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Old 09-11-2014, 07:12 PM
 
Location: The Moon
1,717 posts, read 1,788,276 times
Reputation: 1918

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Quote:
Originally Posted by MarieBoston View Post
I'm not talking about roads, I'm talking about bike paths. In addition, it says "On any divided highway, pedestrians, not in violation of 540 CMR 3.08(2)(c), shall walk on the right side of the roadway on the unfinished shoulder." Even if your highway rule applied to this bike path, pedestrians should STILL be walking on the right side, as the path is DIVIDED, and both lanes have arrows that point in the direction you are supposed to go.
How is the path divided, a stripe? The lanes may be designated and divided, but it is not a "divided highway".


Also, do you have to move out of their way when they are walking the correct direction?
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Old 09-11-2014, 07:19 PM
 
8,276 posts, read 11,848,085 times
Reputation: 10075
Quote:
Originally Posted by MarieBoston View Post
Sorry, I need to vent and this is the only place I could think of to do so.

I ride my bike to work everyday utilizing a bike path with clearly marked lanes. Something that's been slowly but surely driving me bonkers is the number of people who walk on the wrong (left from their perspective, right from my perspective) side of the path but who won't move out of the way as we approach one another, so I'M the one who's forced to move into the other lane to go around them. Every single day I encounter 2-4 people who do this, and it's infuriating. And they NEVER are the ones to move, it's always me, even though I'm in the correct lane to begin with. In America, where we drive on the RIGHT side of the road, we also walk/bike on the RIGHT side as well. I thought it was common sense but I guess not, because it's not only foreigners who do it, but people who were clearly born here as well. The same thing happens when I'm walking along a sidewalk. There'll always be at least one person who decides it's their god-given right to walk on the wrong side and force those of us on the correct side to move over. For pretty much my entire life I've walked on the right side, whether it be in school hallways, on sidewalks, etc. And you'd think that something with clearly marked lanes, like a bike path, would be a no-brainer for people, but apparently not!

This morning I was so tempted to not move over, but rather continue barreling towards this guy until he had to jump out of the way, but I chickened out and moved into the other lane to go around him.

I'm getting sick and tired of these morons and I feel like this is a growing problem.
You're in the right, Marie. They are supposed to walk/drive on the right side. There are some people out there who never picked up on this common pattern, and they certainly make sidewalk travel pretty ridiculous..
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Old 09-11-2014, 07:23 PM
 
13,946 posts, read 14,845,811 times
Reputation: 10393
Quote:
Originally Posted by MassVt View Post
You're in the right, Marie. They are supposed to walk/drive on the right side. There are some people out there who never picked up on this common pattern, and they certainly make sidewalk travel pretty ridiculous..
Your always suppose to walk/run against traffic, bike with traffic.
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Old 09-11-2014, 07:31 PM
 
Location: The Moon
1,717 posts, read 1,788,276 times
Reputation: 1918
Quote:
Originally Posted by MassVt View Post
You're in the right, Marie. They are supposed to walk/drive on the right side. There are some people out there who never picked up on this common pattern, and they certainly make sidewalk travel pretty ridiculous..
On a sidewalk there are no pedestrian rules, only etiquette. I could be a jerk and walk right down the middle if I wanted to. There are also no bikes allowed in many places.


On a bike path, unless clearly indicated I would disagree with your assertion. For your safety and the safety of motorists, on a road with no sidewalk I would always walk facing traffic on the same side as the oncoming traffic. Would you rather get hit from behind or have a split second to jump into a ditch?
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Old 09-11-2014, 09:18 PM
 
141 posts, read 204,657 times
Reputation: 221
Get a bell for your bike. The law says "You must give pedestrians an audible signal before overtaking or passing them." Have you been doing this?

Remember that you're going way faster than people on foot and they may not see you coming. Making a bit of a racket with a bell lets you make your presence known and get out some frustration at the same time.
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Old 09-11-2014, 10:40 PM
 
Location: 42°22'55.2"N 71°24'46.8"W
4,848 posts, read 11,756,325 times
Reputation: 2961
Quote:
Originally Posted by osric View Post
Get a bell for your bike. The law says "You must give pedestrians an audible signal before overtaking or passing them." Have you been doing this?

Remember that you're going way faster than people on foot and they may not see you coming. Making a bit of a racket with a bell lets you make your presence known and get out some frustration at the same time.
True - when I pass pedestrians from behind while I'm bicycling I always scream "ON YOUR LEFT"
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Old 09-11-2014, 11:28 PM
 
Location: Purgatory
6,367 posts, read 6,220,521 times
Reputation: 9888
Quote:
Originally Posted by Parsec View Post
True - when I pass pedestrians from behind while I'm bicycling I always scream "ON YOUR LEFT"

Yes. "Do the yell, not the bell."

Take a queue from the food industry: "BEHIND YOU!"
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