Denver police begin enforcing the 15 mph speed limit for bicyclists inside Washington Park today. The perimeter road -- closed to motor vehicles -- is heavily used by all types of park users.
The cyclists interviewed by the Denver Post and 9 News seem to disagree with me, but I believe this enforcement is a good move. Cyclists wanting to go fast should get away from crowded paths and trails and get out on the open road, where they belong. The arguments presented by these cyclists sound a lot like the self-centered "Get of the road" sentiments expressed by anti-cycling motorists.
According to the article, "The smooth asphalt road is divided by a painted yellow line. Bikes use the outside lane traveling counterclockwise, and everyone else uses the inside lane traveling clockwise."
ReplyDeleteSo there shouldn't be any issues unless the bikes or pedestrians don't stay in their own lane. Minneapolis has many parks where there are seperate bike and walking paths, and while I daily see walkers and joggers on the bike path I rarely see bikers on the walking path. So I'm guessing that most of the collision incidents involve pedestrians being where they shouldn't be. And once again, cyclists get the blame.
Yep. Slow down. If yer want a good workout, race the cars, not the peds. GIT OUT ON THE ROADWAY.
ReplyDelete(make that drivers, not cars...)
ReplyDeleteAmen. (I couldn't get the sound to work on y 'puter - we're moving offices tomorrow and everything is ftummled.)
ReplyDeletePeople do need to be educated - it's another argument against paths, looks like. If you have the paths, people think everybody should just get out of their way, and they never learn to get out on the roads if they're not riding like pedestrians.
Pete has a good point, though... if the peds are out in the bike lanes, they're the ones where they oughtn't be.
The other factor (and, alas, another disadvantage of bike paths, no matter how excellent) is that cars get much more hostile about cyclists on the roadway if they think there's a path the riders "should" be using.