Exactly. I find that shouting "on your left" more often results in the pedestrian moving TO THEIR LEFT right in front of me than it does in the desired end! My experience is that on our NE Branch and connected trails, the gentle ringing of the bell works much better.<br>
<br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Jun 2, 2008 at 4:01 PM, Sarah Wayland <<a href="mailto:sarah.wayland@gmail.com">sarah.wayland@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<div class="Ih2E3d">On Mon, Jun 2, 2008 at 1:43 PM, <<a href="mailto:lisagrob@verizon.net">lisagrob@verizon.net</a>> wrote:<br>
</div><div class="Ih2E3d">> A bell doesn't tell anyone which direction to look for someone passing.<br>
<br>
</div>Funny you should write this. I used to bicycle to work every day, and<br>
found that shouting "on your left" was known protocol amongst<br>
bicyclists, but was really confusing to pedestrians who don't know<br>
what that means.<br>
<br>
I finally realized that ringing the bell and saying "on your left" was<br>
much more helpful - the bell is a well-known sound associated with<br>
bicyclists.<br>
<br>
To address the cranky old coot's issue with bicyclists terrorizing<br>
pedestrians: I was taught that bicyclists are supposed to behave as<br>
pedestrians when they are on sidewalks and in crosswalks (e.g., they<br>
should walk their bicycles and yield to pedestrians.) They are<br>
supposed to behave as vehicles when on the street.<br>
<br>
The trouble comes in areas like the "bike path" along the Anacostia<br>
where bicyclists and pedestrians share the same areas, and no one has<br>
the clear right of way. In this case, I think we all need to realize<br>
that we should be respectful of each other - pedestrians should walk<br>
to the right side of the path to allow bicycles to pass, and bicycles<br>
should understand that sometimes pedestrians aren't aware they are<br>
there.<br>
<font color="#888888"><br>
-Sarah<br>
</font></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>"A budget is a moral document." --Jim Wallis <br>"Don't tell me what you value, show me your budget, and I'll tell you what you value." --Sen. Joe Biden<br>