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NO... something going 20mph + that easily doesn't belong on a pedestrian bike path either. I've seen way too many zooming by me and my infant in a stroller at s

NO... something going 20mph + that easily doesn't belong on a pedestrian bike path either. I've seen way too many zooming by me and my infant in a stroller at speeds that are too dangerous to be on paths. If it has a motor it belongs on the road. Just like a motorcycle you accept the risk of being hit by a bigger vehicle that also uses the road.

jakelazaroff 3y ago
Why are you walking with your stroller in the bike path?
- SkipperCat 3y ago
  In NYC, there are a lot of shared bike/pedestrian paths, so the commenter may be legit in their use of the path.
  - throw1234651234 3y ago
    Absolutely. They cross over all the time and there is way too much going on to always be aware of your surroundings.
  - jakelazaroff 3y ago
    Where, Riverside Drive? The parks? The vast majority of bike lanes I see either A) do not exist, so bikers are forced to share space with either cars or pedestrians, or B) a narrow lane in the road demarcated by only paint. Plus, bike lanes are often blocked by delivery trucks, taxis, etc, so bikers end up having to share space with cars or pedestrians anyway.
  - fnfjfk 3y ago
    Not really? It’s mostly the uptown section of the greenway and the Jamaica bay path that are shared, and the latter is mostly used by enthusiasts (distance runners and roadies) that are aware, it’s not a big problem. The other “paths” in NYC are split, greenway down/midtown, Flushing/Kent path, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Red Hook path. And of course the vast majority of bike lanes are on the street rather than “paths”.
- DrThunder 3y ago
  Paths in the US are usually multi-use. Almost no where has a dedicated bike lane, and if they do it's just a line on the side of the road. If you're going to be speeding along at 20mph the side of the road works just fine.
agloe_dreams 3y ago
> Just like a motorcycle you accept the risk of being hit by a bigger vehicle that also uses the road. Hahaha. You do not see the irony at all do you? You and a stroller have zero business being on a bike path to begin with. The solution everyone is talking about here is Roads for Cars + Bike paths + Pedestrian-only Sidewalks. The issue of having bikes near people is the same as having cars near bikes.
manzanarama 3y ago
Pedestrian bike path is a bit of an oxy moron. Bikes and e-bikes generally aren’t allowed on the sidewalk or where people are walking. I agree with that. A bike trail seems fair game. I could agree with a 20 or 25 mph speed limit for all types of bikes on a trail as well.
afavour 3y ago
Yeah, I'm going to say "no" in response to your "no", sorry. For one, I've seen plenty of non-motorized bikes go over 20mph in bikes lanes, particularly down hills. > zooming by me and my infant in a stroller at speeds that are too dangerous to be on paths To be clear: you and your infant are not sharing the path with this bike, right? It's on a bike path, you're on a pedestrian path. I don't understand what a "pedestrian bike path" is. If a car drives past the sidewalk at 25mph do you have a similar reaction? If not, why not? And just so we don't get too many "won't somebody please think of the children!" accusations thrown around: I own a cargo e-bike and I take my kids to school on it every day, via a separated bike path. If I were required to bike on the road instead I simply wouldn't do it, it's far too dangerous. So we'd probably end up having to get a car and if, heaven forbid, I were to get in any kind of an accident a pedestrian would be considerably worse off. EDIT: From the replies I can see many cities do have shared paths so I take that back. Seems like a very unwise choice and goes back to the original point: 90+% of of road space being dedicated to cars is the core problem, not bikers. And plenty of non-motorized bikers travel at unsafe speeds so I maintain a blanket ban on e-bikes feels like it isn't coming from anywhere logical.
- throw1234651234 3y ago
  I was just in NYC (not a resident, so it's fresh). You cross a "bike" path any time you cross a street. On the West side "health run path thing" there isn't enough space for both bikes and pedestrians and there is constantly a chance of collision. It's pretty unsafe. Guessing it's not too fun for kids, the elderly, or anyone who can't react IMMEDIATELY both physically and mentally. I guess "that's just the city", but there is nothing safe about it.
  - fnfjfk 3y ago
    The west side greenway is segregated downtown and in midtown, but joggers and tourists often go in the bike part anyways. There are some pretty clear signs and bikes painted on the ground there, but they get ignored. Uptown, around the 80s I think, it is shared, but it’s less crowded and it’s more New Yorkers that know what’s up rather than tourists.
- 3y ago
deleted 3y ago
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adrianN 3y ago
In Germany electric bicycles are limited to 25km/h (assisted). But the real solution is bike paths that are sufficiently wide to allow safe overtaking. Many people can do 30+km/h on a regular bike.
- DrThunder 3y ago
  That sounds like a motorway.
nxx788 3y ago
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jakelazaroff 3y ago

Why are you walking with your stroller in the bike path?

