Why I Ride on the Sidewalk
A bicyclist speeding down the road on one of those racing bikes with the skinny tires should most definitely take their chances on the streets. They are going way too fast for the sidewalk. On the other hand, the streets, even ones with bike lanes, are extremely dangerous for cyclists. Just a couple weeks ago, a woman crashed her bike to avoid impact with a car pushing her out of the bike lane. A few days ago, I was pushed out of a no-bike-lane street and over the center divider by a big pickup truck. Lucky for me, there was no oncoming traffic.
When I ride my old, slow bike on the sidewalk (because it’s safer), I get off and walk for pedestrians. I know there is an ordinance against riding on the sidewalk, but the streets are just too dangerous. I am truly thankful the ordinance is not enforced. Just yesterday I was not using my bike at all. I was crossing the street at the crosswalk with the pedestrian little man when a turning vehicle stopped in arms reach of me. Meanwhile, the driver behind was beeping, gesturing, and yelling, “Go, go!” Clearly that driver either did not know or care about the 60 tickets in the pedestrian sting a couple weeks ago.
