The ordinance prohibits cyclists from using the crosswalk if they are moving faster than walking speeds. McDaniel, like most bikers, was moving faster than a pedestrian and thus was told getting hit by a car was her fault.

We see this ordinance as unnecessary and believe it does nothing to further ensure the safety of bikers or pedestrians.

It would be one thing if this ordinance was regularly enforced, but as police haven’t written any tickets for violating it in the last year, the typical student has no reason to believe they’re breaking the law by riding their bike on a crosswalk.

Also, the ordinance itself is confusing. Are runners penalized if they move faster than walking speed? What about people on skateboards? Roller skaters? There’s no explicit reason why cyclists are singled out for this ordinance.

The necessity of the ordinance is further questioned by the fact the city does not keep a record of the number of collisions on crosswalks. The city says the intention of the ordinance is to keep people safe, but what good is it when it is only enforced in the event of an accident?

Anyone who has spent a considerable time observing MSU traffic knows it’s a free-for-all among drivers, cyclists and pedestrians on both the sidewalks and the roads. Few people respect the rules as written — most are more concerned about getting to where they need to be quickly or in one piece.

In order for most of the ordinances concerning biking to be taken seriously, a complete re-education is necessary for both bikers and drivers. It’s true the sidewalk is intended for pedestrian use only, yet many cyclists use them anyway. Ignorance of the rules of the road might be a factor, but in many cases cyclists simply are concerned about their own safety, preferring to stay on the sidewalk rather than risk being run off the road by uneducated or careless drivers.

Drivers, too, need to realize cyclists have just as much right to be on the road as they do. But until they give cyclists the respect to which they are entitled, it can only be expected cyclists will use the sidewalk just to be safe.

A collision between a car and a bike — such as McDaniel’s situation — has the potential to be life-threatening. A collision between a bike and a pedestrian, although never ideal, is not that dangerous in comparison.

If the city really wants to keep people safe with this ordinance, it should enforce it every time, not just when something goes awry. We would prefer, however, that this ordinance be wiped off the books and that more effort be spent adequately educating citizens about how all of us — pedestrians, drivers and bikers — safely can share the road.