Castanet

My favourite part of this thread is how the OP hasn't posted again yet.

jackthebumblebee wrote:I'd like to point out that not EVERY road has a bike lane.

So when riding learn to share the road not the sidewalk just as people did before the relatively recent creation of bikelanes.
Bikelane or not riding on a sidewalk is illegal, just as riding in a crosswalk is. Simply get off your bike and walk it when you are in a space designated for pedestrian traffic.

We will supply the bike, you rideGordon, from Bernard to Springfield, back and forth acouple of times..if you can do that on the roadway, it will give you credibility.
If you cant/wont..then most cyclists will not take you seriously..

Come on now 50. For you to bait someone into performing what you claim is a dangerous act and to taunt and facilitate them to to do not once but numerous times just to prove your point is something I would have thought was beneath you. The respect meter just took a nose dive.
If indeed that stretch of road is as hazardous as you claim then there are several options available to you, and not limited to;
a) Use Ethel, it is only one block away and far less traveled. part of biking is the health benefit so going an extra block in order
to be safer is actually partly healthier too.
b) Get off your bike and walk it on the sidewalk in the supposed hazardous area.
c) Contact the police and City Hall to report vehicles acting illegally and demand increased enforcement of the law at that location
d)Contact the media to bring public attention to the hazard
e) Chose a different route that you feel will allow you to more safely reach your destination

To simply chose to break the law by riding your bike on the sidewalk does nothing but endanger pedestrians whose legally designated space you are invading. What about the drivers , or motorcycle riders, who feel that a section of roadway may be unsafe for them to? Should it be acceptable for them to simply break the law and use the side walk just as you cyclists do? Why not, as you seem to think your perception of personal safety out weighs the law and that two wrongs equal a right.

Sorry but no matter how you want to try and twist it operating a bicycle on a sidewalk is illegal.

Illegal. Yup. So is doing 1km/h over the speed limit.

I never ever said it was legal, I do say I use it to get around.
Not trying to bait anyone, just giving an example of what cuses riders to take to the sidewalks (yes i know the law on that)

If by chance you catch me endangering a pedestrian, I will eat crow.

Bike people are tired of gettingtold how we should behave, when the advice is coming from non riders.
Bgw Iliked your idea of why doesnt someone just take their vehicle on the sidewalk, cuz bikes do it. Again today, took my JEEP down the. New Bernard WIDEwalk, its parked. Outside Starbux right now..not on the road..

jackthebumblebee wrote:Actually it's legal to be speeding if your just 10% faster than the speed posted.

um yeah didn't expect that kind of reply ;-) It's just a quick example. The intended point = I don't believe for an instant that there's anybody here who has never stepped outside of the letter of the law/bylaw/regulations/etc. ever in their whole entire life, so certain arguments like I often see here are null & void due to being hypocritical, besides having no actual meaning at all.

Now, my personal belief is that if I find a law to be dumb, outdated, or otherwise not necessary, I simply ignore it. Can't say it's ever come back to bite me. Ever. That includes when I have occasionally rode my bicycle on a sidewalk. (can't say I've ever caused anyone any inconvenience while doing so, either)

If we were all compassionate, conscientious & courteous I suppose we wouldn't need laws. So when I see how many laws that we do have, I'm reminded of how lost in ourselves most of us are.

Laws are for protection. If I'm not harming, I shouldn't be punished. (I haven't been punished. )

You're right but aren't they also there to take away any potentiol to harm. Aren't they meant to be a preventative/proactive measure more than punishment. Too many people just see them as a punishment. "Well we have laws for that, they'll be punished if they do it." Shouldn't we be looking at them as preventative measures and following them for that reason. If we took those protective measures by our own initiative we wouldn't even need laws.

^ that all falls under "protection" :] Your last sentence is exactly what I said, too. I hear ya.

jackthebumblebee wrote:Actually it's legal to be speeding if your just 10% faster than the speed posted.

Really? And you can point to the section of the MVA that backs up that statement?

Many of the rules applicable to cyclists are bylaws, not laws, which means there is a little more flexibility in their application, especially in exceptional situations where following a rule to the letter would cause injury. This isn't my own interpretation, it's what a City of Kelowna representative told me on the phone, in response to a complaint I made about snow being plowed into the bike lanes. It was actually recommended to me by a city official that I should ride on the sidewalk in the winter for safety reasons. I said, "that's illegal, I follow the rules" and he said, "Don't worry, it's more of a by law, and we really only enforce it downtown, where there actually are pedestrians." Unfortunately, the street punks downtown who ride on the sidewalks give us all a bad name. I wouldn't even call them cyclists; They cycle because they can't afford to drive, not because they love it. They ride bikes made up of stolen parts from other people's bikes; If they don't respect bike ownership, they won't respect commuting laws. It's not fair to paint us all with the same brush.

Perhaps more drivers should brush up on their knowledge of cycling laws, before passing judgements, or shouting expletives from their vehicles at people who are just trying to get to work like everyone else. It's the law that when the bike lane is obstructed, cyclists are allowed to ride on their side of the road, wherever it is free. I choose to do this, rather than take the sidewalk, despite what the city told me, because I know that if some arrogant driver sees me on the sidewalk, (even if it's 7am and *bleep* slush, and no pedestrians are out) it will give them the smug satisfaction that cyclists are law breakers. So I ride down the right lane amidst the cars, as is the law, and try and ignore the "get out of the way b**ch" comments from every other driver. It is also the law that to make a left turn, I'm allowed to go into the left hand turning lane, and complete my turn when it is safe. I do not have to go when the car behind me is honking impatiently, while the oncoming car is deliberately speeding up while giving me the finger.

If drivers are going to be so high and mighty about cyclists following the laws, I ask that you don't curse us when we do, or try to kill us just to prove the point that we don't belong on the road.

And for the record, cyclists get tickets all the time.

Except for Peace Officers, I take most advice given by non riders..with a plate of salt..
Ride on our seat a while to see what its really like out there..
Staying alive, and upright.. Is my biggest priority ...

Giardinera1 wrote:Many of the rules applicable to cyclists are bylaws, not laws, which means there is a little more flexibility in their application, especially in exceptional situations where following a rule to the letter would cause injury. This isn't my own interpretation, it's what a City of Kelowna representative told me on the phone, in response to a complaint I made about snow being plowed into the bike lanes. It was actually recommended to me by a city official that I should ride on the sidewalk in the winter for safety reasons. I said, "that's illegal, I follow the rules" and he said, "Don't worry, it's more of a by law, and we really only enforce it downtown, where there actually are pedestrians."

Your source at the city of Kelowna is outright wrong. It is a violation of the motor vehicle act to ride a bicycle on the sidewalk unless authorized by a bylaw or permitted by a sign. The BC-MVA s.183 is worth a read. ( http://goo.gl/YSGyX for the lazy. ) I cannot find a Kelowna bylaw permitting cycling (which includes rollerskating/blading, btw) on a sidewalk, nor have I spotted any signage which permits this.

Try Clement north side between Cerise and Gordon..