CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 15years old!
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It soon became useful and entertaining. There are regular posters, people who add useful info occasionally and plenty more who drop by to watch. That's fine. If you want to add news/comments it's easy to register and become a member.
RULES No personal insults. No swearing.
Dalmeny Estate has a number of signs up throughout the estate urging cyclists and walkers to stick to the left. I guess they are there due to a few scary encounters over the road, pedestrians walking many abreast or cyclists on descents coming round blind corners at some speed.
They are quite pleasant, greens and browns and not "shouty".
No objections from me, though one query. As a pedestrian I was always told to walk on the right facing the oncoming traffic?
As a pedestrian I was always told to walk on the right facing the oncoming traffic?
Works OK on roads (though I will sometimes cross over to get a better view round a blind bend). On a shared use path, speeds aren't so different; it is possible to cycle behind a person walking until you get a safe spot to overtake, and that is better than having to stop.
(The cynic would say that the advice for the road assumes that the pedestrian will get out of the way of the oncoming all-powerful motor car.)
Yeah on shared paths I prefer pedestrians on the "same side" as traffic and when I'm a pedestrian I run/walk on the same side.
I find it prevents the situation of an on coming cyclist having to stop in front of the ped to avoid someone on the other side, it effectively blocks both users. (and could be construed aggressively)
That's actually something that's been puzzling me since we moved here.
In Poland you get right hand traffic and people tend to walk on the right side unless you walk along a road with traffic.
In Australia people tend to walk on the left along pavements and stairs (they also queue on the left on escalators) and in fact you can usually spot tourists who try walking on the right.
Here it seems to be a bit of a mess.
"I find it prevents the situation of an on coming cyclist having to stop in front of the ped to avoid someone on the other side, it effectively blocks both users. (and could be construed aggressively)"
I'm not sure how to handle this scenario any more. I've had several instances where I've slowed/stopped ahead of an oncoming pedestrian, only for them step to the left and into the path of the oncoming cyclist.
When the pedestrian is moving in the same direction as I am, I tend to tuck in behind them so it is clear for the oncoming cyclist to proceed.
I was was at the CEC active travel forum some months ago where they proposed (and we supported) the advice to "travel on the left and pass on the right" for all users of shared use paths.
@Rob this should be simple, because the person behind a pedestrian should always give way to the person coming towards the pedestrian to allow them to pass first without any confusion for the pedestrian. Unfortunately some people aren't aware of this 'rule' (or they don't care). At least you can be safe in the knowledge that you're correct.
@jdanielp Can't say I've ever heard of that "rule", and I would expect very few people have. The situation @Rob describes is tricky though and I would suggest one of the best options is for the cyclist behind the pedestrian to ring or shout to try to make it clear to the pedestrian that there is danger behind - and also slow down in case the pedestrian steps to one side.
I don't think that anyone could or should specify pedestrians be on any particular side on a shared non-segregated path.
It's not danger behind unless the cyclist is riding with the assumption that they have right of way. As a following cyclist I would always expect to wait until I could overtake safely, or if there was no way past I would use my voice and say "excuse me". Maybe I would ding my bell a long way back to alert them to my presence (usually only if they had children or dogs who might wander unpredictably).
The NEPN can be grim as a pedestrian and I have experienced quite a few close passes by cyclists even when I have the little ones walking with me or when pushing a pram.
Whilst I agree that I find it easier to time passing a pedestrian if they are walking on the left, some cyclists don't alter their speed at all and will just barrel past in such situations.
I now walk on the right so at least I can see the bikes coming and get more warning if I need to get out of the way.
I used to walk on the right until I realised that while I might have the bikes in sight, it led to far more unpleasantly close passes than if I was on the other side. I always walk on the left now, & it is close to being a bugbear of mine when people are on the right.
I walked along the NEPN twice in recent weeks while pushing my bike (was on work calls), first time I tried walking on the right but quickly realised it's much easier for all concerned to walk on the left. Doesn't really bother me what others do, unless you have two pedestrians 5 metres apart walking the same direction on opposite sides of the path. Now that _does_ annoy me.
All interesting responses. I hadn't given any thought to walking on shared use paths but can see the sense of walking on the left. Unfortunately there are a number of single pedestrians who can make it impossible to pass on a 3m wide path, either walking down the middle with arms and bags swinging or wobbling all over the place while staring at phones...
The original question was meant to be about roads (even though they may be relatively quiet ones in Dalmeny Estate). I realise I didn't mention cars at all- oops!
But on roads, walking on the left or right? I'd rather face the cars, walking away feels I'm putting a lot of trust in the driver.
On a road with cars you should be on the right and facing the cars. Please.
+1 for gembo's comment.
@gembo, Kenny - agreed, that was why I asked my original question. The signs ask pedestrians to keep to the left...
@paddyirish, if I was a pedestrian on the dalmeny estate roads I would defy those signs
@gembo, no argument there
Potentially stupid question - is there a pavement where these signs are? If not, then they must either be wrong, or there's something special about the road layout which makes being on the right potentially more dangerous?
Can you find a Google Street View of the signs?
Doubt they are on street view yet, if at all. It is a private estate (100% rural) with no footpaths. Car visitors allowed over the summer months only (they would only go in during opening hours (nowhere near commuter hours) .
However there is enough Estate traffic that on a typical 3-4 mile journey through I would see 2 or 3 vehicles on the road (+ a few dozen sheep and, at various times of year, cattle, pheasants, deer and foxes). All drivers are considerate (@Dalmeny01 has contributed constructively on this forum before) but I think the owners have met a few two many active travellers not taking care on the blind corners and hence the signs.
It really is a great place to cycle both on and off road (if you haven't tried it then it comes very highly recommended), but just the signage is a wee bit weird.
Perhaps as a compromise, people headed north could stick to the left and people headed south could stick to the right?
@Frenchy
You could also ask them all to speed up to the point where we don't need that greasy foreign LHC no more. Find our own subatomic pedestrians.
I presume the signs are in response to the horrible crash that happened last year when a man and his wife walking were smashed into by the driver who said she had sun in her eyes. He died instantly and she was also very badly injured. My husband attended the call and it was horrible. https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/crime/driver-who-ran-over-and-killed-man-six-weeks-after-passing-test-escapes-jail-1-4753102
Lezzles, Standingstane Road isn't part of the Dalmeny Estate, is it?
Haha, anyone else think Kenny was swearing at the Highway code?
@Paddy, all drivers are considerate... except this week the driver of the 4x4 pulling a horsebox who wasn't for slowing or moving over as he accelerated along the straight away from the house, I had to take to the verge
Hacked street signs in Edinburgh 'not noticed for 18 months'
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-46153188
I liked this moment of clarity from Lothian Buses.
@urchaidh That's really quite enjoyable.
They've missed a trick. I want a QR code linking to a website containing the text "This bus stop is closed".
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