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Comment by tlrobinson | Hacker News Reader

> As for the self righteousness of "only peds belong on sidewalks", I get tired of that. Being in traffic is exceedingly dangerous, and apparently as long as someone else's life on the line you're good with it.

As someone who uses electric skateboards and scooters fairly regularly, I disagree. Bicycle lanes are the most appropriate place for them.

Supposedly Steve Jobs predicted the Segway would cause cities to be "redesigned". He was wrong, but I don't think he was far off. The rising popularity of light electric vehicles may actually prompt cities to build more bike lanes to accommodate them.

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It's getting better, but a lot of places still don't have bike lanes. I'll ride on the sidewalk if I don't feel safe in the road, but I'm extra careful when I do.

So basically, you make peds feel unsafe so that you can feel safe.

The risk of a fatality or life changing accident is much much higher for a cyclist colliding with a car, than it is for a pedestrian being hit by a bike

The risk may be higher but it's not insignificant. Here is an example from the UK:

"The number of pedestrians fatally or seriously injured in collisions with cyclists has doubled since 2006"

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/10/07/number-pedestria...

If it was really significant you'd have quoted the number, not the headline:

In 2016 three pedestrians died in such incidents across Great Britain while a further 108 sustained serious injury.

But note, none of these deaths occurred on the pavement:

In 2016, 43 pedestrians died in collisions involving a vehicle on the footway or verge. None of them involved a cycle.

-- https://www.cyclinguk.org/campaigning/views-and-briefings/pe...

Risk is an aggregate of damage and likelihood. Pedestrians are moving much more erratic than cars. This makes them more dangerous, unless you live in a community so violent that drivers actively harass cyclists.

No. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16928450

You can't control peoples feelings.

Not the same type of scooter, but here in Amsterdam they put them on the bike path a few decades ago. And it's a major nuisance for cyclists. They are not compatible modes of transport and it's dangerous.

So the city passed a new law last year to start transitioning them back to the road.

What makes them incompatible? If they’re approximately the same size and speed I don’t see a reason they can’t share the same paths.

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