When I came to Colorado State University from California, I had been told this over and over again:
“Colorado, the state where you pay more for your bike then a car.” Upon hearing this, I laughed and thought, “Yeah right, I doubt that.” Let me tell you all, though, this is very true. I have never been in a state where more people care more about their bikes than cars.
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According to the Coloradoan, Fort Collins has a reputation for being one of the most bike-friendly communities in the country, awarded a Platinum designation by the League of American Bicyclists. One of the main goals of the organization is to recognize communities who are invested in “efforts to encourage bicycling and create a safe environment for cyclists.”
Unfortunately, not all bikers are willing to cater to pedestrians and their safety. CSU is filled with many different kinds of individuals, my least favorite are the bikers.
Bikes are a great means of transportation, until they are used to cut off the pedestrians. Granted, not every CSU student biker is rude and inconsiderate, but many of them do.
In my opinion, bikers should not be allowed to bike on the sidewalk, because sidewalks are meant for pedestrians to walk or run on. Bikers should stay in the bike lanes at all times — it’s where they belong. There is a reason it is called a bike lane.
Many times while walking from the dorms, apartments or houses, I get cut off by a biker who gives me a dirty look because I was apparently in their way. Guess what? You were in my way and you should have been in the bike lane. The bike lanes were created for you to bike safely in, while the sidewalks, on the other hand, were made for the other students who like to walk to class. The amount of times I have almost been taken out by a biker who is on the sidewalk instead of in the bike lane is ridiculous. The fact that they bike 50 mph (slight exaggeration) makes it difficult for them to stop quickly and for pedestrians to get out of harm’s way.
If it isn’t hard enough to walk with the bikers, try driving a car. I have gotten so many dirty looks because bikers think they own the road. They cut cars off and decide it is okay to ride in the middle of the road even though there is a perfectly good bike line off to the right or left of them.
The City of Fort Collins has decided to put in a place a plan to keep pedestrians safer on the streets. It states, “The Pedestrian Plan outlines issues and proposes solutions to problems for pedestrians; the ultimate goal being adequate and safe pedestrian travel for our community.”
Bikers please for everyone’s sake, and safety, literally stay in your lane. Bike safety was not just built for you, but everyone around you. Follow the bike rules, and if you don’t know what they are, you can give a read to the official bike laws of Colorado. Please follow these guidelines and you will make all of our lives safer.
Collegian Columnist Tamra Smalewitz can be reached at letters@collegian.com, or on Twitter @tamrasmalewitz
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Felora K Cormk Sparks • Dec 1, 2015 at 5:32 pm
I bet more bikers would be willing to follow the rules if pedestrians also followed the rules and stayed out of the bike lanes and didn’t dart out in front of bikes to try to cross at a non-crosswalk before the bike gets there… The only times I ever have safety issues on a bike involving pedestrians is when pedestrians walk side by side in a bike lane, literally taking up the whole bike lane and causing bikers to have to swerve around them while not hitting them or oncoming bikers or auto traffic. In places that sidewalks are closed for construction but bike lanes remain open, there is invariably enough pedestrians clogging the bike lane to cause bikes to have to swerve into car traffic creating a safety hazard when there is a perfectly good sidewalk on the other side of the road.
The same can be said of cars. They often do not follow traffic laws when bikes are involved. A bike is considered a vehicle and follows the same laws as automobiles BUT when I try to legally navigate a stop sign… cars do NOT wait their turn while bikes cross on their own turn. Car drivers either cut bikes off or start moving and get as close as possible to the cyclist without running them over. In fact, I was almost run over once while legally and rightfully riding my normal route. The bike lane was closed due to construction so I was forced to merge with automobile traffic. A person in a car swerved around me, halfway into oncoming traffic causing another car to have to swerve and almost hit pedestrians (who were walking in the bike lane on the other side), missing me by no more than three inches, and endangering everyone involved only to end up waiting at the next stop sign as I passed on by in a section of the bike lane that Was open. The person who knowingly almost ran me over was pointing to the other side of the road suggesting that I should be riding on the other side of the road in the bike lane which was open on that side. Apparently, the person did not realize that it is illegal to drive on the wrong side of the road… Non-biker education on biking laws and regulations is clearly lacking.
If you want bikers to respect the rules then you should follow your own advice and make it possible for them to safely follow the rules.