Cycling on pavements.

[mangaman]

I agree with Arch on this.

I think London and big city cyclists have a skewed view. Even in York there are I guess a quite a few road cyclists.

Living in a small city I reckon pavement cyclists outnumber road cyclists. I often have to skip out of some twat on a bike on the pavement.

Maybe I should do my own experiment, but I rarely see a road cyclist during my (walking) commute, but constant pavement cyclists. I think it doesn't help that Chichester has a complex one-way system, so often cyclists cycle the wrong way around to avoid it.

 

[chap]

But the point is, someone (especially someone vulnerable like an elderly or frail person) may be frightened dozens of times, and never hurt. That doesn't make the fright any less real for them.

It's easy to be blase about fear when you're fit and healthy and active. But many people are very afraid of a fall that might break a hip, or hurt their back - I know I've been very cagey the last few weeks, with a sore back.

Actually, if people could be trusted to cycle responsibly on the pavements (slowly, no weaving in and out of people), I'd have no problem with it. As ever, it's the thoughtless few who make the rules necessary, and if there's a rule, I like to see it obeyed.

One should look out for those more vulnerable than they are, although I wouldn't hold it against somebody were they to use the pavement for a reasonably paced (i.e. very slow) cycle.

I use the road by default now, however at times I would use the pavement, on fast roads where no feasible alternative side road is available. Certain places are just not well designed for pedestrians.

This is a view prevalent amongst drivers as well, generally many drivers that take up cycling would go on the pavement since they view the road as the place for cars. This makes sense, tonnes of steel hurtling past at 30-50mph in 30mph zones and faster in other parts. Perhaps one should take use the number of pavement cyclists as a marker of cycleability in places with a decent number of cyclists. Or better yet, a place can be seen as safe and cycleable if it would be the norm to see 8 - 12 year olds cycling the route.

Sadly, this is not the case on the vast majority of Britain's roads. This is very much the car drivers country.

 

[mangaman]

Sadly, this is not the case on the vast majority of Britain's roads. This is very much the car drivers country.

I agree, and most commuting cyclists use pavements in my town.

In big cities, with a critical mass of cyclists things may be different.

Personally I find pavement cyclists threatening. Most aren't Barbie style girls on pink bikes with stablilisers, but blokes cycling on the pavements quickly and unpredictably.

 

[chap]

I agree, and most commuting cyclists use pavements in my town.

In big cities, with a critical mass of cyclists things may be different.

Personally I find pavement cyclists threatening. Most aren't Barbie style girls on pink bikes with stablilisers, but blokes cycling on the pavements quickly and unpredictably.

Those cycling at speeds on pavements are highly irresponsible. As for the the other users, fair play to them.

Below is a link to a blog by a commuter new to the game. Although you can see that he is drawn to cycling for the benefits, which he states throughout the post, he admits that he cycles on the pavements because the roads are (quite rightly perhaps) seen as the domain of the motorist.

http://kormmandos.wordpress.com/2010/02/21/my-foldable-bicycle-dahon-vitesse-d7/


In London we may be approaching critical mass, however there are still many sketchy parts to cycle to the extent that I am now rather uncertain as to how confident I am that the London Cycle Hire Scheme will be a success as opposed to a prolonged and silent massacre.

In a city where they get rid of articulated buses due to aesthetic reasons... and that they are ill suited to the ancient and winding roads; why would you have articulated and tipper trucks, weighting several tonnes, charging through the city at rush hour? Let's hope they start prioritising safety by imposing strict limits on them immediately.

They could start by dealing with speed limits, hours of operation, roads allowed, and rigorous safety criteria.

 

[HLaB]

The other night my eye was distracted for a second by a lot of commotion on my right a Police Bike, Fire Engine and then Ambulance. I glanced back left to see a cyclist jumping of the pavement next to me, he then proceeded to turn down the road the ambulance was taking, muppet!

 

[StuartG]

I run a local forum. Regularly we get rants about pavement terror cyclists in this part of inner London suburb. Trouble is I rarely see them and I probably do more pavement hours as walker and jogger than most. In fact in the last year I have been 'buzzed' just once (on a narrow bit of pavement fenced off from the road).

Of course in that time I have been countlessly been obstructed by illegally parked vehicles but these do appear to be invisible to others. Very confusing.

People just get angry about what they want to be angry about methinks.

 

[HJ]

The other night my eye was distracted for a second by a lot of commotion on my right a Police Bike, Fire Engine and then Ambulance. I glanced back left to see a cyclist jumping of the pavement next to me, he then proceeded to turn down the road the ambulance was taking, muppet!

Was he playing chicken with the ambulance

 

[biggs682]

i ride on pavement on mtb and roads on racer as pavements to rough on racer and my bum , got abuse shouted at me yesterday by a motorist going oppisite way for riding on road

 

[Davidc]

The big problem is the difference between perception and reality.

There is a perception that cycling on roads is dangerous, and more dangerous than in the past.

The reality is that deaths and serious injuries among cyclists are statistically lower than ever (apart from a small rise in the last set) and that cycling is safer than at any time in most of our lifetimes. The figures for the times when most of us were going around as teenagers on bikes make very bad reading.

