Vancouver

I have a nice bell on my bike but I don't actually use it all that much. I've had a lot more success with a "Passing on your left/right!" followed by a "thank you!" as I pass. Most of my bell use is to loudly ding it at cars that are parked illegally in bike lanes or drivers that nearly hit me/cut me off.

Bell ringing does get attention but it also gives off the same vibe as a car honking its horn. Also basically all shared pathways here require cyclists to yield to pedestrians so there is no reason why a bike should need to ding a bell to tell pedestrians to get out of its way.

The real issue, which this wouldn't fix, are cyclists that do 25-35km/h+ on busy shared pathways. I'm a cyclist at heart, but blowing past a hiking family on a trail at 20km/h is a dangerous dick move. I've had bike handlebars brush my sleeves as they zoom past; a single step to the left (to avoid debris on the path or just losing my balance) and I would've been hit and been in for a trip to the hospital with serious injuries.