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Q: Are there any Winston-Salem ordinances against riding a bicycle on sidewalks? I saw someone riding a bike on a sidewalk in Ardmore recently. Is that legal?
Answer: Yes, with a few exceptions, riding a bike on a sidewalk is legal. Section 45-286 of the Winston-Salem Municipal Code covers riding on sidewalks.
When you’re riding a bike on a sidewalk and come up on a pedestrian, you are required to give an audible signal, for example, a bell, horn, or the like, before you overtake and pass the person.
Here are the areas where riding on the sidewalk is prohibited:
*Riding a bike in the central business district is prohibited except for members of the Winston-Salem Police Department’s downtown bike patrol carrying out their official duties.
*Other areas where you can’t ride on the sidewalk are Sunset Drive from First Street to Glade Street and Liberty Street from 14th Street to 17th Street.
Here are some other rules of the road or sidewalk from the city’s municipal code.
Not even UPS knows precisely how to describe what could be the delivery giant's latest way to get packages to your door. UPS on Tuesday unveiled a battery-powered, four-wheeled cycle to more efficiently haul cargo in some of the country's most congested streets and reduce its carbon footprint. The company is trying to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. The slimmed-down vehicles, called eQuads by UPS, look familiar enough with the company's gold-colored logo and accompanying stripe on a dark brown background. The pedal-powered vehicle was dwarfed by one of the company's more traditional delivery trucks, which rumble through traffic and sometimes draw the ire of motorists trying to get by parked trucks on narrow streets.
According to section 42-282, people riding bicycles “shall be granted all of the rights and shall be subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle by the laws of the state (G.S. 20-38(38)) declaring rules of the road applicable to vehicles or by the provisions of this chapter applicable to the driver of a vehicle, except as to special regulations in this chapter and except as to those provisions of law and ordinances which by their nature can have no application.”
Section 42-283 covers bicyclists obeying traffic control:
If you are on a bike you are required to obey the instructions of traffic control devices and signals that apply to vehicles or follow the directions of a police officer.
If signs there are signs indicating no left turn, no right turn or no U-turn, it is illegal for a bicyclist to disregard the signs unless you get of the bike to make the turn.
Then you have to obey pedestrian rules.
Section 42-285 covers riding a bike on a roadway:
Bicyclists are required to ride as close to the right-hand side of the road as possible and be careful when passing a stopped vehicle or a vehicle going in the same direction.
“It shall be unlawful for persons riding bicycles upon a roadway to ride more than two abreast,” according to the section.
According to section 42-287, which covers speed on a bicycle, “It shall be unlawful for any person to operate a bicycle at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions then existing.”
Section 42-290 covers lamps and other equipment required on a bicycle
All bikes that are used at night are required to have a front light that has a white beam that can be seen by a distance of at least 500 feet.
A rear reflector that can be seen from a distance of at least 300 when in the upper beams of a vehicle’s headlights is also required. A lamp that has a red light visible from 500 feet to the back of the bike may be used in addition to the reflector.
All bikes are required to have “working, functional, adequate brakes,” according to the section.
TownNews.com Content Exchange TownNews.com Content Exchange Biking surged during the coronavirus pandemic, but it has long been a favored means of getting from one place to another or enjoying the great outdoors. Having a home within close proximity to trails, bike lanes, and other designated spaces to ride is convenient for bike enthusiasts and is associated with higher home prices. One study found that being a quarter mile closer to an advanced bikeway in Portland, Oregon,
for a single-family home. Another report found the value of a median-priced home in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area
for every 1,312 feet closer it is to an off-street bicycle facility.
Melissa Hall, Straight Answer Ma’am
Write: Ask SAM, 418 N. Marshall St., Winston-Salem, NC 27101
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TownNews.com Content Exchange TownNews.com Content Exchange Biking surged during the coronavirus pandemic, but it has long been a favored means of getting from one place to another or enjoying the great outdoors. Having a home within close proximity to trails, bike lanes, and other designated spaces to ride is convenient for bike enthusiasts and is associated with higher home prices. One study found that being a quarter mile closer to an advanced bikeway in Portland, Oregon,
for a single-family home. Another report found the value of a median-priced home in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area
for every 1,312 feet closer it is to an off-street bicycle facility.
Melissa Hall, Straight Answer Ma’am
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