I was almost run over when walking to campus last week.
I never knew that a skateboarder could have such severe road rage. I was in De Neve plaza when someone behind me shouted, “Get out of my way!” I turned in time to see someone whiz past on his board, swerving left and right as other students scrambled to avoid getting hit. The enraged boarder continued right through the crowd, yelling at everyone for the rest of the way down the hill.
I have nothing against students who use bicycles, skateboards or even scooters to get around campus ““ only those who seem to think that the entire sidewalk belongs to them. These students need to remember that, in comparison to schools like UC Davis or UC Santa Barbara, UCLA is essentially a walking campus.
Without a designated bike path for them to coast on, these mobile students need to give. the right-of-way to those of us still on foot. The appeal of riding to school is understandable. You can get across campus much faster, get some good exercise, and even make the environmentalists happy.
But the fact remains that UCLA, with its endless array of stairs and hills, is hardly a logical campus for biking or skateboarding. After comparing the suggested bike paths for both UCLA and the bicycle country that is UCSB, that’s a fact made very clear. I’ve visited UCSB’s campus several times before, and their map reveals just how accessible their biking system is. The labeled pathway cuts right through the heart of the campus, including several places where lanes merge or a circular turnaround allows an easy change of direction. Paths lead students directly from their dorms to their University Center, and one leads straight to the Isle Vista Theater in their student village.
UCLA’s suggested bike path looks like someone just filled in the perimeter of the campus with a highlighter. It steers clear of the Strathmore tunnel and the Court of Sciences. It doesn’t cut down by Pauley or up through Bruin Walk. There’s definitely nothing that encourages pedaling up Janss Steps. Of course, all of these are central routes to class, so suggested or not, that’s the path students will take.
While it’s inconvenient that our campus isn’t bike- or scooter-friendly, I see no reason why these frustrations have to be taken out on innocent pedestrians. In my second year, I spent an entire quarter using a scooter so I could make it to class on time and I never had any problems getting there. I kept my path as straight as possible, rather than coasting leisurely around and making people guess my direction. I stayed in the street rather than mowing people down on the sidewalk and I even folded up the scooter and carried it with me down Bruin Walk. I didn’t convince myself that people would jump out of my way when they saw me coming. Not once did I scream at people to move and I never crashed into someone who suddenly stopped walking in front of me.
I know that not all people who use their bike or skateboard to get to class act this abrasively. But for every person who walks beside his bike, there are another two who barrel down the Hill at 50 mph, screaming at everyone as if we’re in their way on purpose. Which is funny because, in reality, the rules are on the side of those who walk.
Bicycles are expected to follow the same laws that motor vehicles do and yield to pedestrians. (Check that DMV handbook you only skimmed before the test.) It’s even written under Los Angeles County Municipal Code 56.15 that “the riding of bicycles (or other human power devices) on sidewalks with a willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property” is prohibited. Therefore, until UCLA has a more defined bike path, cyclists and skateboarders have to accept the responsibility that comes with sharing the sidewalk with those who walk.
So, please, enough of the “willful or wanton disregard” for pedestrians. A human-powered device will get you to class faster, but it doesn’t make the rest of us moving targets. Lose the road rage, and our walking campus might be more inclined to move out of the way and create some unobstructed space for you to maneuver your wheels through.
Worried about a hit-and-run involving you and a scooter? E-mail Louth at klouth@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to
viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.