To expect pedestrians to move out of way on a shared cycle/pedestrian path

[Watsername]

I have recently moved house and now cycle to and from work every day. I cycle almost exclusively on cycle paths which are shared spaces for cyclists and pedestrians.

Because of where I work I travel at the same time as children are going to and from a local secondary school. So I am on the shared space cycle path at the same time as a lot of teenagers.

AIBU to expect the teens to move out of the way when they see a bike coming? I am getting fed up of having to stop on the path as they walk 5-6 abreast and don't move. When I stop I wobble off and have nearly fallen into a busy A-Road several times.

Surely they don't want to get run over?!

If I ring my bell or say 'excuse me' politely I get dirty looks, sworn at, or roared at (yes, really!)

I can't believe this thread is still going!

Don't you move out of the way when you see a person walking towards you? I don't want to walk into them.....

But you're not a pedestrian, you're on a bike. I think it's been explained quite a few times that therefore you don't have right of way and they do! It's quite simple. It would be nice if they moved, but the onus is on you to give way.

@Teateaandmoretea
There has already been one bad accident there by a speeding cyclist, and there will be more. It’s usually always men, often in groups on very fast bikes using the track as a perfect place to pick up very fast speeds that they can’t do on the road. You can’t even hear them approaching from behind until they are almost on top of you and it’s fucking ridiculous. They seem to think you are in THEIR way

Your biking though school children. They have like 0 common sense about you being a hazard to them.

I hate cyclists on the school run. All ding ding, we move and not one fucking thank you ignorant bastards. So now I’m going to ignore your ding ding fuckers.

in the absence of it being socially acceptable to be racist/ homophobic et. cyclists are the new fodder for random abuse by horrid people

I totally agree with that. I was a lightbulb moment when I realised that all the hate is just tribal. Is there a human need to identify "my tribe" versus villain "the other kind"? Seems like there must be.

Yes theres usually one death threat against cyclists on these threads.

Actually I see this as something that males have ruined for everyone else.

Riding a bike has always been a perfectly normal method of transport for a very long time, and coexisted with other humans and their methods of transport

But then came The Hobby Cyclist Causing Tailbacks on Sunday’s, or The Aggressive Man on A Bike In The Park and The Aggressive City Wanker Cyclist Weaving In And Out Of Traffic.

Alongside Angry Man in Vans, yelling and swearing at anyone on a bike, cyclists often appear defensive and aggressive and feel the need to assert their right to use whatever space they want, in the way they want to, at the speed they want to.

There was a man who was riding a specialist bike in London that had no brakes and he killed someone. When in court on trial he was so offended that anyone was questioning whether it was safe to ride such a bike, because it’s a BIKE and bikers are very hard done by. Usually by other MEN in cars and vans

Every weekend there are hundreds of women on this forum asking for advice because their DH has abandoned them all for the weekend to go out cycling, because to them, cycling is now their no1 life love.

It’s no longer a method of transport to get to A to B for many, it is a lifestyle choice and unfortunately patriarchy IS ruining it for everyone else. You should be able to ride your bike to work without any abuse or me daydreaming about angry speeding man falling over a tree stump. But it’s become a detested activity for a lot of people through their experience of entitled selfish idiots partaking in avoiding their families at bath time

When I have visited Amsterdam, you know there will be bikes everywhere. Most people are not riding those bikes like they do in the UK, aggressively and selfishly, pushing past your or ringing the bell furiously or trying to break some new land speed record

I find the rudest cyclists are females locally personally. Out of the many we encounter day to day the females are the least likely to say thank you or slow down or heaven forbid go on to the grass to keep it safe for a pushchair.

I have the answer...

Get The Bus!

There has already been one bad accident there by a speeding cyclist, and there will be more.

Indeed in comparison to the hundreds caused by cars

You need to slow down or use the road.

Don't feel safe on the road? Pedestrians don't feel safe with cyclists hurtling along the pavement. We don't all have great hearing and my autistic kids are just thoroughly confused by someone treating a pavement as a road.

But it’s not a road and no cars can access it. It’s a track way. There should not be high speed accidents on a non road track where there are no cars. This means there is literally nowhere a pedestrian can be safe! If you want to go at speed, go on the road with the cars

pookiedoo I totally disagree with you. The issue is that people both male and female are entitled and inconsiderate and don't think of others. Both the ones sat on bikes and in cars.

