4 ms·

They should ride on dedicated bike paths or the sidewalk.

burkaman 5y ago
I mean I agree with you in that I kind of hate cars and wish I could use bike paths and public transit to get everywhere, but quite a substantial portion of the world has either no sidewalks where they live, or sidewalks like NYC or Tokyo that are so busy they are impossible to bike on.
legerdemain 5y ago
Erm... where I am in the US (Bay Area), many neighborhoods have neither. Just a rain gutter on the side of the road and no sidewalk.
cranekam 5y ago
Riding on the sidewalk is a terrible idea. The sidewalk is for pedestrians, not people weaving around on bikes. I'm massively pro-cycling, but bikes belong either in dedicated infrastructure or on the roads. Roads must not be monopolized by motor traffic — everyone pays for this infrastructure through taxation and it should serve everyone equally well.
- jay_kyburz 5y ago
  I think a bike - pedestrian collision is less likely to kill somebody than a car - bike collision.
  - cranekam 5y ago
    That may be so, but being killed isn't the only thing that pedestrians are concerned with. At best it's plain annoying to have a someone on a bike squeezing around pedestrians (remember that even a slow-moving bike is likely faster than people walking), and at worst there are collisions and bumps and forcing people off the path and whatever else. Cycling on a sidewalk is also not a good experience for the cyclist, either. When crossing a perpendicular street it's quite a pain to look behind to see if someone is about to turn into you as you cross the road. This is no problem for pedestrians because they move slowly and can usually look back without wavering too much. It's not a concern for cyclists on the road because they have the right of way. Then there are reversing cars, stuff in the way (bins, lamp posts, whatever) and myriad other reasons why cycling on a sidewalk is impractical. I love cycling and bikes and firmly believe cycling has an important role in getting people around. But it shouldn't be at the expense of people who're walking. Bikes belong on dedicated infrastructure or on the road. If the road is deemed "not suitable" somehow this needs to be addressed by building better roads.

I mean I agree with you in that I kind of hate cars and wish I could use bike paths and public transit to get everywhere, but quite a substantial portion of the world has either no sidewalks where they live, or sidewalks like NYC or Tokyo that are so busy they are impossible to bike on.

legerdemain 5y ago

Erm... where I am in the US (Bay Area), many neighborhoods have neither. Just a rain gutter on the side of the road and no sidewalk.

cranekam 5y ago

Riding on the sidewalk is a terrible idea. The sidewalk is for pedestrians, not people weaving around on bikes. I'm massively pro-cycling, but bikes belong either in dedicated infrastructure or on the roads. Roads must not be monopolized by motor traffic — everyone pays for this infrastructure through taxation and it should serve everyone equally well.

jay_kyburz 5y ago
I think a bike - pedestrian collision is less likely to kill somebody than a car - bike collision.
- cranekam 5y ago
  That may be so, but being killed isn't the only thing that pedestrians are concerned with. At best it's plain annoying to have a someone on a bike squeezing around pedestrians (remember that even a slow-moving bike is likely faster than people walking), and at worst there are collisions and bumps and forcing people off the path and whatever else. Cycling on a sidewalk is also not a good experience for the cyclist, either. When crossing a perpendicular street it's quite a pain to look behind to see if someone is about to turn into you as you cross the road. This is no problem for pedestrians because they move slowly and can usually look back without wavering too much. It's not a concern for cyclists on the road because they have the right of way. Then there are reversing cars, stuff in the way (bins, lamp posts, whatever) and myriad other reasons why cycling on a sidewalk is impractical. I love cycling and bikes and firmly believe cycling has an important role in getting people around. But it shouldn't be at the expense of people who're walking. Bikes belong on dedicated infrastructure or on the road. If the road is deemed "not suitable" somehow this needs to be addressed by building better roads.