I appreciate your questioning of the issue Aaron. I think the easiest way to put things is that cyclists have no more, no less a right to be on the roads than cars. In terms of that, paths are irrelevant; obeying the law is irrelevant in terms of the right to be there. There is an obligation to obey the law. But there's nothing in MN statute 169 that says if you don't follow them, get your butt off the road. Sure, there are some things you could do over time to lose your license. But nothing says if you make a right hand turn on a red when no right on red is posted, you should pull off to the side of the road, take out your keys, and call a cab. And nothing in 169 says that bicyclists should take the path when it's there.
I ride the greenway and love it. But I rarely take the paths up and down the gorge (east and west river parkways) because they're not practical. They have blind corners making disobeying the speed limit on the paths dangerous. And if you think the roads are bumpy when on a bike, those are that much worse. If the city had a bunch of greenways, lil' bike freeways, letting me get most anyplace I need to get or simply to get out for a ride, I'd take them more often. But the bike paths around the lakes, along the Mississippi gorge and other paths aren't practical for me to ride on a bike when I'm out for a ride. -Allen Graetz Lowry Hill -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Aaron Klemz Sent: Sunday, November 14, 2004 11:23 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [Mpls] Bicycle Protocol As a driver, I cannot understand why bicyclists choose to ride in the roadway immediately adjacent to a path expressly designed and maintained for their use exclusively (well, at least in theory.) I can hear the keyboards clicking in response already, so here's a couple of preempts. a) Yes, some bicyclists ride faster than the "speed limit" or the speed of prevailing bike traffic, and it's safer for them sometimes to ride on the roadway. But that's not the only folks who are doing it. Nor are folks only doing this during high traffic times on the pathways. b) Yes, you have the right to ride on the roadway. If you so choose, you should behave as a vehicle, following the signs, signaling, and otherwise obeying the rules of the road. I rarely see bicyclists doing so, especially in relation to stop signs and signaling. c) Yes, pedestrians sometimes choose to walk on the bike paths. That don't make no sense 90% of the time, and they should stop. So I guess my question is this: Why, despite the public investment in bike paths, do bicyclists choose to ride on the parkways and the pedestrian paths? And the corollary question: why do pedestrian eschew the walking paths and trod on the bike paths? And don't jump all over me for being "car centered" or whatever, because I made a bicycle my primary form of transportation for many years (alright, I couldn't afford a car until I was 25). I think bicycling as a form of transportation and recreation is great, and I support bike paths. I just wish people would use them. aaron klemz cooper ===== ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Aaron Klemz, Instructor of Speech-Communication Century College White Bear Lake, MN Politix blog: www.bloggerk.blogspot.com Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page. www.yahoo.com REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
