Posted on Tue, Jan 12, 2010 : 11:06 a.m.
Bikes on sidewalks in downtown Ann Arbor - what do you think?
By Stefanie Murray
On Monday, AnnArbor.com government reporter Ryan J. Stanton posted a story about Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje's idea to ban bicycle riding on city sidewalks in downtown Ann Arbor.
The reasoning behind the possible proposal would be to make it safer to pedestrians to walk on sidewalks. The post generated a lively discussion on AnnArbor.com. Take our poll and weigh in with your thoughts.
Comments
mrs_samuelson
Wed, Jan 13, 2010 : 6:36 a.m.
Banning bicycles on sidewalks will only result in more injuries of bicyclists. They should be allowed to ride, but should respect pedestrians and keep a slower pace around others. I don't know how that could be enforced, but bicycles and cars are a bad combination.
AlfaElan
Tue, Jan 12, 2010 : 11:59 a.m.
Ride a bike on the sidewalk at the same pace as a pedestrian is not a problem, but most bicyclist don't ride that slow which becomes a problem. The worst are the bicyclists traveling at vehicle speeds on the sidewalk since pedestrians don't have time to get out of the way and vehicles coming out of driveways don't expect them. This is why the vehicle code says only to ride on sidewalks designated as bike routes and why it is more dangerous to ride a bike on the sidewalk. Having put thousands of miles a year on bike when I was younger I can see the danger of riding on the sidewalk. I know I wouldn't want to go 25 mph on the sidewalk like I used to on the road.