Bicyclists Must Mix with Pedestrians on Sidewalks
A safety education effort, complete with posters containing bicycles with
daisies for wheels, free bells and a series of upbeat Burma Shave*like
posters (“don’t be a silent passer”), was staged on Portland’s Hawthorne
Bridge by PBOT, the Community Cycling Center, the BTA, Shift, and
Green Empowerment. Swanson, Thomas & Coon’s Margaret Weddell led
a law*office team and Jay Graves from Bike Gallery donated free handle*
bar bells to passing bicyclists. Underneath the positive energy contained
in this project was the recognition by participants and many pedestrians
that bicyclists must take special care when riding on the sidewalks to
avoid endangering persons on foot.
One problem is that bicyclists travel so much faster than pedestrians and
require considerably greater distance to turn and stop. When bicycle
traffic is constricted, such as on bridges and other multi*use paths, the
inevitable congestion magnifies the impact of the small steering or control
mistakes that lead to occasional collisions.
Historically, many villages and cities have identified their highest areas of
pedestrian density and declared them off limits to bicycles. In Portland,
the area within SW Jefferson Street, Naito Parkway, NW Hoyt Street and
13th Avenue are off limits to bicycles except in the Park Blocks and on
SW Salmon Street, on bridges and multi*use paths. However, the maxi*
mum fine of $500.00, the fact that there are no warning signs defining the
boundaries of prohibited areas, and almost universal ignorance and
disregard of the law, create an uncertain environment for everyone that
guarantees selective and uneven enforcement.
While New York City prohibits sidewalk bicyclists over 14 years of age,
a new law includes a pedestrian*endangerment provision backed by a
$300.00 fine or 20 days in jail and bike impoundment. Physical contact
with a pedestrian results in a $600.00 fine or 20 days imprisonment and
bike impoundment. While protecting pedestrians from injuries is a
Part I: Bicycle Laws14
laudable goal, in an average year in a huge metropolitan area like New
York City, bicycles kill no pedestrians and injure fewer than 200. In the
same average year motor vehicles kill 200 pedestrians and injure 11,000.
Clearly, the safety hazard associated with bicyclists on sidewalks is more
of an annoyance than a high*level, life*threatening risk, at least when
compared to motor vehicle/pedestrian hazards.
The law is clear
The law is clear that pedestrians have the right of way on sidewalks and
that bicyclists must provide an audible signal when they pass persons
on foot. To obtain the same right*of*way over motorized vehicles as
pedestrians, bicyclists are limited by the traffic code to “no greater than a
walking speed” when passing in front of driveways or entry ways and on
crosswalks. Pedestrians, of course, also have the right*of*way in marked or
unmarked cross walks and on sidewalks over any motorized vehicle.
One problem area is that bicyclists on the roadway sometimes fail to yield
to pedestrians attempting to cross roadways in marked and unmarked
crosswalks. ORS 811.020 prohibits passing a vehicle stopped at a cross*
walk for a pedestrian, but bicyclists frequently disregard this provision
(to the consternation of some pedestrians). Further, bicyclists sometimes
act as if they believe they are on a higher moral plane than other vehicles
and therefore do not really have to stop for pedestrians. Other riders
demon strate their trick riding skills by weaving around clusters of
alarmed pedestrians. The Oregon Traffic Code prohibits such behavior.
ORS 814.410, “Unsafe Operation of Bicycle On Sidewalk,” is violated if
a person “[O]perates a bicycle on a sidewalk in a careless manner that
endangers or would be likely to endanger any person or property,” creating
an offense with similar operational language to the better known “Care*
less Driving offense”.
Additional resources
The websites for Oregon Cycling (www.oregoncycling.org) and Swanson,
Thomas & Coon (www.stc*law.com) each contain references to the book
“Pedal Power” and its collection of Oregon statutes. In addition, Part
Three of “Pedal Power” collects the city ordinances regulating bicycle
operation on sidewalks in about 20 Oregon cities.
Conclusion
When bicyclists follow the rules, sidewalk bicycle riding can be safe.
However, bicyclists sometimes save their worst behavior for the sidewalks
and ignore sidewalk riding prohibitions. When bicyclists yield to pedes*
trians and give an audible signal when passing, the whole mix goes a lot
more smoothly and the sidewalk provides an important artery for non*
motorized travel.