CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Infrastructure

If you are the random pedestrian...

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  1. Dave
    Member

    ... who felt the need to step out of the way in a hurry on NEPN this morning, I can only apologise.

    Despite slowing down quite a lot for the oncoming cyclist, sod's law guaranteed that they would be right alongside you and the pedestrian in front of you when I got there and therefore did a pretty tenuous slalom around.

    I should have been going even slower, as despite scrubbing off perhaps half my speed it was still clearly too fast for comfort.

    It wasn't actually necessary for you to take avoiding action but obviously felt like it was.

    No excuses!

    Posted 10 years ago #

  2. Arellcat
    Moderator

    Don't worry, Dave. It was simply the coincident trajectory effect of Cyclo Math, and it's an almost unconscious reaction of opposing vehicles to a mutual obstruction.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  3. Darkerside
    Member

    Was this on the Baron with the comedy brakes...? :p

    Posted 10 years ago #

  4. Two Tired
    Member

    Does anyone here take account of which direction a pedestrian is walking as well as which side they are on when you meet them on a shared path with a cyclist coming the other way too?

    This annoys me sometimes on the canal. For example if you are heading east approaching a pedestrian who is walking west on your left side of the path. Then add to this a cyclist heading west behind the pedestrian. Sometimes no matter how much I slow the cyclist approaching still hasn't passed the pedestrian by the time I have reached that awkward distance where the pedestrian starts slowing too, aware that I am there but neither of us are able to side step because of the blatantly ignorant cyclist ambling along the other way.

    I always try and take account of which way the pedestrian is going as well as which side they are on. It is far easier on the pedestrian (and cyclist) for a cyclist to roll along behind them waiting to pass than it is for the cyclists and pedestrian approaching each other from opposite directions.

    Does anyone else think like this? From my experience not many seem to but my sample size is small.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  5. Dave
    Member

    @darkersider No, I was on the Blue Streak today and pushing for an early start at the office. The Baron's still much too nice to commute on!

    Just under 27:30 from Currie to the shore - 21mph true avg - for an early start. I wasn't racing but was going pretty briskly, and failed to look far enough ahead (at the junction where the Roseburn splits for Fife and the Red Bridge).

    Posted 10 years ago #

  6. Dave
    Member

    Two Tired - although it's a bit more hassle for the cyclist, I think it's better when peds walk facing traffic. At least, I'm assuming they prefer to see what's coming rather than just letting it whip past from behind (but that might not be valid - especially on wide paths like NEPN I can imagine peds just wanting to let people get on with it and not be interrupted constantly?)

    Posted 10 years ago #

  7. Dave
    Member

    This is a complete tangent now but now I have space to have all of my bikes assembled at the same time and therefore ride a variety of them to work, I've noticed really visibly the way that people's reactions change depending on how I'm travelling.

    For instance, even at the same speed and the same time of day, a surprising number of people give me a vaguely disgusted look on my drop bar bike, whereas they couldn't be less interested in the folder or the MTB (but more riders try to race the MTB).

    There's also one joker who likes to hold his hand over his eyes for the benefit of my well-adjusted horizontal cutoff dynamo light, at rush hour just a few days before the summer solstice. Takes all sorts!

    Posted 10 years ago #

  8. Two Tired
    Member

    @Dave I do too. My question is more about what the cyclists do when in the situation of having to pass a pedestrian from both directions.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  9. DaveC
    Member

    I don't really care which direction of travel a ped is walking. If the ped is on the same side as me (left), I slow and yeild priority to anyone who comes the otherway on the other side of the path.

    If someone is in the middle of a path, then I kindley as them to stick to the side to make passing safer. Using the word 'safer' hopefully re-enforces that I have respect for them to be on the path and that if they stick to one side (or the other), other users will have more room to pass. Last night I slowly (as its narrow) approached a ped with shopping bags from behind near Tesco Broughton. I rung my bell a couple of times. He just stopped & stood still in the middle of the road looking at me. Happily most stick to the side of the path.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  10. Two Tired
    Member

    Fair enough. If I come up on a pedestrian on the other side of the road (walking the same direction I am riding) and a cyclist coming the other way I generally yield to the other cyclist for reasons I have listed above (I can keep moving behind the pedestrian; the cyclist or pedestrian will have to stop as they are walking towards each other). I personally feel that this inconveniences the pedestrian the least, inconveniences myself very little and lets me cycle on without the feeling that I have annoyed someone.

