Comment by ghshephard

In many neighborhoods in California, unless you are a serious cyclist, you genuinely run the risk of being run off the road by a driver in some areas, and will absolutely be yelled at or honked at if you take your "bicycle" (E-Bike or otherwise) onto the road with other vehicles. In 5+ years living in Redwood City, I rarely ever saw what I would call "Utility Cyclists" (Just some person trying to get to their job, or get to the grocery store) ever ride a bicycle on the road.

Ann Arbor changed the law to make this legal: http://www.annarbor.com/news/bicyclists-dilemma-ride-on-the-....

And recently for E-Bikes as well: https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2021/09/ann-arbor-movin....

And yes, I know that California law states that bicycles have to be on the road, but that doesn't reflect reality. And, in fact, at least in Redwood City, I never once (In 5 years of walking every day, and seeing dozens of cyclists every day) saw a police officer cite a cyclist for riding on the sidewalk - though, that isn't the case in Southern California, where I read an NYT article that people of color are routinely stopped/searched for doing so - in much the same way people are cited in some cities for "Jay Walking" - which is a universally accepted behavior in other cities.

But, one thing I think you and I can agree on, that cyclists on the sidewalk have to show the utmost in courtesy to pedestrians, and not go racing along at high (> 8mph or so) speeds - essentially occupy the same speed as your typical jogger might. Also, another topic we might agree on - Bicycle Lanes just make things safer for everyone, cyclist and pedestrian alike.