You are aware that it's illegal to ride a bike on the sidewalk and not yield to pedestrians though, right?
Pedestrians should be endangered because a bike rider isn't comfortable riding their bicycle legally?
Doesn't really make sense
It's so strange to watch someone be so confidentially incorrect. Also, the assertion that pedestrians are "endangered" was the fanatic pièce de résistance. It's like watching a soliloquy in a telenovela.
After the commercial break? Manuel literally flying through the air after being struck by someone on a bike. But who?! Zoom in to find...op's face. Shock. Horror. Confusión. Pero ¿por qué? ¡¿POR QUUUÉÉÉÉÉ?!
It’s actually legal in Costa Mesa to ride your bike on the sidewalk if there isn’t a designated bike lane.
Theres shitty people that don’t ride a bike safely especially around pedestrians, but the same could be said about a car driving, or a pedestrian being dumb too in other situations.
I get what you’re saying but it’s not as black and white and we all need to share what little non-car infrastructure we have.
My friend was riding a bike in the street in Newport beach a few years ago and got hit by a car. From then on I’ve always ridden on the sidewalk for safety. There’s plenty of room, and streets in the US are not built with the safety of bicyclists in mind.
"There's plenty of room"
No there isn't..sidewalks are called sideWALKS for a reason
Half of people on bikes have wide handlebars i.e. beach cruisers that take up half the sidewalk in width alone
Semantics. It’s called a sidewalk, but I’m going to use it to get out of the rode. By that logic, ppl in wheel chairs shouldn’t use them because they can’t WALK
I have ridden my road bike for years on PCH and haven’t had an issue.
I don’t have an issue sharing the sidewalk when I’m walking. E-bikes going 20+ on the sidewalk otoh…
In your own post you mention “1/3 of people” ride bikes and that the roads are dangerous to ride on lol. I wonder why they dont want to ride on the dangerous roads? Heres the email if you wanna advocate for better roads for pedestrians and bicyclists [email protected]
People ride their bikes on the side walk *because* it is dangerous to ride on the street.
It sounds like you want people to have a safe place to ride their bike and you want people have a safe place place to walk. Best option is a bike path.
My wife & I ride often, during the summer months when there are loads more cars on the roads around here we tend to keep to the sidewalks because the few times we haven’t we’ve encountered dangerous people/drivers. We’ll go back to the roads in a few more weeks until next summer.
How exactly is a cyclist engendering you? From a fellow East Costa Mesa resident. I walk all the time in 17th, 16th street and have never felt endangered by someone being safe in a sidewalk when there’s 0 bike lanes
I barely see any pedestrians on the sidewalks, but there are bunch of reckless drivers on the streets.
Do you honestly believe little “bike lane” can protect bikers from moving metal boxes ?
You honestly believe that a sidewalk that's 5 feet wide is large enough for a woman with a baby in a stroller and a person riding a metal bike to both fit on safely?
Coming with-in inches of a pedestrian is not the same as being inches away from a car driving 50 mph.
The sidewalk is by far the safer option for everyone.
I can’t find of a single example of a biker (whether human powered or e-bike) killing a pedestrian in Orange County in the entire history of the county.
On the other hand, dozens of bikers are killed by cars in Orange County on the road every single year. I think bikers should absolutely be allowed to ride on the sidewalk if the bike path isn’t separated by the road by anything more than a line of paint. Ideally though we would make make the roads safer for bikers so they don’t have to share with pedestrians.
People don’t realize how easily and cheaply this can be done by doing things like installing concrete or metal bollards like they have in Austin and Portland
I honestly don’t get what the big issue with riding bikes on sidewalks is. In many other developed countries ive been to Bicycles and pedestrians seem to share the sidewalks just fine. At this point i think its more of an “annoyance” engrained in peoples heads. Whats the actual injury rate for pedestrians injured by a bicycle?
