Improving Multi Use Bike Paths

[Carm]

I live in an high traffic area where there are a lot of scenic multi use bike paths. The paths are a great alternative if you want to avoid cars or the hilly streets. But riding these paths can be a maddening experience because you often encounter people who take up the entire path.

On my last ride I encountered three moms who took up the entire lane pushing their baby strollers. I called my city's Parks department and asked them what could be done about the situation. We discussed remedy's such as painting a yellow line down the middle of the path or educating users of the path. They seemed aware of the situation and agreeable to doing something about it but I need to submit some ideas to them in writing.

I'm wondering if anyone lives in an area where your multi use bike paths have a yellow line and it helped remedy the problems mentioned above? Does anyone have examples of where educational signs have helped? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help. Carmen

[jobob]

Good luck. Paved paths are tricky, people are sometimes unobservant or downright oblivious.

I've found that calling out in a loud yet cheerful voice something along the lines of "hi, good morning, mind if I pass you?" well before I reach them works about 95% of the time. The other 5% of the time I have to call out again, and again, and slow down to a crawl and roll around them, with my jaw clamped in a grimace disguised as a smile. But that doesn't happen very often.

As far as I can tell, there's not much you can do about that small proportion of the Walking Clueless, and the reality is when you're on a multi-use path you have to accept the fact that you are going to have to slow down early and often. That's why I pretty much always prefer the road to bike paths.

- Jo.

[sydney_b]

Here in Lincoln we have nice wide paths with dashed yellow lines and people are very good about staying on their side and knowing which way to move when they hear my bike bell. I highly recommend it as it leverages behavior fully ingrained from driving cars.

Rollerbladers with headphones weaving between the lines is still a problem in the warm afternoons of summer. But, I usually avoid them by taking less convenient trails or times.

[bikerHen]

My little chick got me a bike bell for Christmas. We rode our local paved trail on New Years Day and folks just loved it when I ka-chinged my bell before we passed. Last summer, DH and I found that if we got out and rode earlier in the day we would be finished before the families and the strollers hit the trail. Our trail does have painted lines, but only on sharp and blind curves. Most, but not all, seem to get the concept. BikerHen

[BikeMomma]

Ok, Cindysue, help me here....on the count of three..planners caps ON...1, 2, 3....!

Carm, here's a few links for ya:
http://www.rockvillemd.gov/masterpla...signstand.html You'll need to scroll a loooong way down to "Bike Paths", where it discusses design of multi-use paths. There's even a section diagram (Figure 4.13) that your city can perhaps adopt as its standard design.

Another: http://www.transportation.org/?siteid=59&pageid=761

Bingo! http://www.bicyclinginfo.org/de/shared.htm

I notice that most of the sites I pulled up in my search referred to the AASHTO Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities, looks like the document is a little over $80 (from AASHTO's website), which your city may want to consider purchasing.

Hopefully this will get you started on the right path...pun intended! (sorry couldn't resist) Myself a city employee, I'm pleased that your city seems willing to take your concerns seriously.

Good luck!
~BikeMomma

[Selkie]

This is a topic near and dear to my heart.

We have yellow lines on our paths. While it probably helps somewhat, you're still going to get "trail hogs." There are people who insist on walking/running two or three abreast, usually yapping away and can't hear you when you warn them that you are passing on the left. We also have the same stoller obstacles, and regardless of the line dividing the trail, I've seen two double-wide stollers walking side by side and refusing to yeild.

The worst are the IPOD wearers because most of them can't hear you.

I always warn folks that I'm passing on the left and I thank them as I go by. I've found that being very polite works best. I tell people who refuse to yeild that I can't see around them and that I'm going to have to stay behind them until I can safely pass. Sometimes, they are just oblivious and will move over. Then again, I've encountered hostile folks (weirdly enough, most are females) who refuse to move to the right. I just try to remember to do like Mr. T and "pity the fools," not get upset, and just figure that they are helping me build my biking skills by providing "challenges." haha.

One thing to keep in mind is speed. I don't believe in hammering on shared use trails unless I have a long stretch of clear pavement. If I'm coming up on someone and I'm going fast, I usually tell them, "passing on your left and I'm coming fast." I've encountered countless rude cyclists who, no doubt, have made others using the trails less friendly to cyclists in general

[DeniseGoldberg]

I think that you gals have a lot of guts to ride on multi-use or bike paths. In my experience - most of my experience that is - they feel much more dangerous than riding on the road. I might consider using a bike path if it is an extremely low-use path, but when there are bikes, walkers, roller-bladers, people of all ages ignoring any semblance of common sense and courtesy, let alone following the rules of the road - well, I'd rather not be there at all.

Good luck on your project to improve the use of the paths!

--- Denise

[Nanci]

Wow, I can't believe you guys run into people who _won't_ move after they know you want to pass...I think the biggest "danger" are the parents with a flock of very small wobbly children on bikes. It's like riding through a flock of skittery sheep which don't know which way to go!

Nanci

[Crankin]

I would never ride on a bike path, especially a multi use one. There are just too many opportunities for accidents. One of the rides I do crosses a heavily used path on the road. There are zillions of little kids and people walking slowly. The only time I have been on a path is early in the morning (6AM) and on Cape Cod in the off-season.
Recently, I have had problems with walkers (with dogs) walking 3 or more abreast on the road. While, this has been in the car, I think it would be scarier on a bike. They refuse to move over and when I lightly blew my horn, they ran all over the street, like I was going to hit them. It's like they "own" the road when they refuse to walk single file. I know there's cyclists who refuse to ride in a single line and they always get bad publicity around here. I understand how motorists feel because of these ladies who think they can just take up the whole road.

