Cyclists risk fine if they bike on sidewalks
Winnipeg cyclists need to dismount their bikes on sidewalks to avoid fines, a local lobby group warns.
Mike Cohoe, a director for cycling group Bike to the Future, said some cyclists have been ticketed $110 for riding their bikes on a sidewalk to cross the Osborne Bridge, which is currently under construction. While some cyclists feel unsafe biking on the roadway, Cohoe said the best thing they can do is walk their bike across the sidewalk or plan an alternate route.
The city had expected pedestrians and cyclists crossing the bridge from Osborne Village to use a path underneath the bridge's north side to get to the legislature grounds or the Assiniboine Avenue bikeway. However, rising river levels have made the walkway impassable.
Cohoe estimates about 1,500 cyclists travel through the area every day.
"The best way to not get ticketed is to walk your bike across," Cohoe said, noting the non-profit group plans to publicize alternate routes cyclists can take during the construction period.
Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen said during this time of year more people may be out and about, and officers want to make sure roadways, including paved sidewalks, are "safe."
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 11, 2011 B2
Sidewalk cyclists warned after ticket crackdown
Police are reminding Winnipeggers about the rules of the road for cyclists after several were ticketed Tuesday for riding on the sidewalk of the Osborne Bridge.
Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen said approximately 10 cyclists were ticketed under the Highway Traffic Act Tuesday, and will face fines exceeding $100 for allegedly riding on sidewalks. A police cruiser was parked near the Osborne Bridge Wednesday morning to monitor the ongoing situation, heightened by the closures relating to construction.
Police said the road safety reminder is also targeted at motorists, who need to be aware of cyclists on roadways.
Michalyshen said cyclists who go on sidewalks could pose a risk to others.
Police ticket sidewalk cyclists
Winnipeg Sun, May 10, Paul Turenne
Winnipeg police were parked at the foot of the Osborne Bridge Tuesday morning ticketing cyclists for riding on the sidewalk — a move some viewed as “ridiculous” but one police defended nonetheless.
Riding an adult-sized bike — children’s bikes are exempt — on the sidewalk is illegal under Manitoba’s Highway Traffic Act and comes with a $111.10 fine.
Signs at either end of the Osborne Bridge clearly warn cyclists to dismount if they plan to cross on the sidewalk, but it’s a warning that more often than not goes unheeded.
With the bridge now under construction, two sidewalks have been consolidated into one, essentially doubling both the foot traffic and cycling traffic on the bridge’s west sidewalk.
Const. Jason Michalyshen, a spokesman for Winnipeg police, said Tuesday’s enforcement doesn’t relate specifically to the construction, although he said officers do set up where they believe there is a problem.
“Ultimately our role is to ensure the sidewalks are safe for everyone,” he said. “There can be dangerous situations when you’re dealing with young people and elderly people. People can get injured. When people operate their bikes they should know the rules of the road.”
J-F Ravenelle, president of Gord’s Ski and Bike, said he understands police have to uphold the law but called the enforcement “ridiculous” in light of the traffic chaos currently snarling the bridge.
“I don’t want to encourage public disobedience but I’d rather see cyclists being courteous to pedestrians on the sidewalk than risking getting hit in traffic. I’ll take my chances on the sidewalk,” he said.
A few pedestrians the Winnipeg Sun talked to on the bridge Tuesday agreed.
“I think it’s pretty ridiculous. What are (cyclists) supposed to do, really? The bridge is like a death trap,” said Kate, who declined to give her last name.
Madeleine, another pedestrian, said her husband is 80 years old and rides his bike on that sidewalk every day.
“I’m really glad he does, otherwise he might get hurt,” she said.
Another pedestrian named Carol said cyclists should just hop off their bikes and walk them across if they don’t want to get hit, but did question the need for enforcement.
Police ticket sidewalk cyclists
Uptown, May 19, Mike Warkentin
Police are ticketing cyclists who ride across the Osborne Bridge, finally enforcing a law that should be enforced all the time
I hope cops ticket every single cyclist on the Osborne Bridge.
In recent years, I’ve come out in defence of cyclists on a number of occasions, mostly because I ride my bike regularly and support active transportation. I’ve also criticized ignorant cyclists whose behaviour makes all cyclists look bad and creates dangerous situations on the roads.
You know the kind. They’re the ones weaving in and out of traffic, playing chicken with motorists, running red lights and blowing through stop signs without even looking for oncoming traffic. Cyclists have every right to be on the road, but they do not a right to behave like fools. Follow the rules and I’m on your side, pedal-pushers.
Which brings me to the Osborne Bridge.
With construction underway, cyclists have been told they must dismount before crossing on the sidewalk — as if that law wasn’t in place years ago. Yes, the "dismount on sidewalk" signs have been there for a long, long time, and yet now police are suddenly enforcing a law that should have been enforced all the time. And cyclists are upset.
I’ve been hit by several cyclists on the sidewalk of the Osborne Bridge, and I’ve had all manner of discussions with those cyclists in attempts to explain why they do not have the right of way on the sidewalk. These discussions never go well, despite the fact that I have just been struck by a bike that has no right to be travelling on the sidewalk.
I more than understand the issues with cycling in this city. Winnipeg is brutal for all forms of traffic, and cyclists definitely get the short end of the stick. That situation is made worse by the construction on the bridge, which creates the most ridiculous traffic jams at all hours and traps residents on one side of the river or the other.
But I have zero sympathy for cyclists who get ticketed for riding on the sidewalk. They know the rules and they break them. Cry me a river.
Think about this: one of the improvements to the bridge will be a barrier between the sidewalk and the road. Thank God and it’s about time. Currently, nothing but a small curb separates pedestrians from buses and, with increased foot traffic on the bridge, a speeding bike can force pedestrians into traffic. Or, in the event of a collision, the cyclist bails into traffic. Good times all around.
I laugh long and hard when I hear people call enforcement of this law "ridiculous," as happened in the May 10 Winnipeg Sun story "Police ticket sidewalk cyclists." What’s ridiculous is people who completely ignore instructions, endanger other citizens and then cry about a $110 ticket.
If a cyclist considers the roadway unsafe, then he or she is more than welcome to dismount and walk across the bridge with the other pedestrians. That’s a great alternative to battling rush-hour bottlenecks in which too many vehicles are fighting for too little room on a crumbling bridge.
It takes about three minutes to walk over the Osborne Bridge. Once you get to the other side, you can laugh at the dumb cyclists receiving tickets, hop on your bike and be on your merry, environmentally friendly way without having endangered yourself or others.
Mike Warkentin now avoids the Osborne Bridge like country music.