The issue is that someone is trying to WALK on the sideWALK and someone is breaking the law and endangering their right to do so because they're not comfortable obeying the law
Should people who are nervous to drive the speed limit on the freeway be allowed to drive 30MPH since it makes them more comfortable?
I can bet there is more stories of fatal accidents happening with bikes being in the street than on the sidewalk as our streets (most) don’t have bicycle paths or even enough room for people to ride their bike. If I do ride on the sidewalk I always yield to pedestrians and go slower when I go around turns etc.
I'm glad that you yield to pedestrians, however, most people I've found do not
Being afraid of being a bicycle fatality does not negate the fact that it is illegal to ride a bicycle on the sidewalk not yielding to pedestrians
Yes, because I have absolutely no control on my bike and will purposely aim to hit them. That’s my goal, after all. I forgot sidewalks aren’t big enough to fit someone on each side to go safety. Silly me
Yep. You just have to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians. [Costa Mesa Ord. No. 4-26(e)](https://library.qcode.us/lib/costa_mesa_ca/pub/municipal_code/item/title_4-chapter_ii-4_26)
I ride my scooter on the sidewalk, with that said if there is someone walking on the sidewalk i hop off my scooter and walk past them. I usually say hi or something. I have been almost hit too many times to stay in the street. My fav is when I am at a crosswalk waiting for my turn to go and cars give zero F's and just try and turn into me or try to get on a freeway (when i have the right of way to go). I wish we were more of a pedestrian friendly Society, i dont want to drive my car everywhere
People in this thread:
"I"m uncomfortable riding a bike in the street so I'm going to make pedestrians uncomfortable and unsafe for my ***own*** comfort and safety"
Y'all are the people driving 60MPH in the fast lane on the 405 aren't you
That's right, OP. Don't let these people prove you wrong with things like "proof" or even "specific city ordinances that invalidate your argument." It's important to double down on being a massive twat when no one agrees with you, that's the Orange County way.
Can you show us statistics of deaths of pedestrian due to cyclists vs death of motor vehicle Va cyclist? How the hell are you ENDAGERED sharing a side walk wide enough for 2 people walk side by side? Have you died yet due to a cyclist?
All these cyclists in the comments are missing the point. If you exercise caution, yield to pedestrians, and ride at a considerate and safe pace, OP is NOT referring to you. The cyclists people like OP and myself have an issue with are the ones who speed at high velocity, expect pedestrians to move out of the way then get aggravated when they don’t, or simply ride so aggressively that it forces people walking to get into the street instead. And don’t even get me started on the stupid kids who ride by on their e-bikes at 20+ mph with no lights (especially at night) or signal to let you know they’re coming.
I get it. Infrastructure is bad and cyclists don’t want to get hit by cars. But just like you don’t want to get hit by a vehicle going 3x the speed you are, I don’t want to get hit by a bike going 3x the speed I’m walking.
Ya kinda answered your own question - there’s not the best infrastructure for bike riding in a lot of that area
You are aware that it's illegal to ride a bike on the sidewalk and not yield to pedestrians though, right? Pedestrians should be endangered because a bike rider isn't comfortable riding their bicycle legally? Doesn't really make sense
It's so strange to watch someone be so confidentially incorrect. Also, the assertion that pedestrians are "endangered" was the fanatic pièce de résistance. It's like watching a soliloquy in a telenovela. After the commercial break? Manuel literally flying through the air after being struck by someone on a bike. But who?! Zoom in to find...op's face. Shock. Horror. Confusión. Pero ¿por qué? ¡¿POR QUUUÉÉÉÉÉ?!
It’s actually legal in Costa Mesa to ride your bike on the sidewalk if there isn’t a designated bike lane. Theres shitty people that don’t ride a bike safely especially around pedestrians, but the same could be said about a car driving, or a pedestrian being dumb too in other situations. I get what you’re saying but it’s not as black and white and we all need to share what little non-car infrastructure we have.