Robyn

[Eden]

Yeah - I have to agree with most of the people here. Unless you go out in bad weather when no one else is on them, multi use paths are asking for trouble if you want to go at more than a walking pace. Walkers and especially baby strollers two and three abreast often blissfully ignore the others on the trail and then totally freak if you even pass them at a creep. We have a fair amount of trail ettiquete education and sometimes even striped lanes, but it makes little difference. We even have one trail and a part of another that has completely separated walking and wheeled trails and walkers still insist on taking up the bike path.
And of course to add to it you have to watch out for other bicyclists who are being bone headed as well. The only time I've ever gone down and gotten road rash was on a trail - it was actually caused by another bicycle - the trail was coming to a T-type intersection - dumb dude decided to cut off the corner and came around on the wrong side of the trail. Hubby had to slam on his brakes to not hit him and I close behind touched his wheel and went over over. I also heard about a bad bike-bike accident out here last year. Some poor woman broke both wrists when she was hit head on by an earphone wearing cyclist riding on the wrong side of the trail.

[Jo-n-NY]

Thank you BikeMomma for those links of great info. It is perfect timing as I am trying to put together a letter to a couple of politicians here on Long Island about Road Bike Safety and maybe having a "bike path" at the most maybe extend it to roller bladers, built from Jones Beach to Robert Moses Causeway. I don't know if any of you are familiar with this area on Long Island. This would be flat and I can't say how many miles, but it is long I know that much. But it should not be meant for walkers or walking dogs.

I have begun to feel that no place is safe, road or path. My girlfriend has found that actually riding on the service road of the Long Island Expressway was pretty good. More people will drive on the actual expressway than the service road. This I will try riding when I take a day off in spring time.

The path mentioned above I think would be a great idea because forget about putting bike lanes on long island even shoulders for that matter. There is just too much traffic no matter where you go any time of the day. I know what you mean about people walking on paths and not getting out of the way. I ran into 3 ladies walking abreast and when they heard me for the third time, they just looked at me and did not budge. grrrrrrrrr

Anyway, like you, Carm, I feel the need to do something.

Again, thanks for the links, the info is great to include with my letter.

~ JoAnn

[Carm]

Thank you for all of the comments and great information posted so far. As a result of riding the bike path, I've learned to say "on your left" in 5 different languages.

Sidney_b, is that Lincoln, NE? I need to point my city to another city who has had success with yellow lines.

BikeMomma, thanks for the informative links! BTW, I'm a county employee.

I could be 100% wrong - but I remember reading somewhere that multi use paths were built as a response to receiving money from the Federal government to increase the use of bicycles. The recipients of this money had several options on how to spend it which included widening the street and adding bike lanes. The bike paths were built instead because they were more cost effective than rebuilding the roads. Somewhere along the line, the paths became multi-use.

I'm verifying this information where I live through my city government and bike club advocate and if true will be the basis for my argument on making improvements so that the paths are made more suitable for their original use.
I'll let you guys know what I find out!

Carmen

[MomOnBike]

Yes, Sydney_b was talking about Lincoln, NE. She beat me to the comments.

The striped paths are referred to on the official trail map (checking) as "All weather commuter trails." One in particular has a parallel walking trail that I see many of the slower folk, people with dogs and/or kids on, but honestly, not as often as I'd like.

The "highway markings" are mostly successful, as people are used to the dashed yellow lines on the highway. It is not fool-proof, however, and there are many fools.

As a practicle matter, I have found that my bike bell clears the way better than my voice, though I speak, too, and then thank the passee for moving over. In situations (small kids, clueless adults) where I'm passing on the "wrong" side I say "Coming through!" For people who are directionally challenged (me!) it's more reliable.

Another factor that may make our trails civilized is that we have quite a few, all over town. This spreads the use, and the general knowledge of trail ettiquite is reasonably high.

[susiej]

Recently, I have had problems with walkers (with dogs) walking 3 or more abreast on the road. While, this has been in the car, I think it would be scarier on a bike. They refuse to move over and when I lightly blew my horn, they ran all over the street, like I was going to hit them. It's like they "own" the road when they refuse to walk single file. I know there's cyclists who refuse to ride in a single line and they always get bad publicity around here. I understand how motorists feel because of these ladies who think they can just take up the whole road.

Robyn

I've seen people walking or jogging alone in the street with a perfectly clear sidewalk not three feet from them! These are residential streets but often with lots of traffic and either no shoulder or a shoulder of parked cars. Once was a few days post-blizzard, with the snow turning to muck in the street, but the sidewalk (for the few yards that I could see, granted) was shoveled and salted.

Makes me cranky and convinced I wasn't meant to live on the same planet with other people.

SJ

[Nanci]

The reason people run on the street with a perfectly good sidewalk three feet away is the diference in surface. If you aren't a runner, both seem like they would be hard, but the asphalt is super-soft compared to the sidewalk, and you can _really_ feel a huge difference. Not to mention the cracks! I had my absolute worst fall ever on a sidewalk, even counting the several times I've gone head-over-heels on a trail. Probably at a walking pace, it wouldn't matter as much.

Really better and easier on your body to stick to (dirt) trails, though.

The paved bike trails in Florida are nice and wide- rails to trails, usually plenty of room for everyone. Lucky, I guess.

Nanci