With just two lanes typically available, bike must share with cars or pedestrians (peds?). Some mode of transport -- the slower -- loses in each case. Here in Vancouver, it's illegal to ride on the sidewalk except when designated -- typically bridges but also the Stanley Park Causeway. This seems the right call to me: bikes are closer to cars -- in terms of speed, equipment, and mindset -- than they are to peds. Even if they weren't, the worst-off -- on the streets: peds -- deserve special protection.
In a previous post, I argued against moving bikes into the street on the Burrard Bridge. Now that I've acutually used the shared bike/ped sidewalk, I'm reconsidering. The current mix is dangerous. The nominal speed limit for bikes is 15kph; I've observed no bikes complying on the downhill and few on the uphill. And most of the peds are functionally deaf due to i-pods. (At least I've learned to spot the signature white headphones as a warning that my bell or shouting "On your left" won't work. The women who walked in front of my last evening was especially clueless. My brakes saved both of us but only just.
Near disasters are good teachers. I'll slow down, get an airhorn, and get some liability insurance. (I know it's not required; that's a problem -- for a later post.)
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