As a cyclist who is not benefiting from subsidized roads, you should not be riding your bicycle in the streets. And, as a walker, if I see somebody riding on a bicycle on the sidewalk, I will push you.

He fails.

Trails are whole items, they do not come in "amounts". They come in numbers.

@1- you suck. Sometimes bikers have to use the sidewalk or else they will DIE FROM RIDING IN THE NARROWLY LANED STREET!
Thanks, ECB for a great post.

thanks ECB. Veseley's piece deserves such a rebuttal.

@3 'Tis better to get mowed down by the biker on the sidewalk, than to be pushed by the WALKer on the sideWALK.

Duly noted.

What an asshole.

It's legal in Seattle for bikes to use the sidewalks. And, frankly, it's the safest place for everyone in many instances.

The argument about who subsidizes who seems beside the point to me. Bike trails and lanes exist for the benefit and safety of motorists AND bicyclists alike, and we need more of them.

The idea of taxing bicyclists when we're trying to reduce congestion and pollution is insane.

And by the way, when I drive to and from work in my car, it's the BICYLISTS I encounter who, by and large, have a much better sense of rules of the road and overall situational awareness than most other drivers. One exception would be those bikers who are riding in the crosswalk.

I want license fees AND license plates on each one of the damned bicyclists who use city streets; cyclists should have unique identifiers just like cars, so that they can no longer break every street law with anonymous impunity as they do now.

#9 - Pedestrians are even worse. The amount of jaywalking is out of control. Every pedestrian needs to be implanted with microchip ASAP so they can no longer break the law with impunity as they do now.

@7 Tell that to the various people whom I've seen knocked down by cyclers. They may not have felt endangered, but they sure were pissed off.

I've seen cyclers on the sidewalks of Broadway. They need to be lynched.

For everyone who thinks it's okay to ride on the sidewalk can we just agree on ONE thing?

Ride in the direction of traffic!

I saw some dude get taken out as he was crossing the intersection by a car turning right. Never would've happened if he were on the other side of the street.

@9
good point.
@7
maybe the sidewalks are the safest place for the bicyclists but it makes the sidewalks more dangerous for the pedestrians. Ever been hit by a bicycle on the sidewalk? I have.

There are only two reasons why Jim Vesely would write such an ill-informed opinion piece: he's either trying to gain eyeballs by riling people up or he's an utter dolt. Unfortunately I'm guessing it's the latter.

@9 Agreed. I don't see the problem with this. Maybe bicycles are the last vestige of anarchy?

@12 IF the biker is riding on the sidewalk, Shouldn't they bike counter to the direction of traffic, so that they can be seen as they enter the intersection, and have more time to react, rather than come right out of the intersection as the car is turning right?

all this over 25.00 a year --- my, my, such a big time fucking deal

and it will never go anywhere -- I think the Times is giving you all the needle

and it is working - all over 25.00 a year - which is not going to happen

conlin rides a bike to city hall, I think, and increasing parking fees raises more money and requires no added infrastructure - better NET NET proceeds, less whining

It is legal to ride a bike on the sidewalk in Seattle. Bicyclists must yield to pedestrians and if they don't they are liable for the consequences.

If I'm on a sidewalk and encounter a pedestrian, I slow down to a rate equal to or less than they're moving until we clear each other. Extra caution for children, less agile and disabled people is especially important.

Good post, Erica.

I don't think Vesley understands the rationale behind making cities better places to live, and what value that can bring to all its residents. "Livability" will always translate to property value, I'm surprised his stingey ass can't figure that out.

I'd also like to note that where I live, the only people that ride bikes on the sidewalk are dealers pedaling 1 mph on ill fitting mountain bikes.

ECBHBT. ECBHL. HAND.

@8:

Under the Seattle Municipal Code bicyclists are permitted to use the crosswalks:

SMC 11.44.100

Right-of-way in crosswalk.

A person operating a bicycle across a roadway upon and along a crosswalk shall have all the rights and duties applicable to a pedestrian under the same circumstances, but shall yield to pedestrians upon and along a crosswalk. No person operating a bicycle shall suddenly enter a crosswalk into the path of a vehicle which is so close that the driver cannot yield safely.

