HomeMy WebLinkAbout2/28/2023 Item 1, Yukelson
From:
2023 2:17 PM
To:Advisory Bodies
Subject:Active Transportation Committee
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Dear Active Transportation Committee:
As an avid cyclist, and walker, the question you will consider at your next meeting concerning allowing bicyclists to ride on
sidewalks comes down to one fundamental question: Just because we can ride a bike on the sidewalk, should we? I urge
the Committee to carefully consider this question and its potential implications during its discussion on February 28.
Just as we should not encourage pedestrians to walk in bike lanes (I cite the safety concerns for cyclists of the Bob Jones
Trail, the Santa Monica Bike Path and the American River Bike Trail in Sacramento as ones I'm familiar with) there is no
rational reason to consider allowing bicycles on our Downtown sidewalks, in neighborhoods where there are small
children and a myriad of other examples that will put both cyclists and pedestrians in peril.
I provide the perspective of a Los Angeles personal injury attorney in the link below citing both case law and examples of
individuals he has represented as reasons to avoid this consideration.
https://barrypgoldberg.com/riding-bicycle-sidewalk-dangerous-laws-jumble/
In the legal case he cites (link below) although it was legal to ride a bicycle on the sidewalk, the cyclist was still deemed
negligent in a collision. In a case such as this the City could also be sued for allowing cyclists on the sidewalk.
https://casetext.com/case/spriesterbach-v-holland-1
Our City should be proud of its bicycle infrastructure improvements and the safety measures it continues to provide to
cyclists. I urge the Active Transportation Committee to protect both cyclists and pedestrians by dropping the notion that
some good can become of bicycles on our sidewalks.
Ron Yukelson
San Luis Obispo
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