Olympia's Proposed Bike Regulations Too Soft on Cyclists
Next week, when the state legislature formally convenes, Seattle Rep. Jamie Pedersen will begin his effort to pass House Bill 1018, which would establish a sort of legal code of interaction among bicyclists, motorists, and pedestrians. Generally, the bill is well-crafted and long overdue. But its notion that pedestrians should "exercise due care" when encountering cyclists on the sidewalk is unnecessarily kind to cyclists.![]()
Pedersen's bill, which, among other things, establishes standards to prevent motorists from tailgating cyclists, contains the following language: "Every person riding a bicycle upon a sidewalk,crosswalk, or multiuse trail must be granted all of the rights and is subject to all of the duties applicable to a pedestrian . . . Every person riding a bicycle shall yield the right of way to a pedestrian on a sidewalk, crosswalk, or multiuse trail or path; however, the pedestrian is not relieved of the obligation to exercise due care."
Screw that. As someone who doesn't own a bike but walks at least three miles per day on city sidewalks (such as they exist in Southwest Seattle and White Center), it's not motorists who pose the greatest threat to my safety--it's fucking bikers. Even before Mayor McSchwinn took office, they represented the smuggest subset of Seattle citizenry. And now the state is about to tell them it's perfectly OK for them to have their cake (roads) and eat it (sidewalks) too? The only way that makes any sense is if Subarus are suddenly allowed on the Burke-Gilman.
Sidewalks are the domain of pedestrians . If bikers want to chance them, fine. But pedestrians should not be required to extend them any more courtesy than would be granted Clarence Thomas at a NOW gathering.
Or, if the heel-toe crowd gets really surly, they could pull a Big Daddy:
























