Cycling in Waterloo Region

[Markster]

It seems like pedestrians think you're riding illegally on the sidewalk, drivers don't look for cyclists at intersections, and even lots of cyclists don't seem to know it's a MUT and ride on Caroline or the LRT tracks instead.
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In contrast the MUT at King/Weber has signs every 10 feet saying "Shared Pathway" and "Cyclists Yield to Pedestrians".

This is why I hate the outright ban on bicycles on the sidewalk.

There are many sidewalks out there that could easily serve as de facto MUTs, but there is no way to legitimately "share" it with pedestrians.  If I'm riding on the sidewalk because the road would try to kill me, there is no way to interact with a pedestrian that is not "evil cyclist hauranging poor pedestrian". I yield to pedestrians, but I feel like I can't initiate a polite interaction, like ringing my bell, because it will be interpreted as me demanding they get out of my way (kind of like if a car honks at bike on the road).