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From: His Highness the TibetanMonkey, Creator of the Movement of Tantra-Hammock on 9 Aug 2010 09:28
On Aug 8, 11:42 pm, d...(a)manx.misty.com (Don Klipstein) wrote:
> In <8cfa013c-a348-4fe8-892d-9d845b991...(a)w30g2000yqw.googlegroups.com>,
>
> His Highness TibetanMonkey wrote:  (I edit here for space)
> >On Aug 8, 12:37 pm, "Mike Painter" <md.pain...(a)sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> >> His Highness TibetanMonkey wrote:
> >The same thing just happened to me while driving. The cyclist gave me
> >a scare, but he must have seen me. WHY DON'T THEY BAN CYCLING ON
> >SIDEWALKS?
>
> >What kind of respect do PEDESTRIANS get that don't deserve protection
> >from cyclists?
>
>   How about laws that prohibit cycling on sidewalks?
>
>   Such as 1 PA law that says that bikes are restricted to bike lanes where
> bike lanes are available?
>
>   And a 2nd PA law that prohibits cycling on sidewalks in "business
> districts"?
>
>   How about at least 1 Philadelphia against persons older than 12 years
> of age cycling on sidewalks?

All those laws are senseless and chaotic. There's one district around
here that prohibits riding on sidewalk, but only because the residents
are wealthy. The law also tells you to walk bike across bridges, even
when sidewalks can't accommodate you and the bike.

>
>   I like how I occaisionally see *police officers* cycling in non-
> emergency manner on sidewalks where it is illegal to do so.

Banana Republic.
>
>   So, I sometimes ride on sidewalks.  And when I do so, I yield to
> pedestrians.

Bad boy. ;)

I don't blame those who do so in order to survive, but don't respect
those who don't demand more respect on the roads.

>
>   Every bike that I ride has a horn and a siren, thanks to my willingness
> to use a loud falsetto voice.  However, when I am cycling on a sidewalk, I
> like to merely request pedestrians to get out of my way.  I think that I
> have a high rate of doing that well!

I bet your speed is next to the usual walking pace, which renders the
bicycle nearly useless.

>
>   And failing that, I do "My Usual" - making my bike a road vehicle
> recognized by PA's "vehicle code"!
>
>   However, "making nice" goes a long way!  And when on a road where
> vehicle code enforcement is lacking, "Do unto others as you would have
> them do unto you"!
>
>   That may explain why truckers in Mexico respect those traveling along
> Mexican roads by riding a mule (or a donkey?).

Really? That makes Mexico highly civilized. Afghanistan too! I think
they respect people WALKING A HERD in the middle of Kabul, judging by
a video I saw.

>
> >Just like in the Animal Kingdom we have a FOOD CHAIN at work.
>
> >But nobody has demonstrated to me that drivers are slowed down by
> >cyclists taking the lane. The drivers must avoid the cyclist and move
> >away from him, the more the better. WHY AREN'T DRIVERS HONEST AND TELL
> >US THEY WANT US OUT OF THEIR WAY,
>
>   I have had some motor vehicle drivers spew such "honest vitriol" against
> cyclists...

They know they can get away with it and they harass cyclists trying to
chase them away onto the sidewalks.

>
> >AND PASS THE PROBLEM TO THE POWERLESS PEDESTRIANS?
>
>   In Philadelphia, pedestrians are close to opposite of powerless.  It
> appears to me that Philadelphia's "legal culture" favors a jaywalker
> having an obvious red light over road users that have a green light.
>
>   For that matter, many Philadelphians flout PA law by dropping litter
> when a sidewalk-deployed trash can is deployed 6-10 meters ahead of
> such "Philadelphian litterbugs".
>
>   I sometimes cycle on sidewalks in Philadelphia, though I usually cycle
> in the street where "vehicles" belong.  When I cycle on sidewalks, I ride
> slowly enough to be able to yield to 100% of pedestrians.  And I don't
> "bully my way through".
>
>  - Don Klipstein (d...(a)misty.com)

In Miami proper (except downtown) and suburbs pedestrians are
"endangered species," hardly seen going around. I think that's the
culture of the sprawl and the car, present in most cities in the
South. Los Angeles is like that too. Miami Beach is the exception a
little bit, but pedestrians seem to be "fair game" according to some
recent close calls.

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