Bicycles.
What?! Bicycles are like cars?
When I think about what I don’t like about riding on the road I think of the cars. And the primary reason for that is that generally cars are going faster than I am, and sometimes pass a little too closely. I can feel their impatience.
Let’s turn it around a little. On the Burke-Gilman Trail, bicyclists are the equivalent of motorists. Bicyclists are moving faster than the pedestrians, and we can be impatient. If we pass someone a little too closely while riding 15 mph, we could really hurt them. We, bicyclists, would benefit from remembering how it feels to be vulnerable on the roadways and understand that’s exactly how some pedestrians feel on the trail.
Tips for safe passing on the trail:
1. Let pedestrians know you are passing them before you pass. This can be done with a friendly voice or a bell.
2. Give some space. If you clip the pedestrian, chances are high that you are both going down.
3. Slow down when passing.
4. Smile and say hello. This one isn’t required but makes the interaction much more humane. Pretend that person is your grandmother. I want people to be nice to my grandmother.
Want to learn more about trail safety? Come out to Renton’s Ron Regis Park for a “Share the Trail” event on Saturday, May 14 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Ultimately, the real problem and cause for celebration is that the number of bicyclists riding around the Puget Sound is growing. Our trails are crowded. More people want to use them. There’s quite the conversation going on over at the Cascade forums about this topic.
My vision is that someday the Burke-Gilman Trail will just be for pedestrians and families with children bicycling and parallel roads like Montlake Boulevard will have a cycletrack on it where I can ride as fast as I want. What is your vision of the future?
>> If you clip the pedestrian, chances are high that you are both going down.
Indeed! This is the point where the analogy breaks down a bit. We cyclists have a pretty good incentive to avoid clipping pedestrians — some literal skin in the game, if you will.
That detail notwithstanding, the message is important: Be nice! Don’t be a jerk!
There is one lady walker/slow runner who sticks her left hand out when you call out “on your left”, presumably to encourage riders to pass further to the left, but in actuality just creating a danger to anyone who would have been in that space anyway (in all fairness, she’s probably only creating an extra foot of buffer around her, but still…). It wouldn’t take much for her to take down a cyclist this way, so definitely give them extra space. I keep trying to remember to “hi 5″ her or shake her hand whenever she does that, but I always forget.
Brendan really nails it though – play nice with others. If you want to go fast and the trail is getting crowded, consider riding on the roads that parallel the trail, or perhaps riding on the trail at a different time. The trail is a sucky place to crash on – most of it doesn’t have good access for ambulances and the medical officers have difficulty finding you because there’s no good landmarks for non-bikers.
Yup, a bike on a path or sidewalk is like a car on the road. Courtesy and consideration. That’s the ticket. Even when approaching the pedestrian in the middle of the path, oblivious to the surrounding world due to the earbuds that have taken root in the sides of his/her head. I don’t ride the Burke-Gilman, but I do ride the BPA and some sidewalks in Federal Way. I call out, “May I pass?” or “On your left,” slow down, and call out again — and again, if need be. If they’re still not hearing me, I slow down under 10 as I pass carefully — preferrably on left, but on right if they’re oblivious and taking up the left side of the lane. There are a couple of sidewalks that are narrow, but safer than the roadway at high traffic times – specifically SW Campus/SW 336/whatever from the Aquatic Center west. I’ve seen serious vehicle accidents there, and I don’t want my two wheels tangled up in any of them. But because the walks are narrow, I try to yield the sidewalk to the pedestrians, taking to the grass to go around them (with touring tires). Sometimes the ground is soft and mushy, but hey, I’m doing this whole bike commute bit partly for the physical conditioning, so a little more challenge is good.
And I always try to say “G’mornin’” or “Hi” and smile when I pass. Part of the bike commute is being able to connect with people on a human level, rather than encoutnering one another as steel-wrapped gladiators. When we ride the multi-use paths, we have to share them graciously with other cyclists and pedestrians. When I want to ride for distance or speed, I get back on the roadway and hope for some consideration from the gladiators.
In addition to sharing the trail with other users, there are other safety issues on any trail that require good judgement in adjusting speed when going around blind curves, such as wildlife or downed tree branches/logs that obstruct the trail. It is gosling season and the Canadian geese often block the trail and do not respond to “on your left.” The rabbits are usually fast enough to get out of the way, but geese tend to stand their ground.
I know that I come into this a little bit late, but I think I may have a bit of a different take on the matter. One that might be worth listening to. After having ridden in Germany for several years, this seems to me to be a topic that should require little or no discussion. I’m not sure if it’s German law or not, but the Germans seems to understand that one yields or gives way to the smaller vehicle. Trucks yield to cars, cars yield to motorcycles, motorcycles yield to bicycles, and cyclists yield to pedestrians. I think that’s an attitude that we would do well to accept and adopt. Then some of us wouldn’t be so afraid to ride on the streets and would get off the sidewalks.