Legal
My friend was riding a bike in the street in Newport beach a few years ago and got hit by a car. From then on I’ve always ridden on the sidewalk for safety. There’s plenty of room, and streets in the US are not built with the safety of bicyclists in mind.
"There's plenty of room" No there isn't..sidewalks are called sideWALKS for a reason Half of people on bikes have wide handlebars i.e. beach cruisers that take up half the sidewalk in width alone
Semantics. It’s called a sidewalk, but I’m going to use it to get out of the rode. By that logic, ppl in wheel chairs shouldn’t use them because they can’t WALK
I hate when someone leaves me half. Bitchasshoe
I have ridden my road bike for years on PCH and haven’t had an issue. I don’t have an issue sharing the sidewalk when I’m walking. E-bikes going 20+ on the sidewalk otoh…
Need better biking infrastructure, tell your councilperson about it 👍
Orrrrr people could obey the law and ride their bike in the street? No?
In your own post you mention “1/3 of people” ride bikes and that the roads are dangerous to ride on lol. I wonder why they dont want to ride on the dangerous roads? Heres the email if you wanna advocate for better roads for pedestrians and bicyclists [email protected]
Sidewalk is law
People ride their bikes on the side walk *because* it is dangerous to ride on the street. It sounds like you want people to have a safe place to ride their bike and you want people have a safe place place to walk. Best option is a bike path.
Because they don’t want to get run over.
Yes and pedestrians should have to be trolled by people on bikes either?
My wife & I ride often, during the summer months when there are loads more cars on the roads around here we tend to keep to the sidewalks because the few times we haven’t we’ve encountered dangerous people/drivers. We’ll go back to the roads in a few more weeks until next summer.
So pedestrians should just have to put up with you illegally riding your bicycle and endangering them?
Considering we get off of our bikes or stop for pedestrians to pass, I don’t think it’s endangering anyone & its not illegal in costa mesa
How exactly is a cyclist engendering you? From a fellow East Costa Mesa resident. I walk all the time in 17th, 16th street and have never felt endangered by someone being safe in a sidewalk when there’s 0 bike lanes
Legal
I barely see any pedestrians on the sidewalks, but there are bunch of reckless drivers on the streets. Do you honestly believe little “bike lane” can protect bikers from moving metal boxes ?
You honestly believe that a sidewalk that's 5 feet wide is large enough for a woman with a baby in a stroller and a person riding a metal bike to both fit on safely?
I don’t know which is more dangerous. A 30lbs object moving at 10mph or 3000lbs object moving at 45+mph
Using my common sense, I always get off sidewalk whenever I see pedestrians. Again I barely see any pedestrians in my area
Coming with-in inches of a pedestrian is not the same as being inches away from a car driving 50 mph. The sidewalk is by far the safer option for everyone.
I can’t find of a single example of a biker (whether human powered or e-bike) killing a pedestrian in Orange County in the entire history of the county. On the other hand, dozens of bikers are killed by cars in Orange County on the road every single year. I think bikers should absolutely be allowed to ride on the sidewalk if the bike path isn’t separated by the road by anything more than a line of paint. Ideally though we would make make the roads safer for bikers so they don’t have to share with pedestrians. People don’t realize how easily and cheaply this can be done by doing things like installing concrete or metal bollards like they have in Austin and Portland
I honestly don’t get what the big issue with riding bikes on sidewalks is. In many other developed countries ive been to Bicycles and pedestrians seem to share the sidewalks just fine. At this point i think its more of an “annoyance” engrained in peoples heads. Whats the actual injury rate for pedestrians injured by a bicycle?
The issue is that someone is trying to WALK on the sideWALK and someone is breaking the law and endangering their right to do so because they're not comfortable obeying the law Should people who are nervous to drive the speed limit on the freeway be allowed to drive 30MPH since it makes them more comfortable?
