Kids + Bikes + sidewalks = OK in Delaware

There are times when its ok for cyclists to be on the sidewalk.

Take the under 13 year old crowd for instance.

From Lewes, Delaware:

Kids who ride bicycles on Lewes sidewalks will no longer be breaking the law. The mayor and council approved a change in a city ordinance to permit cyclists 12 years and younger to ride on sidewalks.

Lewes’ Mayor and City Council voted unanimously for the change Jan. 10.

The new rule was prompted by a progress report filed with the council last month from the Lewes Pedestrian Safety Review Committee.

The report found that a city safety pamphlet stated children are allowed to ride on city sidewalks, but a city ordinance prohibited cyclists of any age from riding on sidewalks.

That IS kind of contradictory.

A 4th grade teacher said "sidewalks provide a safer alternative than the roadway where there is faster-moving car and truck traffic."

Not everyone is happy though:

One resident said he almost trashed a parent and child on a sidewalk as he was entering a driveway.

"It’s about physics, visibility and peripheral vision,”  he said.

CAPE GAZETTE: Lewes council changes law to allow young bicyclists on sidewalks by Henry J. Evans, Jr.