Columnists
Hey, you!
Dear Sidewalk Cyclists: DON’T BE A SIDEWALK CYCLIST
Dear Sidewalk Parkers: DON’T PARK ON THE SIDEWALK
It’s been a very long time since I wrote about the full-grown, adult idiots who cycle on sidewalks. The last time I wrote about this issue a dear friend told me, almost in a whisper, she always cycled on the sidewalk. She told me she was afraid to ride on the busy streets of Prince Edward County. She sheepishly admitted to being one of the “adult idiots who cycle on sidewalks”. I think she wanted me to say, “There, there it’s okay. I certainly didn’t mean you, especially since you’re an adult who’s afraid of cycling on the road.” Nope. I didn’t say anything of the sort. I suggested if she was truly afraid to ride her bicycle on the road, perhaps she should sell her ride and either walk to her destination or drive her car on her errands. She put a wee pout on after I’d dashed her hopes of me seeing it her way. As far as I’m concerned, her way isn’t the right way. Her way is against the law. Her way puts pedestrians (you know, people who are walking on sidewalks) in danger.
So, here we are in the heat and craziness of 2020. Our roads are torn up, here and there. The traffic is heavier than we’ve ever seen it before and I still feel the same way about fullgrown, adult idiots who ride their bicycles on sidewalks. Plain and simply put, there isn’t any reason for it. I say, “Get out on the roadway with the big kids, obey the signs, make the appropriate signals, share the road, don’t ride herd and remember the rules of the road apply to you.” If you can’t do that, put your bike in the basement or garage, or put it in a yard sale and then get out and buy yourself a decent pair of walking shoes. Sidewalks, by definition are for walking on. And I not only get steamed when I see a sidewalk cyclist, but I really wonder what is going on when the idiot is wearing a bike helmet. Really, a bike helmet? For what? You’re on a sidewalk. If you hit a pedestrian are you afraid you’re going to suffer a head injury? I tell you, if you’re cycling on a sidewalk and you happen to “run into me”, a bike helmet isn’t going to save you. Speaking of cycling wear, what’s with the cyclists wearing the bike helmets and sporting some serious cycling T-shirts, bike shorts and fancy shoes. If you’re cycling on a sidewalk, you aren’t going to impress anyone with your fancy-arsed wear festooned with logos. I’ve never met a serious cyclist, all kitted-out, who does a Tour de France on the sidewalk.
Speaking of sidewalks, the only people who drive me as crazy as sidewalk cyclists are the drivers who park their vehicles on sidewalks. REALLY. Yep, I’m the woman who shouts at you if your vehicle is parked on, or over, the sidewalk. Why the heck should a pedestrian have to walk into the roadway—where you should be parked—because you’re too lazy to heft your groceries, landscape equipment, building materials, etc., from the side of the road or, heaven forbid, the driveway. The interesting thing is, a lot of the vehicles parked on, or over, the sidewalks are company vehicles with business logos and information on the side of the truck or car. One landscape worker, employed by a very prominent local business, had parked across the sidewalk and carefully put traffic cones on the sidewalk to let pedestrians know they would either have to cross the street to the other sidewalk or walk on the street around the company vehicle. When I asked the young worker what that was all about, he told me his boss said it was what he was supposed to do so there wouldn’t be a problem. I said, “Honey, you’ve got a great big problem if you work for an idiot.”
Oh, my. We all know the County is sidewalk challenged. It’s difficult when a portion of sidewalk ends, for no apparent reason, and pedestrians have to cross the road to continue their walk in relative safety, albeit dodging cyclists and skirting sidewalk parkers. We’ve all got lots of challenges, out there on the road. Let’s not make it any more complicated than it has to be. If you’re an adult, don’t cycle on the sidewalk. If you’re a “driver”, park on the road or in a driveway and keep your vehicle off the sidewalk.
Sidewalks = a place to walk. How simple is that to remember?
I do not disagree with the premise that one should ride their bicycle on the road when it is safe to do so. However, the Highway Traffic Act does not prohibit bicycles from being ridden upon the sidewalk. Each municipality does have the power to enact bylaws to do so. The only County bylaw that I could find to control sidewalk riding prohibits bicycles on Picton Main Street from the Town Hill to Talbot St. Otherwise it seems that one can ride on the sidewalk elsewhere in the County. As to wearing helmets, if you are over 17 years of age, the wearing of a helmet is optional. There are good reasons to where a helmet while riding regardless of what you are riding upon. The same bylaw that prohibits bicycles on Picton Main St also prohibits any activity that would impede the use of the sidewalk. That would cover rude cyclists that do not yield to pedestrians and those ‘sidewalk parkers’.
With the increase in pedestrian traffic in the summer and the increase in bicycle traffic, it may be time for County Council to consider a comprehensive bylaw that would move bicycle traffic onto the roadway. The summer presents a challenge for any one attempting to ‘get around’ the County be it on foot, on a bike or by vehicle. Our roadways are narrow. We have street parking taking place on both sides of the roadway and as a result the space available for all forms of roadway traffic is restricted. You may not like seeing bicycles on the sidewalk but those ‘idiots’ as you call them are not breaking the law unless their actions impede other lawful uses of the sidewalk.