Discussions

sean said "so jack ass, you get physically scared when you see someone riding a bike on the sidewalk? even if its a kid? so you would rather see someone bike down 18th street or Victoria rather than on a sidewalk. I know what your response already is. "its the law!" oh well, only in Brandon! and yes I do get off my bike and walk across at crosswalks. "

No, I don't personally get physicallt scared, but do you think perhaps a Mom with a toddler or stroller might? Or an elderly person?  
I can tell by you response that you are one of those who don't give 2 sh1ts about anyone else, or yes, about the law. Keep putting yourself first. Screw everyone else.

what I dislike is the 34th street bike/walk path....do the cyclist realize the there are stop signs meant for you ....which means stop...get off your bike and WALK through the crosswalk....yes CROSSWALK is for walking not riding....enough said

no I don't think any reasonable person gets scared when they see a bike on a sidewalk. there's not spikes or bombs attached to it. you think everytime a bike passes a pedestrian on a sidewalk something terrible is going to happen? if that was the case we'd have sidewalks littered with corpses of seniors and baby carriages blown apart everyday. I like to think I treat everybody respectfully I meet. I haven't mowed down anyone on a sidewalk. I get along well with my family and friends. treat my elders with respect and the children too. I even greet strangers with a smile. just try to be a good person in general.

sean said "no I don't think any reasonable person gets scared when they see a bike on a sidewalk. there's not spikes or bombs attached to it. you think everytime a bike passes a pedestrian on a sidewalk something terrible is going to happen? if that was the case we'd have sidewalks littered with corpses of seniors and baby carriages blown apart everyday. I like to think I treat everybody respectfully I meet. I haven't mowed down anyone on a sidewalk. I get along well with my family and friends. treat my elders with respect and the children too. I even greet strangers with a smile. just try to be a good person in general. "

The same could be said about riding your bike on the street where you belong. Not every car is going to try and run you down! The streets aren't littered with the bodies of cyclists and their wrecked bikes. There's no spikes or bombs on cars either. Do you think every time a car passes a bike something terrible will happen?  
 
Are you starting to see the double standard, or are you too stubborn?

ok I see what you are saying but if I have to get to the bank on 18th or bike up to the mall sometimes you just can't avoid going on a sidewalk. I moved here from Edmonton where you can bike on the sidewalk, youre just required to have a bell. and no I don't ride the sidewalk the whole way up, whooshing by mothers and their babies or forcing seniors onto a lawn. and I know this isn't Edmonton, I just wrongly thought people and bikes can co-exist on a sidewalk in this town.

Use sidewalks when biking as much as possible. When on sidewalks I am couteous and cautious and always give right of way to peds. I don't know why it bothers someone so much if a cyclist is taking the safer route of riding on a sidewalk. I know it's the law to ride on roads and streets as vehicles, but bicycles aren't motorized and as such are much slower than the traffic and pose a real hazzard to themselves. I think we can all agree that some times laws are ridiculous and when you really, really stop and think about it...... riding a bike where trucks and cars whiz by is just pure stupid and hazardous. Tell me this anybody. When have you heard of a cyclist running over a pedestrian and causing death? We don't have to search so far to see cyclist killed by vehicles, happens every year!Too mamy drivers not paying attention for me to ride my 25lbs bike beside their 3000lbs truck! Life is just too important to me to roll the dice on a bike ride. Ride safe everyone and use the sidewalks as it may just save your life!

Couldn't of said it better myself

that when you are riding on the sidewalks you are watching for cars at each driveway/parking lot exit? If so, then it is all good. If not, well, don't expect much sympathy when you drive into the side of some car or truck as it exits that parking lot.

JessieJay said "that when you are riding on the sidewalks you are watching for cars at each driveway/parking lot exit? If so, then it is all good. If not, well, don't expect much sympathy when you drive into the side of some car or truck as it exits that parking lot. "

Funny how people are judging cyclists as having the "Me, Me, me" attitude....  
When the majority of people are saying "Well if you get hit by a car no sympathy"  
 
Everyone is judging each other so harshly.  
Nice "community" Brandon has here

Try to comprehend.  
 
If a cyclist wants to be on the sidewalk then he needs to watch for cross traffic at all driveways. You might expect a vehicle to cross the sidewalk at parking lot exits, so watch for those cars. As a car driver, when I am pulling out onto the street I watch for cars and I check the sidewalk for pedestrians. I do not look half a block down for bicycles - there are many places where the driver cannot see half a block down the sidewalk-one alley exit I use daily is that way. I creep out to where I know there is no pedestrian about to step out in front of me and then I proceed. A cyclist going at a faster rate of speed on tge sidewalk would be into the side of my car if he isn't watching for traffic-because I would never see him coming. If it is too hard for a cyclist to watch out for situations like that I suggest he should not be riding a bike.

why we can't just respect each other? I take my daughter on the sidewalk the few times we come to Brandon to use the paths. We are polite and patient. We smile at other pedestrians. There is a way to co-exist. At the some token, we aren't flying down the paths either, and should we get some speed up, we slow down when approaching pedestrians, walk our bikes across controlled intersections and crosswalks, and cross all roadways cautiously. We've never had an issue.

