A speed conflict is a conflict, regardless of the type of locomotion

Venice Beach 4 - Bike Trail
Originally uploaded by █ Just A Slice █▀ ▀ ▀

(Venice Beach - Bike Trail photo by Just a Slice.)

Steve Lopez, the acclaimed columnist at the Los Angeles Times, writes of problems between bicyclists and pedestrians in Santa Monica, in "On Santa Monica's beachfront bike path, an uneasy mix." I don't see why it's worth wasting the precious newspaper space, or at least he should point out the real problems:

I have no idea what the signage situation is there, but it sounds very similar to Battery Park in Lower Manhattan, or even on trails such as Mount Vernon in the DC region. As long as there are possibilities for significant speed conflicts, be they between cars and pedestrians, or cars and bicyclists, or in this case, bicyclists and pedestrians (and dogs and children), there are going to be problems.

I know when I bicycle on sidewalks I never expect to be able to ride faster than the speed of the slowest pedestrian. But I think that is an atypical attitude on the part of bicyclists.

Mixed mode traffic demands that the fastest vehicles, be they bikes or cars, slow down.