@threefromleith yes, second that, there's plenty of very responsible dog owners out there, but mainly we recognise and grump about those who are not.
When will the dog-owning community step up and take responsibility?
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Infrastructure
NEPN - Signage
(38 posts)-
Posted 7 years ago #
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At the risk of thread drift:
walk on the right Absolutely not.
It makes much more sense to walk on the left. That way bikes can tuck in behind & wait to overtake. Otherwise you end up face to face with a pedestrian & nowhere to go. The HC advice applies to roads and not to cyclepaths which are a completely different scenario. If you can’t see someone walking on the path in the dark then you are cycling too fast.Posted 7 years ago # -
walk on the right
Whilst this is a good strategy for pedestrians on a road without footways, I don't think it's necessarily a good idea on the NEPN, even if you could mandate it, which is doubtful. First, the NEPN is a totally shared space; there is no right or wrong side for people either walking or on bikes. Second, a situation which gives me the heebies is when I'm approaching a pedestrian walking towards me on the same side (usually my left) and another bike is behind them, but of course the pedestrian doesn't know this. I can't switch sides into the path of the other bike, so the pedestrian thinks I'm going to hold my ground selfishly, and is tempted to step to the side into the path of the bike behind them. Fortunately, this Mexican stand off has never resulted in a collision, but I frequently shout to the pedestrian that there is a bicycle behind them when I find myself in this situation.
Posted 7 years ago # -
On a busy path left is definitely the better place to walk. Unlike a road with motor traffic this is shared space and as ih says you can slow down and wait behind a pedestrian going in the same direction as you but risk a collision if you are going towards one and cannot move over the path.
I don't know if it's written down anywhere but on a road as well as being more visible to the drivers facing them makes it easier to know if you need to get onto the verge and giveway or not.
Presumably if section 27 doesn't apply then the default legislation would be the OAC:
Recreation areas and public places:
avoid causing concern to others by keeping your dog close at heel or on a short lead.
Which is pretty much the same thing, although I have never worked out how this is compatible with playing fetch in the park.Posted 7 years ago # -
As a former peak cycling commuter along NEPN and now an occasional off-peak walker (accompanying a nearly 3yo on his bike or walking) I definitely agree that you need to keep left or be excessively random. At peak hours anyone facing oncoming bike traffic causes confusion (although it does have the benefit of slowing some types down).
I confess that the toddler has no lane discipline though so I often have to walk in the middle and stick my arms out wide to indicate that something random is happening ahead of me in case their view is blocked by my body. No one has been upset by this so far - in fact some seem positively charmed by the loud and happy "Hello!" that toddler grants every passing cyclist.
Posted 7 years ago # -
From a walking perspective, I still want to face oncoming traffic, be that a bike or car.
So in the past, I've walked on the right of paths. I may change that now though...
Posted 7 years ago # -
I seem to recall one of the proposed signs for the Edinburgh Path Network was 'Travel on the left, pass on the right'. I'm not sure if that ever made it into production though.
Posted 7 years ago # -
It may be useful as took me a while to realise what side to ride on was not just a personal choice. On some paths could fit 6 bikes in a row. So I assumed like a boat or a pedestrian would only need to change course if going crash.
Posted 7 years ago #
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