Browsing this Thread:
1 Anonymous Users
|
Re: To JC Bikers Who Ride on Sidewalks...
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
 
|
Quote:
Actually the hazard is the cars that try to over take bicyclists. Bicyclists have every right to be in the vehicle lane. Cars don't have the right to pass a slow moving vehicle on a double yellow line.
Posted on: 2012/6/28 15:56
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: To JC Bikers Who Ride on Sidewalks...
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Just can't stay away
 
|
The only people who should be riding their bikes in the streets are spandex-clad, hardcore cyclists who can keep up with traffic.
If you're not going the same speed as traffic you're a hazard to everyone on the road.
Posted on: 2012/6/28 15:34
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: To JC Bikers Who Ride on Sidewalks...
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
|
It is truly damned if you do, damned if you don't.
I drive AND bike in jersey city so I see both sides. I try to be a conscientious motorist and cyclist - I don't speed, am aware of my surroundings, obey laws, etc. But I see ass monkeys in both kinds of vehicles who ruin it for drivers and cyclists. There is a terrible driving AND cycling culture here. Unfortunately there is no etiquette whatsoever. People create dangerous situations for themselves constantly and it only takes one scare - almost getting hit as a cyclist, almost hitting a cyclist as a driver - to think ALL DRIVERS SUCK or ALL CYCLISTS ARE SUICIDAL MORONS. Because of this I only drive and cycle outside of rush hour; otherwise I take the PATH or walk. Sorry guys but I have no grand suggestions other than WEAR A GODDAMN MOTHERFUCKING HELMET (or seatbelt, as applicable. Maybe wear a helmet in your car too just to be safe). I am perplexed by all the cyclists I see (on the streets, sidewalks, on the #OOPS#ing moon, wherever) not wearing helmets in this city. I guess that's natural selection at work but you probably have a mother who'd miss you at least.
Posted on: 2012/6/28 13:10
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: To JC Bikers Who Ride on Sidewalks...
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
|
Quote:
Good luck with that.
Posted on: 2012/6/28 6:07
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: To JC Bikers Who Ride on Sidewalks...
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
|
Its clear from this thread that the obvious solution is to eliminate street parking and install safe bicycle lanes in place of the parking spaces. This would have a two fold effect of creating a safe space for bicycles and reduce the number of cars in the city.
Posted on: 2012/6/28 3:59
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: To JC Bikers Who Ride on Sidewalks...
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Just can't stay away
|
Idiots who have posted lamo justifications about why it's "okay" for them to ride their bikes under their really special unique circumstances:
1. Oh, some roads are just too bad/dangerous to bike on: Walk your bike on the sidewalk, lamo. 2. I love my family too much for them to ride on the street: Walk your bikes on the sidewalk, lamo. 3. It's the bad, evil pedestrian who should not dare to walk around with ear buds in, or while talking on the phone: OMG. Are you seriously turning this into a conversation where the pedestrian is at fault? Not only should adults not ride on the sidewalk, any child who has passed puberty should not be on the sidewalk. This is not to say that I don't understand why a biker would be tempted to ride on the sidewalk in JC. JC drivers...a rant for another time.
Posted on: 2012/6/28 1:51
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: To JC Bikers Who Ride on Sidewalks...
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Newbie
|
From NJ Dept of Trans:
Q. Can I ride a bike on the sidewalk? A. While riding a bicycle on a sidewalk is not prohibited by New Jersey statutes, some municipalities have passed ordinances prohibiting bicycle traffic on certain sidewalks. This prohibition is usually posted. It should be noted, that sidewalks are for pedestrians. Riding on sidewalks can cause conflicts with pedestrians and, like wrong way riding, can lead to crashes since it places bicyclists in situations where others do not expect them. Except for very young cyclists under parental supervision, sidewalks are not for bicycling. Sooooo....I can dig bikers hopping on the sidewalk if there's construction (or what else)? But, those who use the sidewalks as bike lanes must secretly acknowledge in their heart of hearts that they really shouldn't be there. And they just LOOK dumb, like wet noodles or ditzes. They go 5% faster than walkers, and as a bonus, they're way more likely to get hit in intersections. Stupid. They can wait behind me if I'm enjoying some music while walking on the sidewalk. Well, because they're dummies, and dummies have to wait. 
