pedestrians and cyclists

Tamyka Bell · Oct 14, 2004

I have given myself two days to calm down about this, but now I have to
say it.

Now, I hate dumb pedestrians as much as the next cyclist (note, "dumb"
not "all" or even "ignorant" pedestrians) but what is with that hurry
seen in the Coro Drive bike path users? Yep, peak hour, it's slow,
pedestrians get in the way. Deal with it. You know you won't be able to
stay at 30km/h the whole trip. Don't pretend otherwise.

Don't duck through little itsy bitsy gaps. If a cyclist is sitting out
from the edge a bit, don't immediately complain as you pass them, maybe
they were trying to avoid the glass. If I'm overtaking a pedestrian so
that my lane is temporarily blocked, and you're approaching from the
opposite direction, it's probably smart to not cross to my side of the
path. If I slow down until it's safe to pass a pedestrian, and I'm
holding you up, TOO F'ING BAD!

People who take risks like that are giving cyclists a bad name and
putting us all in danger. If you nearly take someone out at high speed
because they were walking too slow and blocking you, do you think
they'll be patient next time they see a cyclist on the road? Do you
think they'll make a conscious effort to give way? Doubt it.

T

not happy,

also not hippy

Courtancer · Oct 14, 2004

Another one I hate is when there's a specially built shared cycle / walking path built away from the road to provide a safer alternative for bikes and people. Pedestrians always seem to walk side by side with a dog or two on a lead and pretend not to hear / see you coming up behind them. They just expect you to go around them onto the grass often where there are cat head burrs that puncture your tyre in seconds. You'd think pedestrians could show a bit of consideration and 'share' the path rather than see how much of it they can take up and how far they can make a cyclist ride around them.

Lotte · Oct 14, 2004

Well said Tamyka. Too true. The same goes for cyclists who run red lights. I cannot control my sheer frustration when I see this and often scream at people who do this.

I got told the other day to "get a bell". All I did was ask a bunch of pedestrians, walking 6 abreast in the city Botanical Gardens, if I could please get through. Just a simple question, asked nicely. Anyway, considering all 6 of them were overweight females with plenty of flesh (read: stretch marks, celliulite, bellybutton that would fit a watermelon) on show, I figured it must have been a huge energy expenditure for them to move 2 steps across.

Marx SS · Oct 14, 2004

My theory is that people generally do not walk around very often anymore & therefore lose the cognitive skills of being aware of what’s about them when they do go for a walk.

Watching old b/w movies from the turn of the century you see people look this way & that because horse-drawn vehicles didn’t stop as fast etc – pedestrians had no choice really.
My other theory is that pedestrians see anything outside of a roadway as their own, therefore cyclists have to “go around”.
In my time riding around I’ve come to the conclusion that up against any other path user, I come out as the 2nd class citizen (therefore I take to the grass etc).

hippy · Oct 14, 2004

"Lotte" <[email protected]> wrote
>
> Well said Tamyka. Too true. The same goes for cyclists who run red
> lights. I cannot control my sheer frustration when I see this and
> often scream at people who do this.

See my rant in the "sooky lala" thread..

> I got told the other day to "get a bell". All I did was ask a bunch of
> pedestrians, walking 6 abreast in the city Botanical Gardens, if I could
> please get through. Just a simple question, asked nicely. Anyway,
> considering all 6 of them were overweight females with plenty of flesh
> (read: stretch marks, celliulite, bellybutton that would fit a
> watermelon) on show, I figured it must have been a huge energy
> expenditure for them to move 2 steps across.

hehe... ;-)
I'm sticking with my "avoid bike paths at all costs" method.

hippy

DaveB · Oct 14, 2004

Marx SS wrote:
> My theory is that people generally do not walk around very often anymore
> & therefore lose the cognitive skills of being aware of what’s about
> them when they do go for a walk.
>

My solution: bolt a trailer bike to the back, put a four year old on it,
and arm them with a horn that honks loudly. I guarantee everyone on the
path will know you're there.

DaveB "in need of earplugs for the next family ride"

hippy · Oct 14, 2004

"Marx SS" <[email protected]
> In my time riding around I've come to the conclusion that up against
> any other path user, I come out as the 2nd class citizen (therefore I
> take to the grass etc).

