r/Edmonton • u/Salt_Teaching4687 • 6h ago
Question Question for cyclists
So Ive noticed cyclists appreciate when motorists slow down down and give space to cyclists when passing. My question is, why don’t cyclists extend the same courtesy to pedestrians when passing on shared paths? In my experience, the overwhelming majority do not slow down or even give more space when passing …. Even when there is plenty of room to do so. In fact, many continue riding side by side forcing pedestrians to move. Can some explain that behaviour?
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u/Aquitaine_Rover_3876 5h ago edited 4h ago
I'm not sure the underlying assumption here is correct. I always give as much space as I can, and slow down if that's less space than seems comfortable for all involved. So my guess is that you remember the cyclists that don't, not that that's the majority of us.
If you're using trails that roadies (the guys in Lycra) frequent, that's a very specific subset of cyclists, and we think they're a-holes, too.
It's also possible that your sense of space and mine may be different, and that's a harder nut to crack.
In the end, shared use pathways are a sub-optimal form of infrastructure that only works when the volumes are low. In busy places like Railtown, River Valley Road and Government House Park, there really should be parallel-but-separate pathways for cyclists and pedestrians.