SkipperCat 3y ago
In NYC, there are a lot of shared bike/pedestrian paths, so the commenter may be legit in their use of the path.
- throw1234651234 3y ago
  Absolutely. They cross over all the time and there is way too much going on to always be aware of your surroundings.
- jakelazaroff 3y ago
  Where, Riverside Drive? The parks? The vast majority of bike lanes I see either A) do not exist, so bikers are forced to share space with either cars or pedestrians, or B) a narrow lane in the road demarcated by only paint. Plus, bike lanes are often blocked by delivery trucks, taxis, etc, so bikers end up having to share space with cars or pedestrians anyway.
- fnfjfk 3y ago
  Not really? It’s mostly the uptown section of the greenway and the Jamaica bay path that are shared, and the latter is mostly used by enthusiasts (distance runners and roadies) that are aware, it’s not a big problem. The other “paths” in NYC are split, greenway down/midtown, Flushing/Kent path, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Red Hook path. And of course the vast majority of bike lanes are on the street rather than “paths”.
DrThunder 3y ago
Paths in the US are usually multi-use. Almost no where has a dedicated bike lane, and if they do it's just a line on the side of the road. If you're going to be speeding along at 20mph the side of the road works just fine.

agloe_dreams 3y ago

> Just like a motorcycle you accept the risk of being hit by a bigger vehicle that also uses the road. Hahaha. You do not see the irony at all do you? You and a stroller have zero business being on a bike path to begin with. The solution everyone is talking about here is Roads for Cars + Bike paths + Pedestrian-only Sidewalks. The issue of having bikes near people is the same as having cars near bikes.

manzanarama 3y ago

Pedestrian bike path is a bit of an oxy moron. Bikes and e-bikes generally aren’t allowed on the sidewalk or where people are walking. I agree with that. A bike trail seems fair game. I could agree with a 20 or 25 mph speed limit for all types of bikes on a trail as well.

afavour 3y ago

Yeah, I'm going to say "no" in response to your "no", sorry. For one, I've seen plenty of non-motorized bikes go over 20mph in bikes lanes, particularly down hills. > zooming by me and my infant in a stroller at speeds that are too dangerous to be on paths To be clear: you and your infant are not sharing the path with this bike, right? It's on a bike path, you're on a pedestrian path. I don't understand what a "pedestrian bike path" is. If a car drives past the sidewalk at 25mph do you have a similar reaction? If not, why not? And just so we don't get too many "won't somebody please think of the children!" accusations thrown around: I own a cargo e-bike and I take my kids to school on it every day, via a separated bike path. If I were required to bike on the road instead I simply wouldn't do it, it's far too dangerous. So we'd probably end up having to get a car and if, heaven forbid, I were to get in any kind of an accident a pedestrian would be considerably worse off. EDIT: From the replies I can see many cities do have shared paths so I take that back. Seems like a very unwise choice and goes back to the original point: 90+% of of road space being dedicated to cars is the core problem, not bikers. And plenty of non-motorized bikers travel at unsafe speeds so I maintain a blanket ban on e-bikes feels like it isn't coming from anywhere logical.

throw1234651234 3y ago
I was just in NYC (not a resident, so it's fresh). You cross a "bike" path any time you cross a street. On the West side "health run path thing" there isn't enough space for both bikes and pedestrians and there is constantly a chance of collision. It's pretty unsafe. Guessing it's not too fun for kids, the elderly, or anyone who can't react IMMEDIATELY both physically and mentally. I guess "that's just the city", but there is nothing safe about it.
- fnfjfk 3y ago
  The west side greenway is segregated downtown and in midtown, but joggers and tourists often go in the bike part anyways. There are some pretty clear signs and bikes painted on the ground there, but they get ignored. Uptown, around the 80s I think, it is shared, but it’s less crowded and it’s more New Yorkers that know what’s up rather than tourists.
3y ago

deleted 3y ago

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adrianN 3y ago

In Germany electric bicycles are limited to 25km/h (assisted). But the real solution is bike paths that are sufficiently wide to allow safe overtaking. Many people can do 30+km/h on a regular bike.

DrThunder 3y ago
That sounds like a motorway.

nxx788 3y ago

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