Riding on sidewalks is not always safe

[manual63]

I have a office on Washington Av and I opened up the door the other day to almost hit a bike rider on the sidewalk? He was going about 10-15mph! Riding on the sidewalk is dangerious! And against the law in a business district. When riding in the street a rider should keep thier line. For instance do not swerve out in front of traffic comming from behind. And do not swerve in and out from parked cars. Hold your line as to be predictable to other traffic(cars and other bikes). Info on Minnesota state laws regarding bicycles (http://www.dot.state.mn.us/bike.html).

Got this from the One on One Bicycle Studio Blog (http://www.oneononebike.com)

Sometimes I do ride on the sidewalk. Mostly on my BMX bike or when street riding (aka: Urban Assault). When I do ride on the sidewalk, I am not commuting and I don't do 15 MPH. I go slow, yield to peds, and am careful.

One other suggestion I liked here is the hold your line one. I have seen cyclists weave in and out of parked cars, not a good idea. You want a driver to see you from a far distance. If you weave you could surprise a driver that doesn't know you are in the road. Many riders think they need to hug the curb and are afraid of being in traffic. You need to make a choice, be in traffic, of don't ride on the roads at all. It's actually much safer to be mixed in with the cars then it is to be hugging the curb. Some drivers may not like it, but tough sh@#!

Done with rant......now back to.....:banghead:

[mara]

On that note, I cringe every time I see a rider swerve waaaay right into the crosswalk when crossing an intersection only to weave right back out into traffic when reaching the other side. Roadkill waiting to happen. The occasional idiot may get annoyed with cyclists on their road, but even if they're annoyed, they still see you.

Be safe out there!

[bigwheel]

I'm one of the chickens that prefers a sidewalk over a busy street.

Example: I had been working near Southtown, coming from Eagan. While working there, I was commuting over 494, then along American Blvd. This is the only E-W route that I know of (other than heading south to Old Shakopee) that gets me past Mall of America, across Cedar Ave and 35w.

For most of the ride, American Blvd has a nice wide sidewalk that is far away from the road, and far away from any buildings. I saw several road bikes riding on the road, but it looked way too busy for my taste. One screw-up by anyone, and you'd be a road pizza.

I realize that it's tougher to see bikes on the sidewalk, and that there are likely more accidents. But, I'm willing to take it on myself to watch for traffic at intersections, rather than to expect every one of the cars to be watching out for me on the road. If there was a bikeway nearby or even a separate bike lane, then it would be a different situation.

If you include sidewalks on your ride, then the mountain bike is a nice commuter. You don't have to enter/exit the sidewalks via the wheelchair ramps. Just bunny hop the curb. Plus, you can practice track stands and hopping in place while waiting for the lights to change.

[mara]

Sidewalks are nice sometimes, especially in Dakota County if you don't mind slowing down at all the intersections and keeping an eye on driveways. They're a good alternative in the suburbs and in industrial areas like that part of Bloomington.

It's a whole different issue if you're going to be riding your bike downtown. There, riding sidewalks is illegal and hugging the curb and popping in and out of parked cars will get you squished.

[SPR]

The 2 way bike lanes downtown scare me. I have to guess that cars making left turns across these lanes are not expecting a bike to come up on their left side.

[[defective]]

Walking on sidewalks is also dangerous.

I was out with my dog this morning, walking on a park sidewalk - 30 ft away from a nice smooth bike path - and some idiot on a bike passed me on my left from behind without any warning, inches away, just as my dog was crossing in front of me from right to left. She almost nailed my dog in the head. Really really close call.

There's a slightly loony guy who walks around the park every day carrying a menacing stick that he holds across his waist so it sticks out a couple of feet to either side. He says it's to keep the joggers (who he claims are "terrorists") from running up behind him too close.

I'm gonna get me one of them wacky sticks for sidewalk bikers. It's gonna be a freedom stick. I'm gonna wield it with passive aggression. ;)

[Nickel]

I think some of the Southern cities use the sidewalks as a bike path (thinking of Pilot Knob..?).

[manual63]

I think some of the Southern cities use the sidewalks as a bike path (thinking of Pilot Knob..?).

Yeah, there are always exceptions. As you get further into the Suburbs, they tend to have those mega-blocks. Not many people use the sidewalks in those areas. The one Bob was referring to on American Blvd has a wide sidewalk. I hardly ever see anyone use it. There is a lot of room on it and plenty of visibility. But like Bob said, you are responsible for being seen. If you enter the road or a driveway, cars are most likely not expecting you and won't see you.

I still ride in the road on American Blvd. On Pilot Knob, I use the path, which is more of a path than a sidewalk in my opinion.

[sortastock]

Sometimes no matter what you do, riding anywhere near other people can be dangerous. There is a part of road where I can keep up with traffic by my house. It's not a busy road, just a small suburban street. I was running it one day, and got plowed over by a guy in a grand prix. actually I plowed over him. He pulled out and wiped my front wheel out from under me, and my knees hit the driver door and I slid across his roof on my stomach. I got really lucky and only had a few brusies. Taco'd my front wheel and wrecked his door... It was crazy how fast that happened.

[iteric]

;216365']

There's a slightly loony guy who walks around the park every day carrying a menacing stick that he holds across his waist so it sticks out a couple of feet to either side. He says it's to keep the joggers (who he claims are "terrorists") from running up behind him too close.


Slightly loony?!? Sounds like the guy is full on nuts!

I think it's dangerous no matter where you ride. The dangers are different though. All you can do is pay attention and do your best to make yourself visible.
Roads: @sses crowding you or throwing stuff. Doors popping open. People blowing red lights. Random senior citizens who can barely see who jack your wheel with their bumper.
Sidewalks: Crazys who want to mess with you or walk into your path, possibly intentionally.

The night I got my bike I had a "crew" of teenage thug wanna-bes tried messing with me on 66th street outside the ice arena. I kept riding but it was a little unnerving to deal with that after a few year hiatus from the saddle.

I try to play it safe by riding the sidewalk then stop anytime I see a car that has the slightest possibility of crossing my path. It interrupts the flow of my ride but it keeps me alive, getting hit once is once too many for me thank you.

[manual63]

People blowing red lights.

I see a lot more cyclists doing this than cars......hmmmmm?? Those same cyclists that would get really upset if they saw a car do it....:banghead:

[iteric]

I don't doubt it but I've been seeing more cars doing it, especially at night. I admit that I used to do it when I was young and stupid. Kind of sucks that some bikers don't think traffic laws apply to them, makes us all look bad and gives some drivers justification in their minds for the **** they pull.
I've also see plenty of the MTC bus drivers racing lights or the light rail barriers near the mall too. That's just plain stupid.

[manual63]

light rail barriers near the mall.

This area is awesome. You see, you have a stoplight and the lightrail tracks all in one spot. When the light is red, cars are supposed to stop before the light rail tracks. Most do at this point. But if a train goes by and the arms lift, drivers start to pull forward (I have almost done it a couple of times).......but wait...the light is still red. Now the cars are stopped on the tracks.

Okay, so I know the responsibility here lies with the driver. But why not leave the light rail arms down until the light is about to turn green? At least that way no one can mistakingly drive forward after the gate arms lift up and the light is still red. Makes sense to me.

[steef]

Just because it makes sense to you.... ;)

[Paul Swenson]

This was in an article in the NY Times. Apparently it's a lot more dangerous to ride on the sidewalk:

Never ride on the sidewalk — sidewalk crashes are 25 times as frequent than crashes that occur on major streets. Safest are streets with bike lanes. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/05/health/05brod.html?ref=health

The article has a nice little multimedia feature.