I'm a nanny, and often have children with me (ATTENDED children, with hands firmly gripped!). I've also seen groups of small school children on walks to the beach. I'm also a dog owner-- of a small dog who gets frightened by things whiz zing past her. Much like I do.
The problem really is the bikers who think they're qualifying for the tour de France: they go zipping by without so much as the ding of a bell, or an "on your left!" it really doesn't take much to be considerate and safe, which often work out to the same thing.
Before the children I care for were even able to WALK on their own, I made sure to point out people using wat I feel to be appropriate sidewalk/lakepath etiquette: "look at that man, he nearly squished us! He did NOT SAY "on your left!" That I'd not safe!"
Now, at the venerable old age of three, I have a little boy who knows to move aside for pedestrians, to check his blind spot before moving over on the sidewalk or nature path, to scold able bodied adults riding on the SIDEWALK and acting like its a race track, and in general to SHARE the road/path/sidewalk. Our mantra is "there's enough sidewalk for everybody." My hope is that by the time he's old enough to use these city features on his own, he'll be able to enjoy himself and get from point a to b without being a jerk about it.
Maybe some of the adults using the path need to be taking lessons from toddlers on how to share and use resources fairly.
Sometime a couple years ago, I discovered I wanted to go faster than was possible to do so safely on the Lakeshore Trail. Then I remembered that south of Roosevelt, it's practically abandoned most of the time. So I changed where I go riding my bike fast. It's really not hard.
Sheila - 12 years ago
Many cyclists treat the Lakefront Path as a racing track. These "Lance Armstrong wannabes" zip past bikers going at a moderate speed with no warning. Hitting a bump or a sudden wobble of either one's bike at such a moment could land both cyclists in the hospital with serious injuries. How about a speed limit and/or construction of a separate "racing speed" track?
I'm a nanny, and often have children with me (ATTENDED children, with hands firmly gripped!). I've also seen groups of small school children on walks to the beach. I'm also a dog owner-- of a small dog who gets frightened by things whiz zing past her. Much like I do.
The problem really is the bikers who think they're qualifying for the tour de France: they go zipping by without so much as the ding of a bell, or an "on your left!" it really doesn't take much to be considerate and safe, which often work out to the same thing.
Before the children I care for were even able to WALK on their own, I made sure to point out people using wat I feel to be appropriate sidewalk/lakepath etiquette: "look at that man, he nearly squished us! He did NOT SAY "on your left!" That I'd not safe!"
Now, at the venerable old age of three, I have a little boy who knows to move aside for pedestrians, to check his blind spot before moving over on the sidewalk or nature path, to scold able bodied adults riding on the SIDEWALK and acting like its a race track, and in general to SHARE the road/path/sidewalk. Our mantra is "there's enough sidewalk for everybody." My hope is that by the time he's old enough to use these city features on his own, he'll be able to enjoy himself and get from point a to b without being a jerk about it.
Maybe some of the adults using the path need to be taking lessons from toddlers on how to share and use resources fairly.
Sometime a couple years ago, I discovered I wanted to go faster than was possible to do so safely on the Lakeshore Trail. Then I remembered that south of Roosevelt, it's practically abandoned most of the time. So I changed where I go riding my bike fast. It's really not hard.
Many cyclists treat the Lakefront Path as a racing track. These "Lance Armstrong wannabes" zip past bikers going at a moderate speed with no warning. Hitting a bump or a sudden wobble of either one's bike at such a moment could land both cyclists in the hospital with serious injuries. How about a speed limit and/or construction of a separate "racing speed" track?