Originally Posted by
ls01
You laws may vary. But in Mi. Walker has right of way even upon a dedicated bike path.
And to be honest, no one wins. I had a collision with a young lady on roller blades who just turned in front of me without warning. She was looking at her phone/ipod with both earbuds in. Didn't hear me call out "on your left" and turned left just as I passed her. It's why I don't ride the mup anymore.
When I was just getting into cycling 25 years ago, part of it was being so close to an MUP that took me across town to where I was working. So I started out commuting, then started adding extra miles to my commute, mostly on the pedway. I started out shouting "On your left!" till I noticed that sometimes people would pivot To THEIR LEFT into my path. I never hit anyone, but it convinced me to get a bell. So I rode with the bell for a while, then one day I *ping,pinged* a runner running down the middle of the path, who didn't move. So I kept pinging him, and he STILL didn't move. When I got abreast of him, he shouts "Say Left or Right!" Like I'd pass on the RIGHT? What a moron!!
Then there was the beautiful Sunday I headed out for a few miles and encountered an oncoming couple on what I'm guessing was their maiden voyage on brand new Rollerblades, walking a big Lab on an extendo-leash. They were wobbling, trying not to fall,, while their dog was in the bushes on MY SIDE of the path. I had to slow WAY down and go around the dog. Fortunately I was able to.
That pretty much did it for MUPs for me. I kept commuting on them because it was outside recreational hours, but for MY recreational cycling, I stuck to roads. Then I moved both houses and jobs so cyclo-commuting was out, and I just rode for riding's sake.