In my crusade to stop cyclists from running down people on city sidewalks, I overlooked something.
I ignored the fact that some cyclists don’t chase pedestrians into doorways or gutters. Some cyclists are civilized. They follow rules.
Around two dozen readers contacted me after my first two Inside columns about sidewalk cycling. Everyone was gracious and polite and thanked me for highlighting an overlooked problem.
But a handful of people challenged my suggestion that all sidewalk cyclists are jerks.
Some insist sidewalks are the only safe place to ride in Downtown, Midtown or East Sacramento. Others tell me the city’s expensive scheme to create protected bike lanes between sidewalks and parked vehicles doesn’t work as planned.
One man dislikes how I describe sidewalk cyclists. He especially dislikes me calling them “morons.”
That word sums up how I feel about myself after hearing from Kenny and Carol Shoemake. Both turned 80 this year. They sometimes find it necessary to ride on sidewalks near their apartment.
“There are sections of Downtown and Midtown where bike lanes do not exist, so we use sidewalks,” they write. “We are courteous, cautious and always yield to pedestrians by either stopping, moving to the side or actually dismounting.”
In addition to being charming correspondents, Kenny and Carol might be the city’s perfect sidewalks cyclists. At least the most law-abiding.
California Vehicle Code allows for sidewalk cycling. But the law puts responsibility on riders to slow, stop or dismount around pedestrians. The law also says bikes must have brakes and lights.
Here’s my problem with many people who ride bikes or scooters on sidewalks: they get the rules backward.
They think they have right of way on sidewalks because they are bigger and faster than people on foot. They think pedestrians should move aside.
Several riders tell me they agree riding on sidewalks is sketchy. But they believe the city’s multi-million-dollar program to create separated bike lanes on key streets is a waste of money.
“I can’t tell you the number of times I’m traveling in the dedicated bike lane and I’m coming to an intersection and because the parked cars block the view of me from cars wanting to turn left, I’m almost hit,” Tim Mosbarger writes.
Tim prefers to ride among cars rather than in separated bike lanes on P and Q streets: “I actually feel safer.”
Tim isn’t alone, which may explain why I see people riding on sidewalks when a dedicated bike lane runs empty just a few feet away.
“If I’m going to get run over, I don’t want it to be by accident,” Tom Adams writes. “Whoever promotes these Midtown ‘protected’ bike lanes behind parked cars doesn’t have much practical experience.”
State law lets cities make their own rules about sidewalks. The city charter says any sidewalk can be declared off limits to bikes and scooters just by posting official signs.
Today, no sidewalk in Sacramento has a sign saying it’s off limits to bikes and scooters.
As Ernie Paul tells me, “This is a car town. Not a bike town. And definitely not a pedestrian town.”
R.E. Graswich can be reached at regraswich@icloud.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento.
