That's completely irrelevant. Some cycling paths in my area are mixed pedestrian and cycle. Mostly they are mixed car and cycle. There are a handful of dedicated bike paths but those often have pedestrians on them anyway. Good luck changing that.
The semantics of "bike path" are not interesting here. I ride my bike at around 8mph. I don't pass many conventional bicycles. I don't get passed by conventional cycles much either. When I do it is often by someone on an e-bike going twice as fast.
I think we were raised in very different cycling cultures. I was taught to be embarrassed at much less than 15mph under my own power. Being lazy, I usually rode closer to 11-12 when alone, and the only slower bikes I encountered were small children. Many athletic cyclists zoomed by at 20-25.
I was also taught to assert my right of way when I have it, and be deferential when I don’t. So the designation of the path does matter.
This is ignorant. My local bike path is combined and separated and alternates between the two. There's also a bike lane in the road. There's also the practical fact that people walk in bike lanes anyway. Riding a motorcycle in that environment is going to increase risk.
Spaces where bicycles have right of way and spaces where bicycles are permitted to tread gingerly around other, higher-priority users are completely different things. Calling such a pedestrian path a bike path is like calling a bus lane or a truck loading zone with sharrows in it a bike lane.
You’re ignoring reality. There is a dedicated bike path that I ride every day with painted bicycles on the path and a separate sidewalk next to it with grass between. There are always people walking on the bike path. This is even understandable with covid, people are trying to keep their distance.
There are also people on ebikes going faster than everyone, swerving between the bike path and the sidewalk.
It’s unfortunate that people don’t respect bike paths where you live, and I hope it improves. The dedicated cycling spaces where I live see only occasional intruders and, while I would never hit one, neither do I feel obligated to make them feel welcome where they aren’t.
Yes, it is unfortunate. But my city is very bicycle friendly so there is a lot to be thankful for. Also even with pedestrians on the bike paths everything mostly works out fine. Assuming speeds are human powered.
I am optimistic that if we embrace ebikes as motorcycles and advertise their ability to keep up with and even get around traffic we can enjoy the benefits provided to the rest of the high density world.
Amercian cities are incredibly wasteful with space. Single individuals in cars, it’s ridiculous. In Asia I have seen mothers with children on scooters. Everyone rides a motorcycle.
We need that in our cities and I think ebikes can help get us there.
In 49 states motorcycles are required to sit in traffic, not go around it. In all 50 states motorcycles are required to consume the same parking footprint as SUVs. I think ebike adoption depends on the ability to use bike lanes and bike racks, both of which would go away under a motorcycle designation, so I can't agree. Same goal though.
In my state motorcycles can share parking spaces. That’s covered in the class. Education is critical to responsibly operate a motor vehicle.
Lane filtering laws need to change, that’s my point. I say we can get there with more people on electric motorcycles.
There’s obvious demand, the problem is people who ride electric motorcycles on bike paths. They’re giving ebikes a bad name.
This could be our generation’s “You meet the nicest people on a Honda.”
I have zero confidence in anything changing though. The only people more insufferable than car drivers are cyclists. Trying to have a conversation with anyone about this is like debating politics at thanksgiving.