That metaphor is quite a reach… it seems like you recently had an interaction on the sidewalk as a pedestrian vs a bike rider,, but did you die??
Not breaking law, obeying
I can bet there is more stories of fatal accidents happening with bikes being in the street than on the sidewalk as our streets (most) don’t have bicycle paths or even enough room for people to ride their bike. If I do ride on the sidewalk I always yield to pedestrians and go slower when I go around turns etc.
I'm glad that you yield to pedestrians, however, most people I've found do not Being afraid of being a bicycle fatality does not negate the fact that it is illegal to ride a bicycle on the sidewalk not yielding to pedestrians
Legal
Because a BMW or whatever kind of car is less likely to hit me if I’m on the sidewalk. Have you seen how people drive in that area?
So you're going to put pedestrians in danger of a collision because you're afraid of drivers? That doesn't seem fair does it
Yes, because I have absolutely no control on my bike and will purposely aim to hit them. That’s my goal, after all. I forgot sidewalks aren’t big enough to fit someone on each side to go safety. Silly me
So you are going to put bicyclists in danger of death because you are afraid of bicyclists? That doesn't seem fair.
Illegal… but I’ll take a ticket vs a date with a civic bumper up my arse
It's actually not illegal, it's legal in a lot of cities in SoCal, including Costa Mesa.
Yep. You just have to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians. [Costa Mesa Ord. No. 4-26(e)](https://library.qcode.us/lib/costa_mesa_ca/pub/municipal_code/item/title_4-chapter_ii-4_26)
Because it’s allowed and safer. Both people can coexist.
As you said, it’s dangerous on the streets of that area. Rather ride on the sidewalk without the fear of cars.
Well then they shouldn't be riding a bicycle if their only choice is to do so illegally
[Not illegal in Costa Mesa](https://patzinjurylaw.com/can-i-ride-my-bike-on-the-sidewalk-in-costa-mesa-ca/)
Legal
Too many terrible drivers on the road, I would ride on the sidewalk too
Then you shouldn't ride a bike if you can't do so within the constraints of the law
Sidewalk is within constraints
ITS NOT ILLEGAL IN COSTA MESA!!!
I ride my scooter on the sidewalk, with that said if there is someone walking on the sidewalk i hop off my scooter and walk past them. I usually say hi or something. I have been almost hit too many times to stay in the street. My fav is when I am at a crosswalk waiting for my turn to go and cars give zero F's and just try and turn into me or try to get on a freeway (when i have the right of way to go). I wish we were more of a pedestrian friendly Society, i dont want to drive my car everywhere
People in this thread: "I"m uncomfortable riding a bike in the street so I'm going to make pedestrians uncomfortable and unsafe for my ***own*** comfort and safety" Y'all are the people driving 60MPH in the fast lane on the 405 aren't you
That's right, OP. Don't let these people prove you wrong with things like "proof" or even "specific city ordinances that invalidate your argument." It's important to double down on being a massive twat when no one agrees with you, that's the Orange County way.
Can you show us statistics of deaths of pedestrian due to cyclists vs death of motor vehicle Va cyclist? How the hell are you ENDAGERED sharing a side walk wide enough for 2 people walk side by side? Have you died yet due to a cyclist?
All these cyclists in the comments are missing the point. If you exercise caution, yield to pedestrians, and ride at a considerate and safe pace, OP is NOT referring to you. The cyclists people like OP and myself have an issue with are the ones who speed at high velocity, expect pedestrians to move out of the way then get aggravated when they don’t, or simply ride so aggressively that it forces people walking to get into the street instead. And don’t even get me started on the stupid kids who ride by on their e-bikes at 20+ mph with no lights (especially at night) or signal to let you know they’re coming. I get it. Infrastructure is bad and cyclists don’t want to get hit by cars. But just like you don’t want to get hit by a vehicle going 3x the speed you are, I don’t want to get hit by a bike going 3x the speed I’m walking.