It seems every few days, I see a car going the wrong way down a one-way street.
This occurrence was on Fairfield Avenue, just north of the Berry Street intersection. Â It continues to amaze me the amount of people who don’t pay attention to what they’re doing. Â This includes going the wrong way down one-way streets, running red lights and almost running me over while I’m legally crossing in the pedestrian cross walks.
But, there’s been another occurrence happening more frequently the past couple of weeks involving bicycles. Â Legally, bicycles are not allowed on the downtown sidewalks. Â Whether you agree with it or not, it is the law. Â I can fully appreciate not wanting ride on some downtown streets, like Jefferson or Washington. Â However, today, on my way to the City Council meeting, I was almost run over near the Calhoun and Main Street intersection. Â The kid was pedalling flat out, crossed Main, came up off the sidewalk ramp and around the corner and directly at me. Â His girl friend, right behind him cussed him out pretty good for scaring the heck out of me.
One other note about bicycles. Â When crossing some of the narrow bridges in our city, if you simply must do it on the sidewalk, get off your bike and walk it across if there are pedestrians on that bridge. Â I am pretty sick and tired of getting jabbed in the stomach with handle bars. Â Now I know what you’re gonna say, loose some weight and that problem will go away. Â Perhaps, but it is extremely dangerous to insist on passing someone in this manner while pedaling your bike. Â Especially those younger kids who can’t control their bicycle at lower speeds and play the wibble-wobble game. Â And guess what? Â I am going to continue to hug the rail and force you to pass on the outside of the sidewalk next to traffic. Â Get off the bike and walk it.
Bicycles do have a place in our society and I welcome them! Â However, just as some bicyclists like to complain about their constant war with cars, I like to remind them they need to “share the sidewalks”.