Originally Posted by
groverdill
Well, I certainly opened up a can of worms with this one! That wasn’t my intention, although it led to some informative discussion. My original post was in regards to a recently developed bike/walking path that goes from one end of our small town to the other. It’s fully paved and crosses some bridges, parking lots, alleys, and (get ready: here it comes) busy streets. I’ve seen cyclists waiting to cross while still in the saddle, and I’ve seen them dismount and wait to walk their bikes across. There is no traffic light there, but there are signs that state “traffic must yield to pedestrians in crosswalk”. And by the way, I’m coming at this from a motor vehicle operator point of view. As I approach the crosswalk in my car, and a cyclist is still seated on the bike, I will stop for them. But I often wonder if they’re supposed to dismount and walk, or if it’s ok/legal to ride across a marked crosswalk.
Now that I’ve clarified my original post and reread it, most likely it varies state by state. Maybe. I think.
Mike
I have never dismounted in that situation and there may be some local ordinances to clarify it. Various States are in relatively consistent about pedestrians and crosswalks, with some minor variations.
The big difference here is that the crosswalk is alongside a path, not a street, so there is no difference between riding in the crosswalk or beside it in the lane, as you would on a street. No motor vehicles can turn into it or out of it, which is the real danger. I'd be surprised if anyone could legally insist that you dismount.