Riding bicycles on sidewalks ( Archived) (60)

All I can say is,Happy Pedalling!

Our city has just introduced bicycle lanes on some of our streets where parallel parking used to be allowed. A good idea, I don't know. When I cycle I feel much safer on a sidewalk rather than directly on the road. More often than not cyclers and drivers have a totally different mindset. Accidents do happen.

Thereby hangs a tale. When you have two modes of transportation with differing ideas and ideals, there are going to be problems. In traffic, these are deadly. So, in my view, the answer is to side with the motorists. Let's be reasonable: motorists use roads, highways, freeways at speeds that far exceed bicycles. This is not going away. And it is unfair to expect motorists to yield to the much slower bikes, which frequently aren't seen soon enough to respond. (I used to think differently when cycling, but after needing to drive through cities and suburbs I clearly saw the motorists' point of view. They are RIGHT.) Many egotistical and self-serving bicyclists have caused traffic accidents. The change that is needed includes providing completely adequate lanes for them, or prohibiting them from attempting to dangerously share the road. Another legitimate argument is that motorists pay for the streets and roads with taxes collected on car sales and gasoline. Cyclists do not use gasoline, nor do they pay these high sales taxes on automobiles. I agree with the motorists who cite this fact.