Note to Cyclists in Cambridge (MA)

[gnomi]

The Cambridge police have started ticketing cyclists who violate traffic laws.

Me, I say it's about time. I've complained about cyclists in the past (see point 8), and with luck the ticketing will make some people stop their obnoxious behavior.

(yes, I seem to be Posty McPostalot today. There may or may not be another one later today in which I attempt to lead you all in song. It depends on how the rest of my morning goes, I think.)

Comments

[ghilledhu.livejournal.com]

Wish they'd do that in New York - if I had a nickel for every time I've almost been run down by a cyclist, I'd have a lot ot nickels.

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

Maybe it'll catch on in other cities. I was grousing yesterday to mabfan about the guy who was riding his bike on the sidewalk and taking up about half of the sidewalk. There was a woman with a baby carriage coming the other way, and that left those of us who were neither the cyclist nor the woman with the carriage scrambling to get out of the way.

[caryabend.livejournal.com]

DC has a law banning cyclists from the sidewalks in a largish section of downtown where many law firms use many many bike messengers. Since the messengers are licensed, they do get cited. Copies of the citations get sent to their companies, as many of them claimed that "they never saw it" or "it must have become disloged." Right. Sorry, dude.

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

Certain parts of certain towns have sidewalks that are off-limits. The first thing I asked mabfan was whether it was illegal to ride on sidewalks in Brookline.

[arfur]

from http://www.cityofboston.gov/bikes/laws.asp:

Within the State of Massachusetts, a cyclist's rights allow: [...] Riding on sidewalks outside business districts, unless local laws prohibit sidewalk riding.

In Cambridge, this means:

Cambridge traffic regulations require that bicyclists on sidewalks travel at a walking speed and yield to pedestrians. Sidewalk riding is not permitted in the business districts of Harvard Square, Central Square, Porter Square, Inman Square, Huron Ave., and sections of Mass. Ave. north of Harvard Square.