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Friday, February 10, 2012
Ask Officer Michelle - Pedestrians Rule the Sidewalks
by Michelle Lazark, published on March 21, 2010 at 9:34 AM
Storyline: Ask Officer Michelle
Posted by chriso
I ride my bicycle around downtown alot. I just heard from a friend of mine that while he was riding his bike downtown an officer stopped him and told him to get off of the sidewalk and ride in the street. Are bicylists not allowed to ride on the sidewalk? I am not very comfortable riding in the street without a bike lane.
Dear chriso,
The truth of the matter is that the sidewalk is meant for pedestrians. In other words, it is illegal to ride on the sidewalks. Bicyclists must follow the same rules of the road as other “vehicles” and must ride as close as “practicable” to the right. Sacramento strives to be a bicycle friendly city with many bicycle routes, so people are encouraged to ride their bikes, however bicyclists are always encouraged to exercise caution.
California Vehicle Code Sections 21200-21212 cover the rules of the road and what bicyclists can and can’t do. There is also a City Code section pertaining to riding bicycles on the sidewalk. City Code 10.76.010 states: Except as authorized under subsection B of this section, no person shall ride a bicycle on a sidewalk except within a residence district or where a sidewalk is designated as part of an established bicycle route. Pedestrians shall have the right-of-way on sidewalks.
Sacramento Transportation Management Association has an excellent segment on bicycle commuting including insight on other biking tips as well. Be safe.
Officer Michelle
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One unintended consequence of universal access is more bikes on the sidewalk. I fully understand why there are ramps on the curbs now, but prior to their installation riding a bike on the sidewalk required hopping up on the curb at each block. Now, cyclists can race down the sidewalk as easily as the street--and pedestrians have to dodge them.
There are other ways to design bicycle lanes, like putting them INSIDE the row of parked cars instead of outside, which protects them from traffic but doesn't put them in the path of pedestrians.
only delivery vehicles, buses, residents and a few other types of vehicles should be allowed downtown. better alternative/ public transport-=no need for so many cars downtown. Nothing is that far away to warrant such wasteful use of vehicles downtown
When I ride downtown, I use bike lanes wherever possible. I also ride on the sidewalk. OK? There are streets with no bike lanes and lots of traffic. I like to ride to Cesar Chavez Park, for example. If you ride a bike, you know what I'm talking about.
The city doesn't pay me to put my life in danger, nor does it cover my medical expenses in the event of an accident. So please don't coerce me with some city code to do otherwise.
Most of the time, there are stretches of sidewalk without any pedestrians at all. But when there are, I ride safely and I am courteous.
And besides. Part of the fun of bicycling is riding on the sidewalk!!! I feel like a kid again!
Also, cyclists, please obey the lights while downtown. As a pedestrian I have had to be a defensive walker while in the crosswalk because cyclists run red lights--looking and not seeing any oncoming cars, they did not look for pedestrians!
(BTW, as soon as we get out of our cars and off our bikes, we are pedestrians.)
Courtesy and respect for all, please, no matter your mode of transportation.
If cars speed down streets contact the mayors office, ask for stop signs, speed bumps, etc. Dont let the speeders win. Help make downtown a safer place to ride.
Here's the link to email the Mayor:
http://www.cityofsacramento.org/mayor/forms/emailCommentForm/
Sorry if this pisses off a few pedestrians, I always give them the right of way though. And really.. if we hit each other, it just means scraps, bruises and probably lots of swearing.. but no one dies.