    I am only talking about the rare occasions where circumstances have lead to all three people being in close proximity though. Otherwise I just use the normal priority rule.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  11. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    ^^^^ what Two Tired just said.

    I've disagreed with Dave on path etiquette before (on the striking of a dog), so I have to ask, when the pedestrian moved onto the verge to let you past did you thank them or apologise at the time?

    Posted 10 years ago #

  12. DaveC
    Member

    If anyone moves out of my way I thank them.

    If I happen arrive at the same time as two other parties I always slow down to a near stop/crawl. The time inconvenience is as nothing. How can we harp on at drivers who complain about being inconvenienced by seconds or minutes when we treat pedestrians in the same way as drivers treat us?

    Its easiest just to get on together.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  13. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    ^^^^ I'm agreeing with everyone (which is weird) - I tend to thank anyone who has obviously got out of my way - and often I've had pedestrians with their backs to me apologise as they move, and I always make a point of saying "It's no problem" or words to that effect.

    In the same way I thank people who take hold of their dogs when they see me; I thanked two other cyclists this morning travelling in the same direction who single-filed for me after one looked back and saw me catching up well in advance; and most certainly if I saw someone physically move off the path onto the verge to let me pass I'd say thanks (as well as be virtually trackstanding by that point).

    Good manners cost nothing etc etc.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  14. Dave
    Member

    In this situation there were two pedestrians walking towards me on my side and a rider coming towards me on their left (i.e. all above board and HC).

    Where I went wrong was not thinking past the first ped, who I gave plenty of space then found myself faced with the oncoming rider and second ped at roughly the same time (rider slightly closer), and as I had given first ped so much room, I had to move in and then out for the rider, causing ped #2 to momentarily have a cyclist bearing right at him (rather than steadily moving out).

    The correct thing to do would have been to slow even more, or stop, as I was still going too fast for this situation (evidently). I've found on the canal that literally stopping can be a good strategy, for all it risks the pedestrian stepping towards the middle of the path and getting the oncoming rider's bars in the back.

    I didn't apologise at the time - too busy steering and then I was past. Hence the public apology here, not that it's very likely to be read by the relevant person.

    (On the dog front - I'm still collecting footage of negligent dog walkers for a searing video expose. "Brilliant" example yesterday when a pretty large beast jumped out of thick bushes and got a full skid out of the approaching rider. You'll be pleased to hear that I didn't chime in with "nice lead" although I was agonisingly tempted.)

    Posted 10 years ago #

  15. allebong
    Member

    The problems discussed in this thread are the main reason I avoid the canal if it's busy. It's just too narrow to accommodate walkers, joggers, bikes, dogs, prams etc all over the place going in both directions. You'd be as well walking for all the speed you can - or would want to - get up on a bike. Let's not even get started on the bridges. Seems plenty of people out there interpret a frantically ringing bell on the other side of the bridge as an invitation to come round and a license to act surprised and offended when a bike appears.

    @Dave: Interesting what you say about the different reactions depending on the bike. Since getting a drop bar bike I've always felt I get somewhat less respect compared to being on my town bike with panniers etc. On the other hand, when on the road bike I'll admit to feeling considerably more aggressive and viewing others more as obstacles (or more than usual!) which is strange because the road bike is so little effort to slow and accelerate.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  16. Dave
    Member

    I never previously rode on the canal at all, until CCE persuaded me to try a couple of years ago (when I'd ride out from Harrison Park to Ratho before looping back via Dalmeny to the office, i.e. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/73468082)

    Now I ride on it probably more days than not (I even bought a new trailer partly for riding over Slateford Viaduct, which was impossible for my two-wheeler).

    In the morning it's usually dead, but the evenings are a riot. As you say, it feels a bit like when you're in the hills and see the erosion: you feel bad about it in the abstract, but then how many munroists gave up the hills because of erosion?

    I've come to learn something fundamental about bells though. It's not sufficient to avoid them by simply riding slowly, because what actually happens is other people only brake for the bridges *if they hear someone else's bell*.

    The opposite of what you'd expect.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  17. Darkerside
    Member

    #thisthreadneedsdiagrams

    Posted 10 years ago #

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