Posted on: 2012/6/28 0:53
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: To JC Bikers Who Ride on Sidewalks...
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
|
YES, sideWALKS are called sidewalks for a reason?You're supposed to walk on them.
No one should run their full ride on the sidewalk at all times. However... I feel much safer riding clipped, fixed, and no brakes in the middle of traffic on 7th avenue than I do on the side streets of Jersey City. I always ride in the street, EXCEPT... In JC there are plenty of times where some idiot is double parked or texting while driving and yelling to the people in the back of their car while changing the radio and running straight through a STOP sign... There are so many times, where I need to jump onto the sidewalk for a minute to avoid getting hit by a car. Jersey City has become extremely gentrified, BUT it's drivers and roads are still lawless. #keepyourheadupwhenwalking
Posted on: 2012/6/28 0:31
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: To JC Bikers Who Ride on Sidewalks...
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Newbie
Joined:
2007/8/15 3:53 Last Login : 2012/6/28 0:19 From Harsimus Cove
Group:
Registered Users
Posts:
18
 |
I've heard a lot of bikers say that they have to ride on the sidewalks in some areas, but I don't understand that at all. I'd just hop off and walk it.
Also, please remember that some folks are deaf or hard of hearing, so you can't assume your bell or voice will alert a pedestrian that you're there. Most bikers are pretty considerate, in my experience. A few bad apples.
Posted on: 2012/6/28 0:26
|
|||
|
"Security in this office park is a joke. Last year, I came to work with my spud gun in a duffel bag. I sat at my desk all day, with a rifle that shoots potatoes at 60 pounds per square inch. Can you imagine if I was deranged?" ---Dwight Schrute
|
||||
|
||||
|
Re: To JC Bikers Who Ride on Sidewalks...
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
|
Quote:
I'm not so sure this is true. From BikeJC road rules: According to city law: Biking on sidewalks is not allowed in Jersey City. It references a municipal code, but the link is obsolete. BikeJC Road Rules
Posted on: 2012/6/28 0:20
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: To JC Bikers Who Ride on Sidewalks...
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
|
meanwhile in NYC I never have to ride on sidewalks ever, because there are actual bike lanes.
Posted on: 2012/6/27 18:37
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: To JC Bikers Who Ride on Sidewalks...
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
|
Quote:
stop it I personally do ride on the sidewalk sometimes, because some of the streets in JC are completely inhospitable to bikers, but I do try my best to be courteous by yielding to peds and slowing at corners. Are there dickhead bikers? absolutely. But there are also plenty of pedestrians who think they own every inch of realty. I have nearly gotten into loads of accidents (while riding in the street) because pedestrians will look through me like a piece of glass and start jaywalking. Your comment about pedestrians not being able to hear because they're on the phone or listening to ipods is indicative of this. You put the blame on the biker, when the blame for that is on the pedestrian. You should be aware of your surroundings. Don't blame someone else because you're stuffing your ears.
Posted on: 2012/6/27 18:36
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: To JC Bikers Who Ride on Sidewalks...
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
|
Quote:
We do have rules. No riding in the sidewalks in business areas, and where you are allowed to ride on the sidewalk you can't ride fast.
Posted on: 2012/6/27 16:49
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: To JC Bikers Who Ride on Sidewalks...
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Just can't stay away
|
Quote:
I agree. This is more about all road users sharing space. This thread is called "to JC bikers who ride on sidewalks" but it could also be "to drivers who don't yield to pedestrians" or "to pedestrians who don't look while jaywalking" or "to anyone using public space acting like a jerk."
Posted on: 2012/6/27 16:10
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: To JC Bikers Who Ride on Sidewalks...
