Who's riding on sidewalks?

Someone in my neighborhood is freaking out a little.

this guy has been test driving motorcycles up and down S Montreal Ave every few days for the past week. He usually speeds as fast as he can north towards Sunset HS, then turns around and comes back. Other people are also taking turns test driving the three motorcycles. Today he decides the street isn't fun enough, so he is now using the sidewalk. Is this a 311 or a 911 call?? He lives at 415 or 418 S Montreal. Pic taken at 1:14 June 27 (today). Lic plate is blurry but starts with 7 - 8 or 3 - 5




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911? Sidewalks are for pedestrians only.

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It's 311 and a $500 fine in Houston. I ended up having to talk to a neighbor who told their kid to ride on the sidewalk. Of course the dad did it, too. Since it was a neighbor I didn't feel right not talking to them first. I'll admit that I've been guilty of parking in the sidewalk, but it ain't a substitute for the roadway.

Not as big a threat as that load of cardboard next door.

I don't even ride my bicycle on sidewalks. In fact, in many places in SW Arlington, sidewalks have been engineered with chicane-style ramps, meaning it's near impossible to get a bicycle from street to sidewalk without walking it. Getting a motorcycle onto the sidewalk along Bowen Rd will mean jumping a curb.

311 is for city services like trash pick up or weeds.
The police non emergency number is 214-744-4444
But ripping up and down street a high rate of speed and also doing it on side walks is a emergency item as it is only a matter of time before some one gets hit and possibly killed.

If there are kids on the sidewalk, even if just occasionally, I would either confront him or call the police. It would end if there were kids in danger.


Beyond that I am a bit less eager to call the police. It will soon end either way.

Maybe start leaving your vehicle a little further out in the path of the sidewalk. Kind of a jerk move but it might slow him down enough to where you can get a license plate and turn that in.

The problem being that blocking a sidewalk with your vehicle is also illegal. If the police show up, guess who'll get the ticket?

rpcraft said:

Maybe start leaving your vehicle a little further out in the path of the sidewalk. Kind of a jerk move but it might slow him down enough to where you can get a license plate and turn that in.

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This isn't me. It's some random lady in my neighborhood who posted on the "Neighborhood" online app. Similar to facebook but it's only people in your neighborhood.

I'm not saying do it every day, just enough to where you can get the license plate....

How about a sign in yard near sidewalk. "No riding on sidewalk." Get your neighbor to do it so your car won't get egged

Downs said:

This isn't me. It's some random lady in my neighborhood who posted on the "Neighborhood" online app. Similar to facebook but it's only people in your neighborhood.

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The neighbors, including the father of the kid who was riding on the sidewalk, use an app like that. It's turned into a platform for flame wars between several neighbors.

Since it is a woman who is not likely to feel up to a friendly conversation with a guy she doesn't know, she may just want to find out what the local fine is and write the guy a post card letting him know if he keeps riding on the sidewalk she is going to contact the police with the photographs. That was what I had to do, only face to face. In any case it's something to get fixed before someone gets hurt.

Meriden said:

The neighbors, including the father of the kid who was riding on the sidewalk, use an app like that. It's turned into a platform for flame wars between several neighbors.

Since it is a woman who is not likely to feel up to a friendly conversation with a guy she doesn't know, she may just want to find out what the local fine is and write the guy a post card letting him know if he keeps riding on the sidewalk she is going to contact the police with the photographs. That was what I had to do, only face to face. In any case it's something to get fixed before someone gets hurt.

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I truly agree, someone will get hurt. They need to stop it, now.

Considering how undermanned DPD is right now I don't see them doing anything about till someone gets hurt or they happen to be in the area and witness it.


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Meriden said:

The neighbors, including the father of the kid who was riding on the sidewalk, use an app like that. It's turned into a platform for flame wars between several neighbors.

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It's been a pretty friendly platform here. The folks who are into social neighborhood activities use it a lot and everyone I've interacted with on it has been cordial.



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I have ridden on my sidewalk on occasion, just a 1st gear hop around the house (KTM and RM are not street legal) but then I feel like I have a right to since I paid $6000 dollars to have it put in as it was a mandatory part of the project and the city did not pay for it. Always one oddball thing you overlook when building in certain areas

Now I live on a corner lot, and for most of these years have had a vacant lot on either side of me so my sidewalk goes nowhere basicly starts at my mailbox and runs to my driveway.

I've recently joined NextDoor. Right now, somebody is griping at the whole neighborhood because somebody called Code Enforcement regarding their truck sitting on jacks in the driveway. but mostly, it's lost dogs and garage sale announcements.

As for the guy on the sidewalk, if it were my neighborhood and I got his license, I'd report him in a heartbeat. Some years ago, I was hiking in a wilderness area north of Crested Butte when a small SUV chugged up behind me & I had to step off the trail while he passed. So I snapped a picture of his SUV, then a closeup of his license plate. That afternoon in CB, I stopped by the Forest Service station & let them pull the pictures off my SD card. About 6 months later, I got an email from the Forest Service. He had been to federal court and required to pay a whopping fine.

Defiantly uncool.

We kinda have the same issue around here. The kid on the corner has a knock off 50cc Dirt bike. Looks like a CRF. He annoys me a lot with 4 gear wide open runs up and down the street. I actually saw him come up behind a car, use a driveway to get on the side walk and pass the car.... on the side walk. Cars routinely speed down my street. He has a ill fitting dirt helmet with no visor and usually in shorts and flip flops. He is maybe 10 or so. A vacant field he can ride in on the other side of his house. I talked to him many times about speeding on the road and not riding on the sidewalk. Talked to his mother as well. Also mentioned that if he is going to ride please get him some proper gear or at least make her were boots and pants. They really don't get it. He says the field is "too bumpy". One day he is gonna wad that little bike up or get hit by some car he darts out in front of. I've not called the cops because I really don't want to be "that guy". I'm not one who should be throwing any kind of stones.

I do warm my bikes up to shake out all water out of little spots after washing (dirt bikes). Ride around to test something, but I keep it sane and tame. I don't like pissing off my neighbors and the HOA has rules. Not good place to test close remotely close to here and I hate driving 2 hrs each way to ride to find out I have an issue and use my riding time to work on my bike.

People who do such things already know their behavior is illegal and inappropriate. No sense trying to educate those types, they simply refuse to "learn".

Get a video, email to local politicians, let them sic the cops on the perps. The government that claims to protect probably won't, so next step is to take the video to a meeting where citizens address their politicians and pretend to try not to embarrass the politicians for their failures. Would not hurt to keep a list when the bikes ride the sidewalk, direction of travel, speed, etc. For some reason politicians don't like documentation they aren't doing their jobs. Next step is call the local TV station because they love to misrepresent documentation to embarrass politicians. Somewhere along the way expect the Sidewalk Terrorists Biker Club to find out who you are, causing them trouble, and expect eggs and stabbed tries and maybe some hate crime graffiti. That's pretty much how the system works.

Or, just step out from behind a parked car and accidentally drop a shovel handle through the spokes since the passing motorcycle startled you so badly.

ok, I will play the bad guy.

40# test fishing line between trees will fix the problem.

Decapitation would definitely serve as a deterrent.

Steve McQueen did it, must be ok.