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Just a friendly reminder bikes aren't supposed to be on the side walks, if someone hits you or your KID and they are on the side walk they're at fault.  
 
Edited by blitzd, 2021-04-07 19:49:01

with the many walking paths in Brandon. Having said that it’s always courteous to let pedestrians know your approaching so as not to startle anyone.

Yeah I won’t be biking on the street, almost been hit by many drivers in this city while biking. I always ride on the sidewalk and have had no issues. I move over when there are pedestrians coming. Use common sense and we can all get along

I dont mind bikes on sidewalk. It's one thing when coming towards as u can see them but when they come up behind with no warning. I've come really close to getting clipped a few times. They should speak out to warn u cause they just fly past. I could suddenly decide to step around dog poo, or puddle or whatever then bang. What they gonna do..STOP, yea right. Should be law they have to have a bell on their bars

Was going to mention that there is no way my younger kids are riding on the street when they bike to school. Didn’t know the exact rules, so thanks for posting this.

My 5 year old child rides a bike with 18" tires, there is no way I would allow him to ride on the street, drivers have enough trouble focusing on the road and my child doesn't have the awareness to be constantly scanning for vehicles either. I'll take the risk of him breaking the law riding on a sidewalk any day. Couldn't imagine there to be a cop who would actually try to ticket a young child however anyways.

My pet peeve with cyclists is when they ride their bike on a pedestrian crosswalk. It’s called a PEDESTRIAN cross WALK for a reason.

got knocked down by a cyclist while he was walking the sidewalk, good thing he didn't break anything. A break at an advanced age can be deadly.

You can expect an exemption from the law because you are simply 'special'. Teach your 5 year old that 'special' lesson.

Nobody is asking to be treated special. Simply put if a cop chooses to stop a 5yr old riding on the bike I suppose its their right to give them a fine, just can't honestly see one of them wasting their time on something so small and trivial when thats the safest place for him to ride.

Sometimes you just can’t win.

The only places that I will bike on the street are side streets/residential areas. I wouldn't be caught dead biking on a major road in this city. I'm not really interested in bodily harm being performed on me by a motor vehicle.  
 
Most bicyclists I know understand that pedestrians have the right of way on a sidewalk. Folks shouldn't generalize just because of one or two bad experiences.

I got stopped by a bylaw officer once when I was biking with my young daughter. Her bike was attached to my bike. We were on the sidewalk. There was no way I would bike with a small child on the road in Brandon. In my opinion, Brandon drivers are not used to cyclists. In big cities where lots of people commute on bikes, the drivers have more experience with it. Anyway, I told the bylaw officer that I didn't feel it to be safe on the road with a small child and she said to use the bike paths. My response to that was "where is the closest bike path?" Part of the problem I can see in Brandon is that there are great bike paths on the edges of town but not for commuting through the middle of town!

I'll bike on the street if its a residential area, not a chance I'm biking on the main streets. If I'm on the sidewalk I go slow so I'm predictable.  
Not ever bike is a street bike, I cant possibly keep up with traffic.

For my money, the problem begins and ends with drivers on the road. There is very little courtesy given to cyclists or, frankly, even other drivers on our roads.  
 
I wouldn't bike on our city streets. People more concerned with their cell phones and beating the lights than safety.

I believe pedestrians should travel on the right side of sidewalks, the right side of store aisles and the right side of mall corridors. It's very frustrating trying to keep your distance from Covid carriers, flu bug carriers, cold carriers, phone readers and kid carriers with spare kids running along side when the oddballs come straight at you. It works for vehicles so; why not!  
For dog walkers training a pup to heel(not hunting dogs)I'd suggest training them to your right or both for these reasons:  
1) they can walk on grass instead of hot black pavement their paws aren't made for when living indoors mist of the time  
2) they are less apt to lunge or be lunged at by dog walkers coming the other way  
3) they are less apt to get spooked or hit by bikes going either way  
4) it's more comfortable for pedestrians passing from behind or from the front who do not know your dog(s).  
 
As for adult bicycles in areas like 18th & Park to the overpass or 18th & Richmond to 13th & Richmond and the like; I'd like to see all bikes allowed on sidewalks if they stay right and slow down to a near stop and a nice $50. fine waiting at the end of the sidewalk/walking path from a by-law officer or a cop for not having a bell or a horn or not using it properly for the 'fun' of scaring people and dogs. By properly, I mean announcing your intention to pass starting from a good 100 yards back  
Why allow them on these 2 sidewalks? Because getting hit on your bike by a bad driver hurts like h***, I know!! I've saved my life many times but; it's tricky when they do a wide u-turn and leave no options!!  
For those who don't ride bikes between the overpass and Wendy's, we have to portage over to 16th and 15th depending on which way you're going and maneuver around 1000's of spoke busting pot holes which are difficult to see wearing sunglasses on shaded streets. Easy in a car but not with your head in the sun....try it!!

Not everyone has their music on when walking. More persons walking without than with. The ones that do are so so oblivious to their surroundings they are the ones walking out into traffic. When I was in Calgary people were walking in front of the LRT trains at least one a mth. Some type of noise when coming up behind would surely be helpful..period

the laws that regulate cyclists are contained in The Highway Traffic Act. In summary, those laws i:nclude:  
 
Do not ride on the sidewalk.  
Obey traffic control signals and signs.  
Ride as closely to the right curb as possible.  
Use hand signals and eye contact to communicate.  
Do not weave between parked cars – ride in a straight line.  
Ride single file when riding with other cyclists.  
Don’t carry anything that is large enough to affect your ability to maintain safe control and balance of the bicycle.  
Do not operate a bicycle when you have been drinking alcohol.  
 
Rules regarding drivers are also very clear and can be found here!  
 
https://www.mpi.mb.ca/Pages/cycling-sharing-the-road.aspx  
 
Edited by AWL, 2021-04-14 12:17:17

Simply put, if you understand that there are laws and you can't see why police would waste their time enforcing laws, then teach that lesson to your kid. After the legal lesson, tell the kid that he doesn't even have to have any regard for anyone else using the pedestrian sidewalk. The next lesson for junior, is that he doesn't even have to be courteous to anyone . Tell him that when he smacks into his Grandma's friend and puts her in a wheelchair for the last ten years of her life, to remember what you've taught him: "Junior - it's all about you - just you - you're special".

Dramatic much? Wow

The unfortunate reality for me and most other people who are interested in riding our bikes, is that we simply no longer want to ride them due to obnoxious discourse about what is right and wrong when you are on a bike.  
 
My credit union is an easy bike ride away, but the knowledge that I could be stopped by police because I am not comfortable riding my bike on the major roads with vehicles makes me just hop in my car and drive because it's easier. A previous commenter mentioned that nobody wants cyclists anywhere, and it is very true. You ride on the road, drivers are grumpy. You ride on the sidewalks, cops and pedestrians get grumpy. There is no winning.

What you are effectively saying is that you are above the law because you disagree with the law.  
I do accept that attitudes displayed by other road users towards cyclists must change though.

Long as they let u know they r behind you..be it a bell, a shout out or a fog horn. Rather jump from a jolt than be hit from behind. Most bikers on sidewalk will go around u and give lots of room, considerate ones but always the other ones