Today was the first day I yelled at people for not social distancing on the path. For reference, I was running.

The first was a cyclist who didn't use their bell but still tried to pass while I was passing pedestrians. She honestly scared the bejesus out of me.

#yyc

The second? There's a giant puddle on the north end of the lower deck of the Centre Street Bridge. I was halfway around it when a cyclist took the space. I asked her, "I guess I'll run on the road? In traffic?" She laughs.

Both saw me yield to other, oncoming cyclists. Instead of slowing or stopping to yield, they just barreled on.

It makes me want a pathway code of conduct, based the Alpine version: https://cwsaa.org/policy/alpine-responsibility-code/

Yield to people in front of you. Yield to oncoming traffic.

Faster users have a responsibility to yield to slower users.

If you don't have the skills to yield, find less crowded spaces to build them. Parents, that includes your kids

EXPECT TO SLOW DOWN. This means that interval workouts or speed training needs to be moved to somewhere other than high traffic areas.

(That this needs to be said boggles my mind.)

Faster folks have a responsibility to let people know they're passing. For runners, this is easier because we can just shout and folks usually hear us.

But cyclists? Your bell might not be as loud as you think it is. You have to be proactive here

There were some great examples of this: one very experienced cyclist used bell and voice to pass quickly. One set of parents repeatedly stopped to coach kids on how to pass safely, even though their kids were already doing pretty good

None of this means slower users should take up less space. For many, especially less privileged folks, taking up their fair share of space in public is a profoundly political act. Keep doing that.

But everyone still needs to be (WAY MORE) aware and respectful of those around them, especially now. A version of that Alpine Code might be a good place to start