Shared pavement conflict

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Arjimlad

Tights of Cydonia
Location
South Glos
The council have marked up this ring-road shared pavement here & there (along the A4174 north Bristol) suggesting cyclists should be on the right and walkers on the left (in this direction).

A lot of people just keep left whatever, especially when it is busy, but others are getting a little eggy when people don't obey the signs. This morning I found someone had chosen to deface the path with their righteous indignation !

It can be interesting when you meet the 2 varieties walking & have to slalom slowly past someone on the left & then someone else on the right, and downright dangerous when their dog on an extending tripwire decides to look for a squirrel on the opposite side of the path. As ever, this is certainly not a place for speed but nobody in their right mind cycles on the busy dual carriageway.

586466
 
In everyone's experience, pedestrians don't comprehend rules. They react in random and unpredictable ways. They can reverse direction in an instant and jump back into an intercept solution faster than an air to air missile.
Communication with pedestrians can be fraught. Use your ting a ling bell and it can be " use your words". Use your words and it will be misheard in the worst way.
Indicate YOUR intensions with a gesture and they will take it as a instruction to move in that direction.
The presence of bicycles on a shared path is often a good clue that bicycles are present but do not expect pedestrians to understand this. You will surprise pedestrians with your presence just as the rider 50 yards ahead did, as will the rider 50 yards behind you. I used to surprise the same schoolkids at the same time at the same place every day for weeks.
 
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Arjimlad

Arjimlad

Tights of Cydonia
Location
South Glos
I have a bell, an electric horn which sounds like a "clown horn" and my voice, but when someone has headphones in or is gazing lovingly and intently at their phone, or is a dog, a child, or staring at their dog or child, then the very trump of doom itself would be insufficient to draw their attention to my presence in their vicinity.

As ever, the hierarchy & basic humanity tells me that I must take great care around them.
 
In everyone's experience, pedestrians don't comprehend rules. They react in random and unpredictable ways. They can reverse direction in an instant and jump back into an intercept solution faster than an air to air missile.
Communication with pedestrians can be fraught. Use your ting a ling bell and it can be " use your words". Use your words and it will be misheard in the worst way.
Indicate YOUR intensions with a gesture and they will take it as a instruction to move in that direction.
The presence of bicycles on a shared path is often a good clue that bicycles are present but do not expect pedestrians to understand this. You will surprise pedestrians with your presence just as the rider 50 yards ahead did, as will the rider 50 yards behind you. I used to surprise the same schoolkids at the same time at the same place every day for weeks.
Spot on. Pedestrians are a menace to everyone including themselves. They go out the front door and leave their brains behind. They cannot comprehend that anyone else would want to be on the same path as them, never mind pass them. That's before they plug in their earphones or start long rambling phone conversations.
 

cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
That infrastructure exceeds the very best we have around these parts, but is still substandard. It really would not take too much to solve, but we all know it won't happen.
indeed my cyclepath runs directly next to the A road with just a small grass verge between it and the road so you have the wind from a continuous stream of vehicles , lots of fun when 2 lorries go past if you heading against the wind and its covered in gravel, glass etc
 

CanucksTraveller

Macho Business Donkey Wrestler
Location
Hertfordshire
My daughter and I still get regularly grumbled at on a well used, shared path in Letchworth. It's very well signed, but I find that most pedestrians tend not to read signs. "Get back on the bloody road!" shouted one old lady recently as we very carefully and slowly passed her, giving the widest possible i.e. about 3 metres berth. I pointed at the blue shared path signs, not sure if she really knows what they mean though.

Bells, horns, voice, you can't really win with those sometimes.. certain people will interpret an audible warning as a "demand" to get out of the way and will give you the dirtiest of looks for pinging. If you don't give a warning you'll get grumbled at to use a bell. What can you do but smile, breathe deeply, and let it pass? 🤷‍♂️
 

icowden

Veteran
Location
Surrey
The council have marked up this ring-road shared pavement here & there (along the A4174 north Bristol) suggesting cyclists should be on the right and walkers on the left (in this direction).

Looks like a classic bit of council non-thinking. The path doesn't look wide enough to be useful as a segregated path, and the paint has almost worn away. Any group of people is going to spill onto both sides. It either needs to be widened so it is suitable as an express cycle lane on one side and pedestrians on the other, or it just needs to be shared.

Shared generally works well but does mean you are going to be going more slowly on your bike as you approach pedestrians and call out in a friendly manner to let them know you are there. Some will smile back at you and facilitate your progress. Some will not be as friendly. Some will be in control of canine misguided missiles.

It is what it is.
 

HMS_Dave

Grand Old Lady
I've had perhaps 2 incidents in nearly 2 years since returning to cycling. Im a slow, extremely considerate cyclist but I never stop to talk to whingers as in my experience, up there with armchair experts, there is no conversation to be had as they have a strongly held view and they're not interested in listening to reason. Just carry on cycling...
 
I've had perhaps 2 incidents in nearly 2 years since returning to cycling. Im a slow, extremely considerate cyclist but I never stop to talk to whingers as in my experience, up there with armchair experts, there is no conversation to be had as they have a strongly held view and they're not interested in listening to reason. Just carry on cycling...
I had one very self important guy step in front of me in The Road as I was taking a sharp 90degree corner at the bottom of a steep little slope. He haranged me for " cycling in the road" or something I cant remember, but when I opened my mouth to let him have it he held his hand up at me, looked away and said "not intetested".
 

HMS_Dave

Grand Old Lady
I had one very self important guy step in front of me in The Road as I was taking a sharp 90degree corner at the bottom of a steep little slope. He haranged me for " cycling in the road" or something I cant remember, but when I opened my mouth to let him have it he held his hand up at me, looked away and said "not intetested".
Exactly, you're a loutish, measly cyclist. You have no views that can possibly challenge...
 
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