jules21 wrote:zero wrote:Pedestrians are going to walk side by side to have conversations on share paths. Its a far greater imposition on pedestrians to not walk side by side for their entire journey than it is for a cyclist to slow down and ask 2 or 3 pairs to make space during their journey.
i agree zero, but she's taking up more space than necessary to walk side-by-side. also she ignores my bell, which was rung with sufficient warning for her to comfortably make space. she had no intention of doing what you're suggesting.
i am happy to slow down for pedestrians and avoid squeezing them, whereas i regularly see cyclists fly between small gaps that would end in disaster if anyone moved slightly. i didn't extend her as much courtesy as i normally would in this instance, as she annoyed me, but that's an exception for me. i wouldn't an airzound on peds either, although it's tempting sometimes...
In addition to the well known "The rider of a bicycle riding on a footpath or shared path must give way to any pedestrian on the footpath or shared path."...
Rule 236 (NSW) wrote:1 - A pedestrian must not cause a traffic hazard by moving into the path of a driver.
2 - A pedestrian must not unreasonably obstruct the path of any driver or another pedestrian.
(Note - in the legislation, driver includes rider)
My reading is that pedestrians are OK to stand side by side and talk (reasonable) but are obliged to provide a clear path for cyclists (unreasonable to stubbornly block the path). Cyclists need to approach carefully, politely announce their approach (bell, etc) and wait for the pedestrians to let them past. However, should the pedestrians refuse to allow the cyclist to pass then they are technically in the wrong, but the cyclist is still legally required to give way to them.
There's also nearly always a way to resolve these situations in a civil way (i.e. without abuse or using the AirZound in an aggressive way), even if it is a little slower getting past.