We are second-class citizens.. in their minds. I try to
reduce possible conflict by slowing, riding around, etc.
Just think of all the benefits you can get from not just
maintaining 30kph all the way home..
- braking
- standing starts
- sprintervals
- trackstand practise
- use the breaks in flow to try wheelies

- take your road bike off-road - they still work ya know!

hippy
- positivity in usenet may not reflect reality ;-)

ritcho · Oct 14, 2004

hippy said:
[snip]

hehe... ;-)
I'm sticking with my "avoid bike paths at all costs" method.

hippy

I'll second that - roads are for bikes and bikes are for roads.

OTOH, I know the bit of path that Tamyka is complaining about. The road that runs parallel is probably even slower for cyclists at peak hour.

I face a similar problem crossing Darling Harbour on the old Pyrmont Bridge... lots of pedestrians wandering about and no specific bike lane. The bit between the bridge and King St is a section only about 200m long that is only about 4 pedestrians wide. Fortunately, most walking commuters know to keep left - it's the tourists you have to watch.

Ritch

My own shared path rule: If you're in front of me, I'll avoid hitting you. If you're behind me, you avoid me!

Resound · Oct 14, 2004

"hippy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Marx SS" <[email protected]
> > In my time riding around I've come to the conclusion that up against
> > any other path user, I come out as the 2nd class citizen (therefore I
> > take to the grass etc).
>
> We are second-class citizens.. in their minds. I try to
> reduce possible conflict by slowing, riding around, etc.
> Just think of all the benefits you can get from not just
> maintaining 30kph all the way home..
> - braking
> - standing starts
> - sprintervals
> - trackstand practise
> - use the breaks in flow to try wheelies

> - take your road bike off-road - they still work ya know!
>
> hippy
> - positivity in usenet may not reflect reality ;-)
>
>
I personally like the idea of keeping rolled up printouts of this particular
thread to stuff down the back of their neck as you go past.

Terry Collins · Oct 14, 2004

Lotte wrote:
....snip.....

> I got told the other day to "get a bell".

ROFL. Have been told the same, but the problem is that it still doesn't
fix the problem.

If you have isolated pedestrians, then a few rings from wide away will
alert them to your prescence (so long as you are travelling slow) and
most give you a wide berth/ the complete path.

The worst is crowded paths when you have to ring the bell close to them.
I'm thinking of installing a seat on my front rack. The number of times
I've been on one side of the path ready to slip around the, ring the
bell and they immediately jump sideways in front of me.

hippy · Oct 14, 2004

"ritcho" <[email protected]
> hippy Wrote:
> > I'm sticking with my "avoid bike paths at all costs" method.
>
> I'll second that - roads are for bikes and bikes are for roads.
>
> OTOH, I know the bit of path that Tamyka is complaining about. The road
> that runs parallel is probably even slower for cyclists at peak hour.

Depends how good you are at dodging mirrors ;-)

hippy

Alan Erskine · Oct 14, 2004

"Tamyka Bell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

hehe... Is there a bullbar for tredlies?

--
Alan Erskine
We can get people to the Moon in five years,
not the fifteen GWB proposes.
Give NASA a real challenge
[email protected]

Tamyka Bell · Oct 14, 2004

Lotte wrote:
>
> Well said Tamyka. Too true. The same goes for cyclists who run red
> lights. I cannot control my sheer frustration when I see this and
> often scream at people who do this.
>
> I got told the other day to "get a bell". All I did was ask a bunch of
> pedestrians, walking 6 abreast in the city Botanical Gardens, if I could
> please get through. Just a simple question, asked nicely. Anyway,
> considering all 6 of them were overweight females with plenty of flesh
> (read: stretch marks, celliulite, bellybutton that would fit a
> watermelon) on show, I figured it must have been a huge energy
> expenditure for them to move 2 steps across.
>
> --
> Lotte

Interesting that they would rather you ring a bell at them than politely
ask them to move. Same day I came up behind a man riding along behind
his small child (you know, a bit shaky but big enough to remain upright
on it); I slowed right down and called out "I'm just coming up on your
right" at which point the man told his son to move left and thanked me
very much for not just flying past. Hmmm, warm fuzzies, still some nice,
sensible people out there.

Bikesoiler · Oct 14, 2004

Terry Collins said:
If you have isolated pedestrians, then a few rings from wide away will
alert them to your prescence (so long as you are travelling slow) and
most give you a wide berth/ the complete path.

