People who walk on the wrong side of the street/bikepath! (Boston: school, safety)

[MarieBoston]

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.

[jayrandom]

What trail are you on? For mixed bike/pedestrian paths there are certain paths where the pedestrians are requested to walk on the left. I know this is true of the Blackstone Trail, for instance. This is similar to normal roads without sidewalks, where pedestrians are supposed to walk on the left so that they can see approaching traffic. In other cases pedestrians are asked to keep to the far right so that bikes can pass. Since the preferred side for pedestrians is not generally fixed, I think you need to be more understanding of pedestrians who may not know the preferred direction for your particular trail (many may be using the rule for roads). Some trails do a better job of informing users of the preferred side (i.e. with trail markings, signs, etc.) and others don't.

And you should always remember that on mixed-use paths, bicycles always yield to pedestrians. If you hit someone with your bike, especially after admitting the desire to play chicken with pedestrians, I hope you have a really good lawyer.

[MarieBoston]

I take the Fitchburg Cutoff Bikepath every day and although I cannot find regulations for it, the regulations for the nearby Minuteman Bikeway are for everybody, including bikers, walkers, joggers, roller-bladers, etc, to stay to the right.

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by MarieBoston

I take the Fitchburg Cutoff Bikepath every day and although I cannot find regulations for it, the regulations for the nearby Minuteman Bikeway are for everybody, including bikers, walkers, joggers, roller-bladers, etc, to stay to the right.

Without an explicit statement the general rule is keep right, so that's probably what it's supposed to be. Since it doesn't seem to be explicitly stated and it is something that varies from trail to trail, a little understanding is probably in order though. And seriously, don't hit anyone with your bike.

[Cape Cod Todd]

I ride on the local bike trail often and there are signs for walkers and bikers to stay to the left and most do. What really bugs me is when walkers 2 abreast see me coming and don't move over, and people with dogs who also see me coming but don't pull their dog close.

[KKay9]

Originally Posted by MarieBoston

In America, where we drive on the RIGHT side of the road, we also walk/bike on the RIGHT side as well.

Actually, no, on roads, pedestrians are to walk on the left:

https://www.massdot.state.ma.us/Port.../pedplan/D.PDF

Page D-6, section 4)d).

Unless stated otherwise for that particular bike path, pedestrians would be walking on the left.

Also, pedestrians have the right of way, even on a bicycle path. Please don't go scaring or hitting anyone, you are actually the one in the wrong here. Sorry.

[gf2020]

first world problems

[1AngryTaxPayer]

It's like that everywhere.

[Parsec]

As a pedestrian I would walk on the left no matter where I am because it's safer. You can see any approaching traffic. As a driver, I always see people walking on my right (their left). I never think about ramming them or even "scaring" them by driving closely. They do it for their safety and I respect that. Bicyclists generally need to follow the same rules as people driving motor vehicles, so I'm with KKay9 on this one.

[MarieBoston]

Originally Posted by KKay9

Actually, no, on roads, pedestrians are to walk on the left:

https://www.massdot.state.ma.us/Port.../pedplan/D.PDF

Page D-6, section 4)d).

Unless stated otherwise for that particular bike path, pedestrians would be walking on the left.

Also, pedestrians have the right of way, even on a bicycle path. Please don't go scaring or hitting anyone, you are actually the one in the wrong here. Sorry.

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.