iana wrote:

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Just recently it became law that motorists must maintain a distance of at least 1 meter when passing bikes. Is there also a law that says bikes must also maintain a certain minimum distance when passing pedestrians?

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 Hello Ian

Not as far as I know

I read somewhere, some time ago, that a bicycle on a bicycle/pedestrian path, must travel below 20 KPH

As you are aware the older we get, the less hearing we have, and I personally do not hear bicycles coming behind me, when out walking on my local bicycle/pedestrian paths

I avoid going for a walk when children are going to and from school, for this reason

Iana, I agree with you in terms of the actual road rules just as this extract from The NSW Road Traffic Authority shows. The council signs are not road rules and for all I know not even enforceable, I believe that they are there as a guideline to help improve the interaction between both the pedestrians and the cyclists who use the shared pathway. I have seen some pretty heated exchanges between people who believe that they have more right to use the path than someone else. For me it is more about being courteous to others rather than than trying to make a point by not letting them pass me.  In NSW cyclists do follow the same basic road rules as motorists but along with this one there are another 5 or 6 rules that relate only to bicycle riders which you can see if you viist the RTA website.  

Shared paths

Shared paths are paths designed for pedestrian and bicycle use. Shared paths are signposted and marked so you can tell if you are meant to share the path with pedestrians. When riding on a shared path, keep to the left at all times unless it is impractical to do so, and give way to pedestrians. You should also adjust your speed to suit the environment. Use your bell or horn to signal your presence to other users of the shared path, especially when approaching pedestrians and other riders. As a bicycle rider, you must overtake on the right hand side. Be particularly careful around young children, older pedestrians and animals.

I have no idea why this reply came out in bold type and it won't let me change it.

JohnR

No disrespect intended
The question was asked about cyclist passing pedestrians, which usually means on a bicycle/pedestrian path

We all know that there have been too many cyclist killed on the road, but that was something we had not been discussing

The majority of us, never needed the one metre rule, as we always gave bicyclist a wide berth
When I am travelling on the open highway, I also slow down, as I know that my motorhome at 100 KPH, could easily blow them off the road, and cause an injury

The latest cyclist to be killed on the road, (to my knowledge), was a man named Michele Scarponi, who was a very experienced bicycle rider

The link is below

http://www.bbc.com/sport/cycling/39677856

My wife and I ride our bikes about 3 times a week on shared bikeways and roads at times. I ring the bell if passing a pedestrian at times if I am going near them. Some pathways are not wide enough to pass them at 1M. Most times they will not hear you as they are listening to music when they walk. Newer bike paths in Brisbane are better as they separate the cyclists and walkers. Pedestrains walking dogs are our biggest problem as a lot let the dog wander all over the place.

Hello Ian
To answer your question/s

are foot paths now re classified as "shared bikeways
Where I live, the (about) six kilometres of pathways I use, have always been shared bike ways
They all look the same, (made of poured concrete section, all the same width), and some have a sign of a pedestrian and cyclist

are dogs walking on a "shared bikeway" pedestrians?

That is a good question, hopefully some one will come forward and enlighten us all

I suppose that if we came across a drunken pedestrian on all fours, (on a shared bikeway), we would classify him as a bit of a dog