking experience in all kinds of conditions, and all kinds of traffic in several major cities. My wee rant was based on the fact that in all of the places where I've seen bikers on the sidewalks, it was really quite feasible to ride on the road. Maybe this thread should take a turn to the idea of helping increase the comfort of less experienced bikers in dealing with heavy traffic and crazy cagers on their cellphones (oops, the cellphone topic is another rant for another time! ;))?
NO FZ6S, you quite
Submitted by Springbank Dave on
NO FZ6S, you quite specifically told me to "reconsider [my] mode of transportation"--in other words you told me to stop cycling. I can't think of a more offensive comment one could make on this particular site. I'm not sure how you can claim to know the specifics of my life. Your experience is well and good, but it does NOT give you enough information to tell me what to do!
As a matter of fact (and CERTAINLY NOT due to your edict) I did take a different mode of transporation home last night. I jogged home on the Bow River path.
From this experience jogging (and many others in the past), I would suggest to you that you focus your hectoring and criticism on the rude jerky cyclists on the pathway--I'd describe my experience, but I don't feel like opening up myself to any more criticism. More harm is done to the reputation of cyclists by these morons on the paths, than anything I do between the Bankers' Hall parkade and 8 Ave. (I wonder if you even know how short a distance this is?).
In defense of Springbank Dave
Submitted by ride on
Okay Dave, you could just walk your bike westward from the parkade to 3 St, and no one would be giving you any grief. Or you could (and I presume you do) just ride slowly, respecting pedestrians, and you're no more of a menace than a person in a motorised wheelchair.
But, another argument is the following: if the city weren't so overwhelming biased in favour of moving single-occupant vehicles around, 9th Ave wouldn't be a one-way street. Many studies have shown that one-way streets decrease the quality of life for residents, because they encourage higher vehicle speeds, and make crossing roads more difficult for pedestrians. That's one of the reasons why 2 St SW and 5 St SW were recently changed back to 2-way traffic. Most of the time outside rush hour, most motor traffic on 9th Ave is doing 60 km/h+ in order to keep up with the "green wave" of stoplights.
If planners really wanted to encourage bike commuting and increase quality of life for pedestrians and residents of the downtown area, they'd take out all of the one-ways... and there would be a westward lane on 9th Ave for you to ride.
Viewed in this light, your act of riding westward on the 9th Ave sidewalk isn't lawbreaking, it's bike advocacy. If we're ever going to get more bike infrastructure in the downtown core, we need a lot more of us to start speaking up and asking for it. Oh and by the way, register your demands by calling 3-1-1: those calls do get logged and the requests reviewed annually.
Ride, there is no presuming
Submitted by Springbank Dave on
Ride, there is no presuming about how careful I am on the sidewalk. Please scroll up and read what I wrote.
I appreciate your comments and I do log my fair share of calls to 311 (actually, I use the website). Unfortunately for cyclists, my next calls might be logged as Dave-the-Jogger. Not sure you folks will be so supportive of those complaints!
I'm with you 100%
Submitted by mike runs on
Sorry to be late to the thread, but I'm with you 100%. I also park my bike in Bankers Hall and take exactly the route you describe (sidewalk, west through the plaza, up by RBC, then west on 8th).
I've experimented with every route coming out of that area and settled on the one that's safest for me. Heading west on 9th can be impossible depending on what's happening with the construction, then the taxi stand on 2nd is another hazard entirely.
I don't want to make a statement for urban cycling, or anything else, I just want to get home safely. Nuff said.
Bikes on Sidewalks
Submitted by filcortese on
WTF? I am getting extremely annoyed by cyclists (adults without kids) riding on the sidewalk. I always comment that the road is "right there" and they should use it....and of course I get the occasional "f*** y**". There should be more enforcement regarding the issue of riding on sidewalks.
Not a fair statement
Submitted by RichieRich on
Wow sounds like you had an incident? or witnessed one? Care to share? Your comment will certainly get some attention so a better description of your experience will lead to a more intelligent conversation in any forum.
Before going off please try to understand WHY the cyclist was on the sidewalk. It's not as easy as saying "the law says xyz so that's the way it must be!" Logic needs to be applied.
Our wonderful city of Calgary has many many examples of how to poorly set up pathways, road closures, bad detours, torn up pathways, unsafe roads, uncleared paths, speed limitations, etc etc... Similarly there are many ignorant/naive cyclists that make poor decisions, or are forced to. I see this every day too, and at the same time am forced to sidewalk ride one portion of my daily commute or be hit (again) by a vehicle.
BikeCalgary has been and is currently working on improving and supporting education of everyone but there's only so much they can do. It all starts at home with the kids and teaching them properly (as opposed to opinionated outburts), hoping that our education system can educate folks, and supporting alternate means of transportation.
Careful
Submitted by ryker on
Some sidewalks are designated bike paths (e.g. uphill on 10th Street NW). I've had some annoyed joggers tell me to "get the fuck off the sidewalk" when that is where I'm expected to be. Sidewalk bike paths are a pretty bad solution but it's an imperfect world.
Centre St. bridge
Submitted by DD on
Is a terrible mess of a sidewalk-pathway. The signs on both sides are inconsistent and confusing. And going north on the east side it just ends at Samis Rd., even though the last stretch of 'pathway' on the east side south of Samis Rd is no wider than the sidewalk that continues north.
I used to run into a passive-aggressive type on the Centre St 'pathway' in the mornings who would dart from side to side as he saw/heard me coming, to block my way. I kind of miss that entertainment now that I don't go that way very often.