(Ord. 108200 Section 2(11.44.100), 1979.)

Please provide a cite for the $100B number. Is that some Sierra Club calculation that counts emergency medical costs and the wage value of time-in-traffic?

Pesky cyclists confuse dimwitted doddering fogeys -- too many random variables to keep track of whilst driving and listening to some distracting phone call. I'm sooo tired of Vesely's brand of armchair empiricism - attitudes masquerading as facts and reason.... Let's chip everyone and install nannycams at every intersection!!!

I think a GVW license fee on all vehicles using the roads is a great idea.

Now, let me do the math - cyclist plus bike $3 a year - SUV driver $200 a year, 18 wheeler OMFG.

Woo Hoo!

GO FOR IT!

I could get behind this, the only problem is that you're going to have to either justify the tax with specific things you're doing to make bikers and drivers live in better harmony on EVERY SINGLE STREET or let them use the interstates.

We should also start thinking about taxing those sidewalk users, fucking asshole tax evaders.

ECB is all for taxes when it doesn't affect her. How many times has she stated, "its only xxx amount of dollars, if you can't afford it or don't want to pay more, you're a loser,hick, redneck, anti tax zealot, whatever" , in relation to other issues. But now that the tax man cometh for her and her main mode of transportation , she cries foul. Somehow if this idea ever got traction, something tells me you wouldn't have very many sympathizers for your side of the issue.

Does that fee include training wheels?

@ #10 - the amount of cars that have hit me/turned into me while I was in the crosswalk with the right of way is ridiculous. Perhaps drivers should be tested every few years to keep their license to operate a potentially deadly piece of machinery - especially when they ignore bright yellow crosswalk signs, giant stop signs, or red lights and run into pedestrians wearing bright yellow snowboarding jackets on the other side of the stop line.

@13: Ever been hit by a car on the sidewalk?

Much more unpleasant.

@25: I don't think parents would want an extra $25 tax on all bikes they buy for their kids (for one).

Also, to generalize ALL bikers and ALL drivers and ALL walkers is really dumb.

Excellent post, ECB.

I ride a bike on Seattle streets all the time, and a $25 annual tax doesn't seem unreasonable to me. Of course I'd rather spend the money on beer but I don't see a massive injustice in having to pay for my special interest.

Karma should take care of this when a 16 year old driving Lincoln Navigator hits Vesely on his commute from Mercer Island.

I also second the GVW license fee.

i guess i would pay a tax or something. i think those who argue for a license on bicyclists for the sake of public safety are missing something: it won't work.

drivers are licensed: i see them breaking laws all the fucking time riding my bike around town.

i think I see about ten cars a day violating the red right turn arrow turning onto 10th from Roanoke. Hey, assholes, that red arrow means you are not allowed to turn! Gosh, what a bunch of scofflaws.

Or how about that extremely deadly and yet massively popular pastime, Operating Your Vehicle at Excessive Speeds. Good thing those jackasses got driver education!

Or all the assholes who cut me off, park illegally, run into and kill people, and generally make our streets dangerous. Good thing they all have driver's licenses.

I think i'm being excessive here. What I mean is -- bicycles are not the deadly threat of the roads. They are not the frightening scourge.

They are basically harmless diversions in the grand scheme of our blood-drenched roadways.

when did seattle start to turn into spokane

Maybe pedestrians ought to have a license to walk as well. how else are we going to pay for those expensive sidewalks, crosswalk striping, and signals.

@15

Riding counter to traffic puts you at risk of collision with a right-turning vehicle (coming from the street you're crossing, rather than the one you're on as is the case if you ride with traffic). The person is not looking for high-speed traffic coming from the right. That's why so many are saying that if you insist on riding in the sidewalk only walking speed is appropriate.

Of course, similar considerations apply to any right-turning car. Passing on the right is never a good idea.

Research study on where money for local roads comes from (not mainly 'user taxes' like gas tax):
https://www.vtpi.org/whoserd.pdf