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Cycling infrastructure (Separated bike lanes)

nfitz said:
To some extent. However I've never witnessed an automobile simply blatantly drive through (not turn) on a red light WHILE shouting at the pedestrians crossing on green to get out of their way ... or drive down the sidewalk while shouting at the pedestrians.

We use the term lunatic loosely - but in the case of cyclists - there seem to be more out there where it can be taken literally.
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The act of driving through, or turning on red without stopping first or yielding to pedestrians, is aggressive enough. It's like shouting with your car.

I also haven't seen cyclists shouting at pedestrians while riding on the sidewalk - the ones who do that seem to be more passive-aggressive.

I have also seen a shouting pedestrian or two, and been one myself.
 
the lemur said:
I also haven't seen cyclists shouting at pedestrians while riding on the sidewalk - the ones who do that seem to be more passive-aggressive.
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There are days when I wish I carried around a cheap umbrella with a hooked handle. Nobody needs to ride their bike on the Charles St sidewalks; it's not a scary street for cycling on and has tons of pedestrians.
 
rbt said:
There are days when I wish I carried around a cheap umbrella with a hooked handle. Nobody needs to ride their bike on the Charles St sidewalks; it's not a scary street for cycling on and has tons of pedestrians.
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There was a woman who regularly wrote letters to NOW about how she always walked around armed with a rolled-up umbrella. I think CBC TV may even have profiled her at some point.

http://ilania-ivil.tripod.com/family/id15.html
 
PinkLucy said:
No one needs to ride their bike on any sidewalk, unless you are a child. Riding on the sidewalk in Toronto is illegal for adults, not that any cop will stop you.
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Interestingly, I only recently found out that the law against riding bikes on sidewalks is based on the size of the bike tire (i.e. children's bikes can be ridden on the sidewalk, but not adult bikes), not on the age of the rider. Amounts to the same thing most of the time, I suppose, but interesting trivia.
 
Skeezix said:
Interestingly, I only recently found out that the law against riding bikes on sidewalks is based on the size of the bike tire (i.e. children's bikes can be ridden on the sidewalk, but not adult bikes), not on the age of the rider. Amounts to the same thing most of the time, I suppose, but interesting trivia.
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I believe the reasoning behind that is because children generally don't carry ID and it would be hard to enforce where age is in question. Unfortunately, it's also a loophole exploited by twentysomething males on little kids' BMX bikes.
 
Yes. The article I read also said that the by-law drafters were conscious of the fact that kids grow at much different rates, and it didn't seem to make much sense why a big 11-year old could ride an adult bike on a sidewalk, but a 15-year old couldn't ride that same bike.
 
I recall hearing about a City employee that required a City vehicle for his position, but he got a DUI (I believe while on duty). So rather than fire or demote or give a different position - the guy was issued an adult tricycle to ride around on the sidewalk to perform his job. The wheel radius was under 30cm, so this was permitted. Not sure if he ended up using it, or quitting, or if the laws re: wheel diameter changed since. But afaik adults can use bikes on the sidewalk, provided the wheels are small.
 
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Skeezix said:
Interestingly, I only recently found out that the law against riding bikes on sidewalks is based on the size of the bike tire (i.e. children's bikes can be ridden on the sidewalk, but not adult bikes), not on the age of the rider. Amounts to the same thing most of the time, I suppose, but interesting trivia.
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That's the way it was once upon a time. I thought City of Toronto amended the bylaw in early 2014 so that it now reads:

... persons age 14 and older are prohibited from riding a bicycle on a sidewalk of a highway, with the exception of designated locations​
 
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