Yes - the roads should be much safer than they are, but the perceptions of danger are fuelled not by the real risk but by the helmet pushers, the DM and other newspapers, and so on. There are some parts of the road system which are dangerous owing to being badly laid out or other problems, and need to be avoided, bypassed, walked around, whatever.

While there is a perception that the roads are too dangerous to ride on people will ride on pavements. It isn't an answer and can be dangerous for the cyclist as well as pedestrians.

 

[Davidc]

i ride on pavement on mtb and roads on racer as pavements to rough on racer and my bum , got abuse shouted at me yesterday by a motorist going oppisite way for riding on road

Ignore it or if you have to point out that the road is there for cyclists, horses and pedestrians by right and cars are only allowed there under licence.

 

[summerdays]

Sorry for the number of multiple quotes I hadn't read this thread for some time.

Since some are trying to compare us with motor vehicles, with regards injuries caused. How many on here wouldn't mind people oin cars taking to the pavements to get round something in the road. Be it another vehicle, pothole or a red light?
.

My 9 yo cycles to school each day - on the road apart from one stretch of 150m where the road is narrow, parked up, and has 2 blind corners at either end. Along this stretch cars come round the corner realise they can't get out the other end due to the parked car slalom course and cars coming the other way and cause all sorts of choas which often results in them driving along stretches of pavements. I have seen my son and also pedestrians have to retreat into front gardens to get by. And even in the school road they also use the pavement with lots of school kids to drive along and pass each other.

I have also been passed at pinch points by traffic passing the wrong side of a traffic island rather than wait 20 seconds for me to pass the obstruction.

Anyway, if one is only going walking pace it would be easier and safer to get off and walk. It's pretty hard to ride a bike safely through pedestrians at walking pace because your steering and balance are compromised.

You need to practise more... one of my routes uses a shared bit of pavement near a school. I will happily practise my slow riding skills waiting behind people - still can't track stand properly but I can happily cycle at 2mph or slower and see it as a challenge to enjoy cycling behind at their speed rather than trying to get past - its only 200 m so I don't mind waiting. Plus its good to work on your reaction times if they suddenly stop infront of you which children do.

I agree with Arch on this.

I think London and big city cyclists have a skewed view. Even in York there are I guess a quite a few road cyclists.

Living in a small city I reckon pavement cyclists outnumber road cyclists. I often have to skip out of some twat on a bike on the pavement.

Maybe I should do my own experiment, but I rarely see a road cyclist during my (walking) commute, but constant pavement cyclists. I think it doesn't help that Chichester has a complex one-way system, so often cyclists cycle the wrong way around to avoid it.

I would definitely say pavement cyclists are significantly in the minority here apart from in some pockets of Bristol - usually but not all of the council estate areas - so Southmead, Knowle, Hengrove. The weird thing about those places are that the roads are relatively clear but I guess the standard of driving can vary alot.

I can understand why people are scared of cycling along busy roads, and take to the pavement there but I admit I don't know why they do it in places where there isn't very much traffic around. The problem with new cyclists they think about their journey as the route they would take to get there in the car rather than discovering alternative routes along back streets which they wouldn't dream of doing in a car or couldn't because of roads closed to cars.

 

[martynjc1977]

When walking and i encounter pavement cyclists i refuse to give way to them and force them to stop or move to the grass verge or back onto the road, unless I'm on a shared path of course. This has led to a few heated arguments and threats of violence lol,

 

[al78]

The big problem is the difference between perception and reality.

There is a perception that cycling on roads is dangerous, and more dangerous than in the past.

Correct, there is also the perception that cycling on the road is more dangerous than cycling on the pavement. In reality, accident rates are higher for pavement cyclists than for road cyclists.

One reason for this is that the pavements, unlike the roads are not a continuous network, it will be necessary to leave the pavement to cross side roads, which puts the cyclist in a position where motorists negotiating the junction are not expecting to see other vehicles.

 

[wafflycat]

On Milton Road in Cambridge theres an off-road shared use lane, i.e. a pavement that you can legally ride on. There one spot on the way out of town where there is a pedestrian crossing, at which I can legally mount the shared use facility a few yards before, ride along it, get back on to the road, and legally avoid a light that has gone red.

On comparable sections of pavement where the level of risk is near enough identical (i.e. similar visibility, width and surface quality) I, personally, do not care one little bit of someone mounts the pavement to do the same thing. Why should I? What I care about is whether in either situation a cyclist acts responsibly, i.e. on a shared use path or anywhere else you need to show consideration for others present.

This is but one reason why I intensely dislike 'shared use' farcilities. All of a sudden a magic bit of white paint daubed in the outline shape of a bicycle turns a footpath into something suitable and legal to cycle along. No wonder there's so much pavement cycling - it is actively encouraged by the provision of farcilities. Got to keep off the roads; they're dangerous

 

[classic33]

When walking and i encounter pavement cyclists i refuse to give way to them and force them to stop or move to the grass verge or back onto the road,

Did that to a bus driver this week who made it clear to me that I was in the wrong for walking on the pavement.

Questioned as to why he wasn't on the road, where he should be. His response was that "there's too many of them(pointing to buses parked up) on the roads making it unsafe to ride on the roads."