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Notes -
Why limit ourselves to roads or sidewalks, nothing in-between? Bike lanes/cycle tracks are that in-between, suitable for bicycles or low powered electric vehicles (scooters, e-bikes, etc). Sure, sometimes they're not suitable or worth the expense, but in many situations, like dense urban cores where motorized vehicular traffic already moves very slowly, and sidewalks are congested, having some space dedicated for bicycles works out great.
I think having something in between would be good. There are still some determinations that need to be made.
Are you gonna take street space or sidewalk space to make the in-between area?
What kind of general rules are they going to follow when they cross or interact with the streets or sidewalks?
I think they should generally be place in the sidewalk side of things, because the capabilities of these light vehicles is closer to pedestrians than it is to cars and trucks.
It is certainly going to be slower for the cyclists, scooters, e-bikes etc. But in a crowded city I don't see why anyone gets the right to complain they can't go as fast as they'd like. If they are currently getting in a lot of collisions at speeds that cause injuries to them, then that suggests slowing them down would have safety benefits.
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