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What are you doing riding on the sidewalk? You're going to hit a pedestrian!

Well... the road was one way and I didn't want to go all the way around the loop so I just rode on the sidewalk. Also that way I got to make a detour through the quad.

Back in Canada you could get a ticket for riding your bike on the sidewalk, but here in Texas as far as I can tell it's fair game (the police ride their bikes on the sidewalks). Usually the sidewalks are underutilized anyways (not at Rice though).

AAAAUGH! That makes me dizzy! Amazing, except for the cars and clothes this looks like it was done in 1963 with a Super 8 camera.

Haha, I actually sped up the video because it was too boring watching me bike slowly for 5 minutes.

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Haha, I actually sped up the video because it was too boring watching me bike slowly for 5 minutes.

It really does look like that if you're riding at any sort of speed! Me and my brother (in the olden days, like 10 years ago) had very crude helmet cams rigged when we would ride parking garages or single track. Way more bumpy but the speed was about the same.

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Yes, it's illegal to bicycle on the sidewalk, even though the police do it, but I haven't heard of tickets being issued.

Oh, how we can only dream. Not to mention tickets for bicyclists running red lights and stop signs, going the wrong way on one-way streets, and not wearing helmets. Cyclists bring a lot of grief upon themselves when they flaunt traffic laws and then get mad because cars won't yield or steer clear. It makes me embarassed every time I get on my bike.

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I attached a small video camera to my bike and recorded my ride around the Rice campus yesterday. Cool huh?

(anybody know how to imbed the YouTube video?)

Were you really going that fast or is it my imagination that it looks sped up a bit. If that was your intent fine, if not, could you maybe slow it down by about a 1/4.

I'm with someone else ... makes me dizzy.

But neat video nevertheless!

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Were you really going that fast or is it my imagination that it looks sped up a bit. If that was your intent fine, if not, could you maybe slow it down by about a 1/4.

Maybe I'll try making my next video a bit slower. I just figured people would get bored watching a slow 5 minute long bike ride (I was going really slowly), but I thought a minute and a half would be ok.

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I am not sure about the specific rules about riding on paths on Rice property, but the sidewalks tend to be wide - and I see RUPD partaking (and like Jax said, there are places at Rice with no street access - only paths - like the quadrangle).

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My sense is, yes, in the strictest sense, bicycles are illegal on public sidewalks. I think that's not really enforced, though, because sometimes street conditions make the sidewalk a safer alternative. I suspect that Rice, being private property, has no such restrictions, and yes, there are many places where you must ride on a sidewalk to get somewhere. Having said that, there is no reason to ride on a sidewalk adjacent to any of the campus roads, as some of your video shows. The campus roads are very bike friendly and some of the pedestrian dodging in your video made me a little uncomfortable.

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My sense is, yes, in the strictest sense, bicycles are illegal on public sidewalks. I think that's not really enforced, though, because sometimes street conditions make the sidewalk a safer alternative. I suspect that Rice, being private property, has no such restrictions, and yes, there are many places where you must ride on a sidewalk to get somewhere. Having said that, there is no reason to ride on a sidewalk adjacent to any of the campus roads, as some of your video shows. The campus roads are very bike friendly and some of the pedestrian dodging in your video made me a little uncomfortable

Well first of all, I wasn't going much faster than walking speed, so the pedestrian dodging wasn't as scary as it looks being played back at 5x speed. They use the same effect in some kung fu movies :)

Second of all, when the roads are one way its a big pain to ride all the way around the loop when you really want to get somewhere in the quad (center of the loop). When I returned to my lab, I rode on the street since traffic was flowing in the direction I wanted to go. I could have posted that video but it wasn't as interesting.

And finally, the point of this video was to show off some cool parts of campus away from the road (the quad, the area in front of Fondren Library, where the bike rack is by the way), so it required the sidewalk riding to get there. Maybe I should have cut the sidewalk part along the street and only included the quad...

When I ride on the sidewalks, I ride very slowly and am careful about not hitting pedestrians.

Edited by Jax
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My sense is, yes, in the strictest sense, bicycles are illegal on public sidewalks. I think that's not really enforced, though, because sometimes street conditions make the sidewalk a safer alternative.

Safer for the cyclist, maybe, but definitely not safer for the pedestrian already on the sidewalk.

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Well first of all, I wasn't going much faster than walking speed, so the pedestrian dodging wasn't as scary as it looks being played back at 5x speed. They use the same effect in some kung fu movies :)

Good point, fair enough.

Second of all, when the roads are one way its a big pain to ride all the way around the loop when you really want to get somewhere in the quad (center of the loop). When I returned to my lab, I rode on the street since traffic was flowing in the direction I wanted to go. I could have posted that video but it wasn't as interesting.

And finally, the point of this video was to show off some cool parts of campus away from the road (the quad, the area in front of Fondren Library, where the bike rack is by the way), so it required the sidewalk riding to get there. Maybe I should have cut the sidewalk part along the street and only included the quad...

And those were really cool in a retro sort of way. I don't really have any problem with bikes in the quad, or anywhere else the roads don't go. There's so much room in the quad that it doesn't feel as confining as the sidewalks along, say, College Way or Lab Road.

When I ride on the sidewalks, I ride very slowly and am careful about not hitting pedestrians.

Thanks for that.

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A timely thread because if there's karmic justice for bikers riding on the sidewalks, I got it this morning.

I USUALLY take the loop road through Rice on my way to the Med Center in the morning, but lately I've gotten lazy and have been cutting across campus on the sidewalks. The sidewalks composed of small cobblestone-like pebble composites. That get very slippery when they're wet. Like they were this morning.

I bit it, in front of about 15 pedestrians. And had to arrive at work with a nicely bloodied leg and a dirty T shirt. I will stick to the roads from now on! :rolleyes:

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  • 3 months later...

Yeah I'm a bit disappointed in the fact that it doesn't appear to be ready any time soon. I was expecting to be able to study in there before I graduate. :(

There is a chance I'll stay at Rice and be able to use this place next year, but that is up in the air right now..

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...should be completed within a month, and will feature a coffee house run by Deidrich's, so I will finally have another option for coffee/lunch....

I was wondering where the new location was. They have been looking for new employees at the new location, but never had a chance to find out.

Great job, Mark.

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I heard that Brochstein Pavilion was set to open very soon - two weeks maybe? It sure doesn't look like it will be ready...

I believe there is supposed to be a dedication ceremony on March 22, but I don't think they will be quite done with all the landscaping by then. It will definitely not be done in 2 weeks (I spoke to the project manager today).

As a side note, the Rice F&E people have been doing a great job lately at keeping up communication with the Rice students/faculty/staff who are interested. I'm going to be getting married in the Rice Chapel before the project is finished, but when I e-mailed just to find out what their timeline was they immediately responded and are actually going to make sure there is no construction noise during the wedding. Quite a bit more helpful than they had to be.

Edited by MarkD
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note split topic, originating from the Collaborative Research Center thread

6) My personal favorite: Brochstein Pavillion going in the heart of the campus - should be completed within a month, and will feature a coffee house run by Deidrich's, so I will finally have another option for coffee/lunch. Along with the building is a complete renovation of the area behind the library, adding tons of trees, fountains, outdoor seating, etc. Should be really nice.
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Just got word that they're scrambling to try and finish up the Brochstein Pavilion for an April 24th dedication...landscaping is supposed to be happening now/soon by the west entrance of the library.

Oops, I meant April 22 - and that was wrong too, it is April 24 I guess. I think they are planning on having the building done by then, but the landscaping won't be entirely finished by then.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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