We’ve all had a moment where we had to quickly jump aside as a bicyclist has rushed past us on the sidewalk. It’s something that can either not be a huge deal or it can be a major hassle depending on the situation.
The question of the matter is are bicycles pedestrians or wheeled vehicles? I would personally argue that they are vehicles and thus shouldn’t be on sidewalks. It’s like allowing certain cars to speed at double the speed limit at 60 miles per hour in downtown Laramie and simply hoping that the other cars can just hop out of the way in time to not be bulldozed by the speeding traffic.
Issues with bicycles are especially apparent here on the University of Wyoming campus, where thousands of students, professors and all manner of people walk the sidewalks every day, all day. Sure, there are ‘dismount zones’ littered around to try and help prevent such catastrophes as I mentioned with my little story, but that doesn’t mean that they are necessarily effective nor stop the need to dive off your path to avoid the passing bicycles that frequent the sidewalks of campus. Bicycles should be treated the same as motor vehicles.
In the “Rules of the Road” section of the Wyoming Pathways website it states, “Follow the law. Bicycles are considered vehicles that must follow the same laws as motor vehicles.” So, if bicycles must follow the same laws as motor vehicles, which includes signaling to turn, obeying traffic signals and signs, then why are they allowed to ride wherever they want whenever on campus with no real consequences for doing so?
I think the university should take a stiffer stance on controlling bicycle traffic on campus. I appreciate the ‘dismount zones’ and all, but are we really enforcing them or doing much to control bicycle traffic? I don’t think so. We instead have faded signs on the sidewalk telling bicyclists and other non-pedestrian traffic to dismount, but I’ve rarely seen those signs obeyed.
If we are going to protect the members of our university, especially when it’s cold, snowy, and slippery, we need to change the way we go about handling the situation. I’m tired of having to move over for bikes when I’m on campus sidewalks. The word ‘walk’ is in the name for a reason. It’s because you walk on them, not ride on them.
Whether it be new, more visible signage for our ‘dismount zones’ or new policies regarding the bicycle traffic on campus, I hope the university takes note of how unsafe and inconvenient it is to have bicycles flying around campus where all our members walk every day.
If you’d like to visit the Wyoming Pathways website and read about the full “Rules of the Road,” please go to www.wyopath.org/resources/rules-of-the-road/. It’s a nice short resource to get a general idea of how bicycles should be ridden in the state of Wyoming.
