Blog Staff Two: It's just like the interstate highways. Have you noticed the "no-pedestrian, no-bicyclist" signs that kick off every highway on-ramp? The same should apply to bike/skate-ways. Those corridors/paths should be for "heightened" speeds that help cyclists and skateboarders get where they're going quickly. If they have that space, then we can more reasonably expect them to yield in congested/narrower sidewalks where ped's have the right-of-way.
Blog Staff Four: Agreed, but I think the campus and the city needs to do a better job of delineating lanes of travel. Putting up curbs between the bike land and the walk lane would do a better job of keeping pedestrians out of the bike lanes. It's so easy to stray across the painted lines without realizing it, but to have to lift your foot up and over a curb to intrude upon the bike lane, calls for a conscious act. I don't want to see those with limited mobility prevented from enjoying pathways due to miles of curbs, but there must be a better solution than the painted lanes.
Blog Staff Five: It isn't hard, but I myself have been walking only to discover my shoes scuffing up the bike lane. Everyone slips up, but those who correct themselves and others make the difference. If walkers see someone in the bike lane, they should inform their fellow pedestrian of their position. And likewise, if bikers see walkers in their lanes they should politely correct the walkers form. I don't think we're at the point of mandating walking classes, but with a little bit of open dialogue the problem may find a simple resolution. As Boulder continues to expand biking lanes, perhaps curb technology may be a possible infrastructure change we pursue.
Blog Staff Six: In my opinion, the bike lanes are pretty clearly marked. The universal stick-figure on bike icon is very recognizable...people just aren't used to seeing it yet. The same concept is used to label gendered restrooms, and yet there doesn't seem to be much confusion there. Instead of devising a new way to mark the lanes, cyclists (who are most affected by this issue) should spend a few seconds each ride to politely notify pedestrians that they are walking in an inappropriate lane. Pedestrians obviously notice the little cycling stick-figures, judging by the graffiti that is often found on their little round blank faces...they just need a little encouragement.
And while we are stating that the bike lane is for riders, how about pedestrians walking across streets in "marked crosswalks" not walking up the middle of a street or "jay-walking" or crossing wherever they feel.
ReplyDeletePedestrians do not have the right of way just because you are walking. I have seen accidents of pedestrians being hit while they were "jay-walking and texting" just because you have your head burried in the phone like an ostrich does in the dirt does not make you immune from the impact of a two ton vehicle.
It is to bad CU does not force students, and staff to take a class called common sense 101 and 201. But sigh... most would fail.
Pedestrians need to take some responsibility themselves. As a pedestrian (most of the time), I am always careful not to walk in the marked bike lanes, I look both ways when crossing the marked bike lanes, and I cross at cross walks. Call me paranoid, but since I'm much more at risk for serious injury/death in a collision I never "trust" that the other person can see me or will stop for me. I think that we'd get further in convincing cyclists/boarders to be more responsible if we're more responsible as well.
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