Bikes on the Sidewalk
Whether one can ride a bike on the sidewalk depends upon where that
sidewalk is. Bicyclists may ride on any sidewalk in Seattle provided
they do so in a "careful and prudent manner." (Seattle Municipal Code
11.44.120) In Bellevue, bicyclists can ride on the sidewalk unless
doing so would "unreasonably inconvenience pedestrians." (Bellevue
Municipal Code 11.60.070)
In Spokane, bikers must stay off the sidewalks "within the retail zone
of the congested district of the city," but can ride on the sidewalks
everyplace else. (Spokane Municipal Code 16.61.787.1) Similarly, in
Walla Walla, bikes are prohibited on the sidewalks in business
districts. (Walla Walla Municipal Code 10.19.100)
A relatively new website run by the Municipal Research Council, a
state agency, makes it fairly simple to look up municipal codes for
most cities in Washington. Rather than trudging down to the library
and searching through pages of incomprehensible text, anyone with an
internet connection should be able to search for laws in most
Washington cities. The site is www.mrsc.org/codes.aspx.
As you might expect to hear from a lawyer, being able to find
legislation on a particular topic doesn't mean that you can answer any
legal question. Laws passed by the legislative branches of government
are arranged in a relatively organized way in codes and regulations.
However, we are also governed by the common law, which is based upon
historical decisions by judges. While judicial decisions are
increasingly available on the web, accessing this information is
difficult.
The Municipal Research Council and other sites have more and more
judicial decisions on-line, however, I am not aware of any free
service that provides reliable access to every potentially relevant
decision. This is why lawyers pay up to $900 per hour for
comprehensive services like Westlaw and Lexis.
Additionally, using the common law is a lot like writing a book
report. Lawyers (whether they admit it or not) read the decisions and
look for language that supports their arguments. This takes skill. And
this is why, despite the many lawyer jokes with some basis in reality,
people with serious legal issues ought to consult with a lawyer.
Bob Anderton is a daily bike commuter. He represents bicyclists and
other people. To suggest a topic needing random wisdom, contact Bob at
(206) 262-9290 or at bob@andertonlaw.com.
LAWYER JOKE: A group of terrorists hijacked an airplane full of
lawyers. They threatened that, until all their demands were met, they
would release one lawyer every hour.
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