Position Paper:

Bike Riding—On Charleston Sidewalks or Not?

November 3, 2009

The impetus for Councilman White’s ordinance appears to be twofold: 1/ to allow

children safely to ride their bicycles and to gain bicycling skills and not be threatened by
cars, and 2/ to control young bicycle riders in downtown Charleston. Both are worthy.

The proposed ordinance comes at a time when the number of bicycles on our streets
and roads is exploding. The exponential growth is due to a number of factors: the price
of gasoline, the perceived need to pursue healthier, more active lifestyles and greener
communities, and to the fact that bicycling is “in vogue,” not only among young people,
but people of all ages. The boom is worldwide and Charleston is part of it. It would be a
mistake to think involves only students and children. In fact, the boom involves a cross
section of people in all age and socioeconomic groups.

The bicycle has “arrived” as a serious form of transportation, swamping the notion that its
uses are mostly for kids at play and for “jocks” to get their exercise. People of all ages
have adopted it as a means of transportation, especially for short urban trips (including
commuting to and from jobs). The City of Charleston is now devoting a substantial
amount of energy and attention to this fact. Becoming more “bicycle friendly” is part of a
green initiative. But it also addresses the matters of our personal health, our lifestyles
and wellbeing, as well as the success of our tourism industry.

Some roads in and around Charleston are unsuitable for bicycle riding. Many more are
usable by only experienced, intrepid cyclists. While the City has undertaken steps to
make safe places for cyclists, much remains to be done. Cyclists, meantime, have not
been waiting for improvements in Charleston. They are a serious factor in traffic and
warrant serious attention both in terms of legal regulation and in terms of streetscape
changes.

KEY CONCPT

Charleston Moves holds that the key to safety on the streets for everyone is
predictability. If a new ordinance is to be drafted, it should provide for maximum
predictability and avoid differing regulations for different portions of the city. Cyclists
should never be unsure as to where they belong, and both motorists and pedestrians
should not have to think twice about where cyclists will pop up.

As drafted, the proposed ordinance would further confuse everyone, especially because
it would allow bicycle riding on sidewalks in some locations but not in others.
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
published the “bible” for bike traffic handling. We quote the AASHTO guidelines:

Undesirability of Sidewalks as Shared Use Paths

Utilizing or providing a sidewalk as a shared use path is unsatisfactory for a

variety of reasons. Sidewalks are typically designed for pedestrian speeds
and maneuverability and are not safe for higher speed bicycle use. Conflicts
are common between pedestrians traveling at low speeds (exiting stores,
parked cars, etc.) and bicyclists, as are conflicts with fixed objects (e.g.,
parking meters, utility poles, sign posts, bus benches, trees, fire hydrants,
mail boxes, etc.) Walkers, joggers, skate-boarders and roller skaters can,
and often do, change their speed and direction almost instantaneously,
leaving bicyclists insufficient reaction time to avoid collisions.

Similarly, pedestrians often have difficulty predicting the direction an

oncoming bicyclist will take. At intersections, motorists are often not looking
for bicyclists (who are traveling at higher speeds than pedestrians) entering
the crosswalk area, particularly when motorists are making a turn. Sight
distance is often impaired by buildings, walls, property fences and shrubs
along sidewalks, especially at driveways. In addition, bicyclists and
pedestrians often prefer to ride or walk side-by-side when traveling in pairs.
Sidewalks are typically too narrow to enable this to occur without serious
conflicts between users.

SOLUTIONS?

Adults, we believe, should ride bicycles on roads or on bikeways, shared use lanes or
bike lanes. (Where roads are unsafe for this purpose, they should be improved to afford
safety for cyclists, motorists and in many cases, for pedestrians.)

Meantime, the law should allow for children (together with an adult escort) to ride on
sidewalks except on key commercial peninsula streets (to be enumerated by City
authorities). How is the term “children” to be defined?

Here are some examples of how other municipalities did it:

• Kids under 12 may ride on the sidewalk outside business districts

• 20 inches defines a bicycle - anything less is legal on sidewalks
• Only Kids bikes under 30" handlebar height allowed on sidewalks
• Bikes are defined by wheel size, which exempts most kids bikes
• Bikes ok on sidewalks if street buildings don't abut the sidewalk
• Kids 12 and under and persons accompanying may ride sidewalks

We think that no matter what the law is, there will always be the need for discretion in
enforcement, and the Charleston Police Department has shown wisdom in recognizing
that there may be circumstances where a cyclist must use a sidewalk. However, any
attempt to codify such exceptions will be complicated and would lead to greater
confusion, thus increasing chances of accidents.
We have urged the Charleston Police Department to step up its enforcement of traffic
laws for cyclists. We stand ready to cooperate with the Police Department and other
departments to help educate the public about cyclists’ rights and responsibilities, and
those of motorists and pedestrians as well.