I'm really sorry to hear that.

Bikes CAN hurt pedestrians, but it's statistically rare compared to injuries/death caused by cars. E-bikes increase the risk significantly, though.

It also illustrates that proper infrastructure is needed, since an accident like that shouldn't even happen. In some areas around here, we have split trails, which separate (by several meters and bushes) cyclists and pedestrians.

However, there are often pedestrians strolling on the cyclist side, or cyclists on the pedestrian side, and that's just dangerous for everyone. I honestly don't know why simple routes are so difficult for some people to follow.

However, cyclists who don’t respect the rules are still very much dangerous.

I do agree! I don't want cyclists to ignore rules or ride like maniacs, but I also don't want cyclists to be targeted for doing things that shouldn't even be against the law.

I too have been a victim of being hit by cyclists several times because they blew a red light.

They were flat out breaking the law and riding dangerously, so I'm sorry that happened to you. That's NOT what an Idaho Stop seeks to remedy.

This has never happened to me with a motorist because the vast motorist respect rules and signage on the road and they understand the consequences.

Statistically, it really is cars and trucks that are killing people (or even severely injuring them), and other accidents not involving motor vehicles are really quite rare.

Not to discount your experience, because it is important to acknowledge that cyclist on pedestrian accidents still do happen, but they are **very ** rare.

Attitudes and respect of the rules of the road need to change among cyclists.

Agreed.

I think that everyone should be riding respectfully, and while we can't change asshole behaviour, we can certainly do our best to not punish good cyclists.

Oh good, pedestrians will only need to work about being seriously hurt then, but probably not dead.

I don't want pedestrians to have to worry about any type of injury!

You have to look at things in context, because pedestrian safety has a LOT to do with pedestrian behaviour, poor infrastructure, and motor vehicles, not whether a cyclist decides to roll through a stop sign at an empty intersection.

Cyclists and pedestrians can still get into conflicts with each other, but it doesn't happen as often and certainly not as severely as other types of accidents.

But here's some food for thought: the Traffic Injury Research Foundation out of Ottawa put out a fact sheet which showed that in fatally injured pedestrians, nearly 50% had alcohol in their system (the pedestrian, not the driver); 40% had drugs in their system.

In my experience as a driver, pedestrian, and cyclist, many pedestrians aren't aware of their own surroundings, which puts them at risk.

J-walking, walking before they get a "walk" signal, walking with headphones, not walking where they're supposed to be (i.e. wrong side of a multi-use path), not wearing bright clothing at night, etc.

Everyone has to be mindful of their own behaviour to increase the chance of being safe, but that's not to say that poor infrastructure has no fault in this.

But I can't really speak to the city experience, since I don't live in Downtown Toronto. In those cases, I do defer to what stats and studies say about cyclist/pedestrian safety.