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
|
Yes, bikes should obey the laws and adults should avoid the sidewalks if at all possible. But when circumstances force or tempt you to break those rules, you need to realize that in every encounter YOU are in the wrong! I've gone the wrong way up a street, but very defensively, realizing cross street drivers and pedestrians aren't' looking for you coming the wrong way.
It's everyone on the streets acting entitled, whether on foot or wheels, that makes it so dangerous. People will step off the sidewalk right in front of my bike, like it won't hurt like hell to get hit. I've seen guys cross the street with their backs to oncoming traffic and simply never even look to see if anyone's coming. And if you're riding in the street together, stay on one side, nothing rattles me driving like having to thread between 2 swerving bikes.
Posted on: 2012/6/27 16:01
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: To JC Bikers Who Ride on Sidewalks...
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
|
If there is not a protected bike lane available, the cyclist has every right to use the sidewalk, however they must always yield to pedestrians and should always ride slowly.
Traffic is too aggressive in this area to safely ride on the streets. Cyclists in the streets are always inches from death. A 150 lb cyclist with a 20 lb bicycle and Styrofoam helmet does not stand a chance against a 2000 lb car. You may think you are riding safely in the street, but you are not. You are just lucky. If a cyclist is being dangerous on the sidewalk, yell at them to slow down! Pedestrians always have the right of way.
Posted on: 2012/6/27 15:38
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: To JC Bikers Who Ride on Sidewalks...
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Just can't stay away
|
I've been a bike commuter for years and never, ever had to ride on the sidewalk in nyc. here, however, there is one instance where i have ridden on the sidewalk. Coming off of Pacific Ave into Grand Street. There is a right turn only lane for cars, and of course with the right on red they fly into this turn and the lane is right up to the curb with no shoulder space whatsoever. i *had to* ride on the sidewalk there. It was early in the morning so there weren't any pedestrians there, and I went slow. Also, I ride on the sidewalk down Grand St until I can cross over to a quiet residential st where I resume riding in the street. I tried riding down Grand St once in the road and I felt like I was beating death the whole time, it was so scary. JC has some areas that really aren't suited for riding a bike, or even walking, for that matter.
Now I just cut through LSP and down Jersey Ave to avoid the whole thing, but there are some instances where I find myself on Grand (stopping by Pathmark on the way home) and unless I have a death wish I really can't ride in the road there. Very sorry to anyone who was inconvenienced. This becomes less of a problem when a city actually has decent infrastructure.
Posted on: 2012/6/27 15:27
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: To JC Bikers Who Ride on Sidewalks...
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
Joined:
2008/10/19 1:18 Last Login : 2020/9/25 20:40 From somewhere else
Group:
Registered Users
Posts:
1609
|
Quote:
There's no such thing as an empty sidewalk. You have no idea what is coming around the next corner or out of a store door. If there is some reason why you can't or won't ride on the street and need to be on the sidewalk, you should be walking your bike. Almost every street in JC has a parallel. If you don't feel safe on a major thruway (and you shouldn't) go in a block and you should be much safer.
Posted on: 2012/6/27 1:25
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: To JC Bikers Who Ride on Sidewalks...
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
Joined:
2007/2/3 21:36 Last Login : 2020/4/18 19:17 From Way Downtown
Group:
Registered Users
Posts:
1300
|
Quote:
totally. buy a grownup scooter, for god's sake. http://www.xootr.com/kick-scooter_mg.html
Posted on: 2012/6/26 23:26
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: To JC Bikers Who Ride on Sidewalks...
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Not too shy to talk
|
Yeah, I agree. And same goes for the people who ride those lame little mini kick scooter things. Seriously.. those are for kids, losers.
Posted on: 2012/6/26 23:06
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: To JC Bikers Who Ride on Sidewalks...
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
|
It is not just on the sidewalks that is a problem at times....
