Before there were cars, streets were for everyone on foot, horse, bike and transit– and it was considered inappropriate travel at a speed threatening to other road users, including pedestrians. That all changed with the auto.

See Market Street in the pre-car days and notice the ‘anarchy’ resulting in calm normal streets: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHpTK8c63uo

And take a look at: http://muse.jhu.edu/login?uri=/journals/technology_and_culture/v048/48.2norton.html for the history of clearing pedestrians off the streets for cars.

on the other hand, when you are on your bike approaching an intersection with a green light and all of a sudden a sea of pedestrians departs muni island and heads for the sidewalk without looking, it will be impossible to avoid ALL of them. we’re talking like 20 people blindly crossing the street, some wearing headphones or with their heads down.

in that instance, i would not say a cyclist striking a pedistrian would be “not OK.”

And even still– albeit annoying that someone isn’t paying attention or not in a crosswalk– it’s still not OK to hit them with a bike or car, ever.

She was elderly and I knew I could miss her but at the same time it sucked knowing I was about to take a fall. I wasn’t hurt at all so it wasn’t terrible but I consider myself lucky.

When passengers disembark buses at the Muni “islands” within the street, they often immediately cross to the sidewalk without bothering to look at either incoming traffic or the color of the signal.

Likewise, they often step into crosswalks as soon as perpendicular traffic signals turn yellow without noticing that a bicycle has already entered the intersection and is barrelling towards them.

These instances not only both clearly violate the “right of way,” but also unfairly place law-abiding cyclists in dangerous situations, and I am trying to convey as honestly as possible that I witness them occuring quite frequently.