The worst is crowded paths when you have to ring the bell close to them.
I'm thinking of installing a seat on my front rack. The number of times
I've been on one side of the path ready to slip around the, ring the
bell and they immediately jump sideways in front of me.

I had a guy jump right into me on the Yarra path.
I stopped, he flew.
Change of momentum thing I 'spose. Hmmm... Pedestrian Croquet, a new sport.

euan_b_uk@yahoo.co.uk · Oct 15, 2004

>>>>> "Marx" == Marx SS <[email protected]> writes:

Marx> My theory is that people generally do not walk around very
Marx> often anymore & therefore lose the cognitive skills of being
Marx> aware of what’s about them when they do go for a walk.

You're not wrong.

I work out of the Australia Post building and the Victorian Police
Centre, opposite ends of the CBD and a nice 25 minute walk (10 minutes
by bike <grin>). The other day I had to do some work with a colleague
who operates almost exclusively out of 321. He just about had heart
failure by the end of our journey. I asked him if he ever walked
anywhere.

"From the office to the car park normally, that's about it."

Fairly typical these days :-(
--
Cheers
Euan

euan_b_uk@yahoo.co.uk · Oct 15, 2004

>>>>> "Tamyka" == Tamyka Bell <[email protected]> writes:

Tamyka> I have given myself two days to calm down about this, but
Tamyka> now I have to say it.

Tamyka> Now, I hate dumb pedestrians as much as the next cyclist
Tamyka> (note, "dumb" not "all" or even "ignorant" pedestrians) but
Tamyka> what is with that hurry seen in the Coro Drive bike path
Tamyka> users? Yep, peak hour, it's slow, pedestrians get in the
Tamyka> way. Deal with it. You know you won't be able to stay at
Tamyka> 30km/h the whole trip. Don't pretend otherwise.

>snip<

Totally agree with you Tamyka, however IMO pedestrians and cyclists mix
less well than cars and bicycles. Bicycles are vehicles and belong on
the road.

I'd trust my safety to motorists over pedestrians any day.
--
Cheers
Euan

NickZX6R · Oct 15, 2004

hippy wrote:
> "Marx SS" <[email protected]
>
>>In my time riding around I've come to the conclusion that up against
>>any other path user, I come out as the 2nd class citizen (therefore I
>>take to the grass etc).
>
>
> We are second-class citizens.. in their minds. I try to
> reduce possible conflict by slowing, riding around, etc.
> Just think of all the benefits you can get from not just
> maintaining 30kph all the way home..
> - braking
> - standing starts
> - sprintervals
> - trackstand practise
> - use the breaks in flow to try wheelies

> - take your road bike off-road - they still work ya know!
>
> hippy
> - positivity in usenet may not reflect reality ;-)
>
>

Good ideas. Personally I'm finally making a bit of progress
with my life's ambition of being able to mono on my roadie

--
Nick

Terry Collins · Oct 15, 2004

Tamyka Bell wrote:

....snip....

> Interesting that they would rather you ring a bell at them than politely
> ask them to move.

Is this related to nationality?
In my experience, older people from UK seem to squark about bell, but
everyone who hears the bell seems to give room. I see it as sort of
"pedestrian training".

DRS · Oct 15, 2004

"Marx SS" <[email protected]> wrote in
message news:[email protected]
> My theory is that people generally do not walk around very often
> anymore & therefore lose the cognitive skills of being aware of
> what’s about them when they do go for a walk.
>
> Watching old b/w movies from the turn of the century you see people
> look this way & that because horse-drawn vehicles didn’t stop as fast
> etc – pedestrians had no choice really.

The law gives pedestrians priority over everyone else. Ergo, pedestrians
don't need their brains.

--

A: Top-posters.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet?

flyingdutch · Oct 15, 2004

DRS said:
The law gives pedestrians priority over everyone else. Ergo, pedestrians
don't need their brains.

Does it really? in B+W i mean?
Surely there must be some form of precedent if its a 'shared' path.
Wont surprise me if its not, but hey one can dream

Altho, must admit i seem to avoid most offroad paths these days. the stretch (Anniversary trial?) between East Canterbury Station and Whitehorse rd is just too god to ignore tho...

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