SAN JOSE — Bicyclists will be kicked off the sidewalk in downtown San Jose, but only on a few streets — a partial victory for seniors and other pedestrians who are scared of being hit by cyclists.

The San Jose City Council’s unanimous vote on Tuesday evening, however, angered many downtown cyclists who will be forced onto the street, increasing their risk of being hit and potentially seriously injured or killed by vehicles.

After a year and a half of debate at City Hall and initial proposals to ticket sidewalk bicyclists on all downtown streets, the council instead decided to ban sidewalk bicycle riding on a few dozen blocks that largely have bike lanes. That includes the downtown stretches of San Fernando, First, Second, Third and Fourth streets, with Santa Clara Street included as early as 2016, after heavy construction there ends. Exemptions would apply for kids 12 and younger and their guardians, cops and situations when bike lanes are blocked.

It’s a common misconception that sidewalk bicycling is always illegal, though several other California cities — including San Francisco and Oakland — have outlawed it, and some cities such as San Diego and Palo Alto prohibit it in business zones.

The San Jose council, which heard dozens of public comments by opposing cyclists and seniors at the meeting, struggled to balance the safety needs of both groups.

Cyclists, including San Jose State students and downtown commuters, say even streets with bike lanes can be dangerous. Downtown has had hundreds of vehicle-vs.-bicyclist collisions in the last few years even as bike lanes have become more commonplace, prompting about a quarter of bike riders to choose the sidewalk over bike lanes. Every year, a few cyclists are hit and killed by vehicles in San Jose.

Despite the council’s move, pedestrians fear the rules won’t be enforced by the short-staffed Police Department, or understood by bicyclists who will now be able to ride on the sidewalk during some parts of their journey but not others. Pedestrians have reported an increasing number of collisions and near-hits by cyclists on the sidewalk, including a few that resulted in serious injuries, and one senior walking on the San Jose State campus this year was killed after being hit by a bicycle rider.

Contact Mike Rosenberg at 408-920-5705. Follow him at Twitter.com/rosenbergmerc.