Sidewalk - sideWALK, not sideRIDE.  
 
I ride my bike on the less busy streets and bike paths, not sidewalks. Sidewalks are for people walking.

A non motorized bike belongs on the road WITH motorized vehicles going twice the speeds?? Would you like kids on a scooter and skateboards on the road too??Get over it and just be happy we are all alive and healthy. Bigger problems to worry about than this people.

I don't make the rules. I just follow them.

p.baker said "A thread like this seems to pop up every summer lol     I've recently started biking to and from work as my daily exersize. And sorry to the OP or anyone else this might offend you *insert sarcasm*... I DO bike on the side walks. Here's why. First off, Brandon does not have bike lanes through out the city. Secondly, many people in Brandon drive like a**holes. Therefore, in the end, as a cyclist I DO NOT feel safe biking on the streets.     If I happen to bike up to someone walking, I will slow down and move over on to the street. Stop making all adult cyclists sound like jerks. "

i do not think the problem is all adults, it is that segment of people that go fast with no regard for pedestrians that the sidewalk was constructed for.this group i:ncludes older kids,teens,middle aged and a few seniors.if you cannot ride on the sidewalk and keep pedestrians safe then get on the road.

It does not really matter where they ride. I was on grand Valley road and 2 guys were chatting one on the side where he should be and one in the middle of the road.. He did not move over when I came up to them so I had to wait for the on coming cars to get by before I could pass, then he gave me the finger... I think that the human race has no respect any more for anyone but themselves it does not matter if they ride a bike, drive a car or walk.. And that is real sad..

70`s guy said "Use sidewalks when biking as much as possible. When on sidewalks I am couteous and cautious and always give right of way to peds. I don't know why it bothers someone so much if a cyclist is taking the safer route of riding on a sidewalk. I know it's the law to ride on roads and streets as vehicles, but bicycles aren't motorized and as such are much slower than the traffic and pose a real hazzard to themselves. I think we can all agree that some times laws are ridiculous and when you really, really stop and think about it...... riding a bike where trucks and cars whiz by is just pure stupid and hazardous. Tell me this anybody. When have you heard of a cyclist running over a pedestrian and causing death? We don't have to search so far to see cyclist killed by vehicles, happens every year!Too mamy drivers not paying attention for me to ride my 25lbs bike beside their 3000lbs truck! Life is just too important to me to roll the dice on a bike ride. Ride safe everyone and use the sidewalks as it may just save your life! "

that you are courteous and cautious when riding your bike on the sidewalk. You are not the type of bike rider that I would complain about  
 
Some bike riders think they can whizz past peds, if there is a good wind blowing in your ears when walking you can't hear any bike rider coming behind you what happens if the walker moves over on the sidewalk? I had one guy swear at me because I moved over with my dog.  
 
Then at intersections, bikes move a hell of a lot faster than peds. Many times when driving I thought it was clear to turn and then there's a bike in front of me Inclement weather makes it worse!  
 
My late elderly mother was brave enough to ride Richmond when she was biking. No one has to bike the busy streets, travel the next one over.

mackenzie5 said "    p.baker said "A thread like this seems to pop up every summer lol     I've recently started biking to and from work as my daily exersize. And sorry to the OP or anyone else this might offend you *insert sarcasm*... I DO bike on the side walks. Here's why. First off, Brandon does not have bike lanes through out the city. Secondly, many people in Brandon drive like a**holes. Therefore, in the end, as a cyclist I DO NOT feel safe biking on the streets.     If I happen to bike up to someone walking, I will slow down and move over on to the street. Stop making all adult cyclists sound like jerks. " i do not think the problem is all adults, it is that segment of people that go fast with no regard for pedestrians that the sidewalk was constructed for.this group i:ncludes older kids,teens,middle aged and a few seniors.if you cannot ride on the sidewalk and keep pedestrians safe then get on the road. "

I believe I was very clear that I wasn't "making all cyclists sound like jerks": in fact I was fairly specific in pointing out that some are very considerate. As someone pointed out earlier, it's a sideWALK & someone else made the point that there are less busy streets than the main ones that could be cycled on more "safely".

Guess I''m showing my age here by referring to the defensive driving course from years ago, but the idea presented by these three things can be applied to more than just driving.  
A person has to be responsible for their own safety, this applies to driving, biking, walking or jogging on a side walk, or working with equipment, or any thing hazardous, one has to use care and caution. Care means doing things that reduce the risk to ones self, caution means being aware of ones surroundings and any possible situation that may cause an accident. My opinion is that most people exibit care and caution because we seem to have a limited amout of accidents.  
Courtesy seems to be a whole different story. Courtesy is when you realize that others have the right to life their life in the way they choose, and maybe it causes you a very minor inconvience, like waiting for the driver who''s only doing 40 in a 50 zone, or if your a motorist giving the cyclist their spot it traffic flow, even it means driving below the posted speed, or maybe your a pedestrian, at a crosswalk, and you decide to wait because you don''t want to make a semi come to a stop.  
Thought of the day: it''s nice to be important, but it''s important to be nice.  
 
Edited by don brown, 2017-06-25 12:18:25