(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) below, it shall be legal to operate a bicycle upon a sidewalk when sidewalks are available and not congested with pedestrian traffic. If the sidewalk is congested with pedestrian traffic, any bicycle operator using the sidewalk shall walk the bicycle.
(b) No person shall ride a bicycle upon a sidewalk, upon or along which signs have been erected by authority of the Director of Public Safety prohibiting such bicycle riding; or if the bicycle is wider than the customary widths of two-wheeled bicycles.
(c) A person riding a bicycle upon and along a sidewalk, or across a roadway upon and along a crosswalk, shall yield the right-of-way to any pedestrian and shall give audible signal before overtaking and passing such pedestrian. This audible signal may be given by the voice or by a bell or other warning device capable of giving an audible signal and shall be given at such a distance and in such a manner as not to startle person or persons being overtaken and passed.
(d) A person operating a bicycle upon a sidewalk, before overtaking and passing a blind person carrying a white cane or guided by a dog, shall dismount and overtake or pass on foot, if necessary for safety.
(e) A person shall not operate a bicycle from a sidewalk so as to suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and move into the path of a vehicle that is so close as to constitute an immediate hazard.
(f) No person shall operate a bicycle on a sidewalk at a speed greater than an ordinary walk when approaching or entering a crosswalk or approaching or crossing a driveway if a vehicle is approaching the crosswalk or driveway. This paragraph does not require reduced speeds for bicycles when other vehicles are not present.
(Ord. 178-1959. Passed 9-14-59; Ord. 144-2020. Passed 12-7-20.)