Pedestrians, runners, dogs, etc on Bike Paths

La Presse had an excellent letter-to-the-editor today about all the people who can't tell the difference between a bike path and a sidewalk, causing increased danger, lots of increased danger, to people using the bike path on their bikes.

Let's be clear: the purpose of the bike path is to separate slow users (pedestrians, dog walkers, wheelchairs, runners, baby carriages, etc) from fast users (bicycles).

UPDATE: three-lane paths, like le parcours des anse, in Quebec City, solve a lot of this problem. (Video link)

This is for safety!

But some people just don't get it.

I don't like it when people endanger my life, in fact I believe it is my duty to clarify the situation for these people. So I tell them, that "over there, that is the sidewalk, this, here, is for bikes, and not pedestrians... Merci!"

Sometimes it works, and sometimes it's like some people are soooooooooo stuborn in their opinion of themselves being always right, that they try to justify their use of the cycle path for non cycling purposes, and of course refuse to yield in any sense of the word. They just keep walking, and keep almost causing accident after accident.


Do your part, and please tell pedestrians on bike paths that the bike path isn't the trottoir, and show them the nearby sidewalk.

Then there's the short-cut poeple, I'm just using it for 20 feet, don't bug me... Here's a video of a woman walking on the bike path as a shortcut, and almost getting creamed by the next cyclist to come along. (click here for video).

For the record, notice that the city re-designed this corner to separate pedestrians and bikes, and notice how the pedestrians don't have a clue... not a single brain cell functioning...

Of course,I don't think cyclists are anything special in the smart department and here's the video to prove it!

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What about dogs on bike paths? Well, I am the first to say that dog owners need to keep their beloved but unpredictable shit-dispensers off the bike paths.

Here's some discussion about dogs and bike paths in Victoriaville, and along the bike linear path le Parc linéaire des Bois-Francs. Hint: dog's are prohibited for safety reasons. Not that dog owners are sensitive to things like safety, consideration to others, and restraining their biting beasts.