I have been toying getting a dash cam for my car. Originally it was because I had two cases of a near collision from drivers ignoring yield signs and one more running a stop sign. However, I have had two near collisions with bikes here in JC recently. Both prevented by me slamming on my brakes (thankfully, I wasn't going fast). The 1st incident, the bike was riding very fast, the wrong way, down a one-way street. I nearly t-boned him when he ran a red light. 2nd was when a bike turned a corner, again the wrong way on a one way street, high speed, riding in the middle of the lane. I was coming to a stop to make a turn, so thankfully I was able to halt before he went through my windshield (he still hit my bumper though, with his own bakes engaged.. low enough speed to not hurt him or my car).
Posted on: 2012/6/26 21:08
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: To JC Bikers Who Ride on Sidewalks...
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
|
Maybe someone with better knowledge can jump in, but don't some towns have laws regarding where cyclists can ride (i.e. not sidewalks). I doubt JC has such an ordinance, but I'd love it to be implemented. I totally understand kids riding on the sidewalks, that make sense, but for an adult, come on. Just this morning my girlfriend and I had to stand aside and let some dude with his 16oz coffee resting on his mustache bars pass us.
In the grand scheme of things, this is extremely small potatoes. Oh yeah, and those who are brave enough to ride in the street, please go WITH the flow of traffic, I'm tired of playing chicken with you.
Posted on: 2012/6/26 19:45
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: To JC Bikers Who Ride on Sidewalks...
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
Joined:
2007/2/3 21:36 Last Login : 2020/4/18 19:17 From Way Downtown
Group:
Registered Users
Posts:
1300
|
Quote:
you can ride on the sidewalks without being a menace. go slowly, watch for pedestrians, slow down or STOP when you get to a crowd. what most bikers-on-sidewalks fail to realize is it's a sideWALK first, bike path a distant second.
Posted on: 2012/6/26 18:50
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: To JC Bikers Who Ride on Sidewalks...
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
|
Quote:
I love my family too much to have them ride their bikes on the streets of JC while trying to get to the parks or walkways with bike lanes. But wholeheartedly hear you on your point. I hate myself when I ride the sidewalk, although sparingly, but those jitney's have nearly killed my bike pals more than once. Like I said, I love my family too much.
Posted on: 2012/6/26 18:30
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: To JC Bikers Who Ride on Sidewalks...
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
Joined:
2007/2/3 21:36 Last Login : 2020/4/18 19:17 From Way Downtown
Group:
Registered Users
Posts:
1300
|
my dog was nearly killed by a guy flying full-speed up the sidewalk on Manilla, against the flow of traffic.
if you must use the sidewalk, don't make it your own personal autobahn.
Posted on: 2012/6/26 18:15
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: To JC Bikers Who Ride on Sidewalks...
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
|
I'm certain that the vast majority will read this thread and stop.
Thanks. Sometimes riding on the sidewalk is unavoidable due to road conditions / construction / etc...
Posted on: 2012/6/26 18:10
|
|||
|
||||
|
Re: To JC Bikers Who Ride on Sidewalks...
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home away from home
|
Quote:
I agree with you, bikers should ride in the street, but I bet that the sidewalker riders don't wear a helmet probably just some people that don't know any better real cyclists obey the rules of the road. And by the way stop talking on the phone when walking and take those distracting buds out of you ears you might miss something..like you life.
Posted on: 2012/6/26 17:39
|
|||
|
Get on your bikes and ride !
|
||||
|
||||
|
To JC Bikers Who Ride on Sidewalks...
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Newbie
|
Stop it.
I'm tired of turning a corner and almost being hit by one of you. And, surprise, no one can hear your bell or your voice if they're talking on the phone or have earbuds in. Funny thing is, you're barely moving faster than if you walked because you're always contending with pedestrians. If you're too SCARED to ride on the street without a bike lane, then do everyone a favor and sell your bike, then you won't have everyone quietly wondering why you're such a moron. Thanks!
Posted on: 2012/6/26 17:13
|
|||
|
||||