There is nothing wrong with cycling as a hobby - no one tells you you can't drive to a hobby or a meal out or for leisure purposes so cyclists can cycle to lovely places to enjoy them and be carbon neutral. Women cycle as a hobby too, which is often overlooked on MN bizarrely enough.

And get lost with your childish

No one should have to worry about getting run over by a fucking bike on a pedestrianised walk way

My point is that aggressive entitled men are ruining it for women. Because of idiot behaviour of Male cyclists, a lot of people hate cyclists full stop Male or female.

I do cycle on roads pookiedoo and have to contend with dangerous, aggressive drivers. Yes some cyclists can be twats. But so can some drivers - no one labels all drivers as twats as a result do they?

My point is that aggressive entitled men are ruining it for women. Because of idiot behaviour of Male cyclists, a lot of people hate cyclists full stop Male or female.

I don't agree with you. The hate stems from their own impatience and ridiculous attitude that car is king.

Well, they shouldn't be blocking the pavement by walking 5 or 6 abreast. That's one of my own pet peeves as a pedestrian. But - also as a pedestrian, not a teen, with mild visual disabilities - I do find that cyclists often seem to underestimate how fast they are going, and make an automatic assumption that others will be able to co-ordinate their movements with them. I have been verbally abused by a cyclist for not being able to quickly negotiate my movements around his: not on a pavement, but on a pedestrian crossing while the light was green for pedestrians. I knew an elderly man who died as a result of being knocked down by a cyclist while crossing a road, so it's not always trivial just because it's a bike and not a car. I also know a middle -aged adult who broke his leg badly as a result of a speeding cyclist knocking him down - he recovered fully, thank goodness, but was in hospital for a week and off work for two months. Both cyclists and pedestrians need to take due care, as of course do drivers. I think that it's partly the fault of planners: if you're going to have cyclists and pedestrians share space on pavements, then you should have a side of the pavement for cyclists: some other countries do that. Better still, have more cycle paths! But if you're cycling - or driving, or running, or walking fast - near a school, then you need to be more cautious than you would elsewhere.

If i'm cycling, driving, running or walking, i am cautious everywhere, not just near schools

'If i'm cycling, driving, running or walking, i am cautious everywhere, not just near schools'

Great, it's obviously a good idea anywhere. But where kids go, it's often even more problematic.

Ok so take my pedestrian based opinion and experiences and turn it round to car drivers causing the problems in a non car area
Slow hand clap for you

YABU because it isn't a cycle path, it's a pedestrian path on which cycles may be used. There's no reason why you should have or expect priority over other users, whatever their age. Walking five abreast might be inconvenient to you but perhaps it's a nice sociable start to the day for them.

We have a similar path near us, it's very scenic and popular with walkers of all ages, but often the experience is ruined by cyclists ringing their bells and expecting people to move out of the way to accommodate them.

I don't blame you for finding it frustrating though. The solution is to lobby the council to divide the path so that people can use it to walk and cycle without spoiling it for each other.

Ok so take my pedestrian based opinion and experiences and turn it round to car drivers causing the problems in a non car area
Slow hand clap for you

Or alternatively pit danger on highways at the foot of the cyclist and vulnerable road or path users against each other. Clearly the cyclist you refer to was a dick but it is no reason to make absolutely foul comments about people who are mothers, children etc hurting themselves on your path.

The vast vast majority of accidents of the moving variety are caused by cars. No one dreams of random people they don't know crashing into trees because the bloke or woman who lives up the road can't drive and caused an accident.

it isn't a cycle path, it's a pedestrian path on which cycles may be used

Tell that to the guys who shriek out their car "Get on the cycle path!" when I cycle down this road... in a 30mph residential area, on the wrong side as the cycle path which is uneven, bad surface and designed for school children.

Well that's the point isn't it llkj cyclists are a bit like women, they are criticised for everything they do. Add on that some cyclists are women as well it kinda makes me wonder where the justice is.

Our local cycle path would be entirely impassable if DH and I hadn't been out with the secateurs.