Comment 123811

By kevlahan (registered) | Posted September 25, 2018 at 10:35:18 in reply to Comment 123809

You seem to have misinterpreted the Spec report:

The woman was riding at a high rate of speed northbound on John Street, on the west sidewalk around 3 p.m. Wednesday, when she crossed from the southwest to the northwest corner at Charlton Avenue, Hamilton police said.

She crossed on the crosswalk and with a green light.

This clearly states that she was travelling northbound on the west sidewalk of John Street and crossed Charlton (not John) on a green light. She was not "riding against the flow of traffic" as she was on the sidewalk (like a pedestrian). Note that pedestrians are often advised to walk facing traffic, and this cyclist was clearly (and misguidedly) attempting to use the sidewalk like a pedestrian.

Cyclists (especially those lacking in confidence) sometimes ride on the sidewalk because they are too scared to ride on the road (even though the sidewalk is actually a very unsafe place to ride).

And yes, safe cycling facilities could indeed have made all the difference since she would most likely have ridden on a protected cycle lane rather than on the sidewalk if such facilities had been available ... and would not then have come into conflict with the pedestrian.

The appropriate reaction is not try to blame the victim, but to find ways to re-design the street so this sort of accident is less likely to happen in the future.

Vancouver reacted in just this way when a cyclist fell off the sidewalk and was crushed by a bus in the Stanley Park causeway trying to avoid a group of pedestrians (note that cyclists must ride on the sidewalk in that location).

Instead of blaming the cyclist for not dismounting when she approached pedestrians (as was the rule) the city widened the path so there is room for both cyclists and pedestrians and added a physical barrier so cyclists (and pedestrians) cannot fall onto the road.

Comment edited by kevlahan on 2018-09-25 10:38:38

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