We bicyclists like to portray ourselves as an oppressed class. Cars assault cyclists, trucks run them over, hooligans throw insults or worse — things that most motorists would not think of doing at another motorized vehicle driving by. Sadly, all that is true.

Compared to cars and trucks, bikes are less powerful, less armored, less stable… bikes are less-than motor vehicles on several dimensions of mobility.

But occupying a less-than status is not a license to kick down. The principle here is our collective responsibility to protect and support those with lower mobility. For cyclists, that means watching out for people who are less mobile, especially pedestrians and most especially, those who have difficulty walking.

Thankfully, in the past 30 years, the Americans with Disabilities Act has required businesses to put in more ramps, railings and other forms of assistance. I doubt anybody wants to go back to the good-ol days when people with trouble walking were limited in where they could go, and at worst were essentially trapped in their homes — could not go anywhere, unless someone carried them up and down stairs.

A major change has been in the addition of ramps and railings. Bt these new facilities were not put there to serve as our bike racks of convenience, for “however a short period of time” we’re going to be inside.

Hey, biker! That railing is not for our convenience. It’s for someone else’s survival in a challenging up-and-down world.

I know full well that there are multiple issues involved in vehicle parking, and I’ll take those up in the future. But for now, free-and-clear railings, unobstructed walkways — those are the areas we need to be protecting, not abusing.