Leashes, Dogs and elderly Ladies on the Trails

[velo]

I use the MUP only to get to the road I ride out. It's about 2 miles of path that I use and it's ridiculous, the things I see on the trail. The trail goes through a subdivision, it's literally in the back yard of hundreds of people with young children who dart on and off the path. Most often, I see groups of two or three people (usually women friends walking in the mornings) who string across the path and give no room for people to pass. I just go slow, call out "on your left", thank them and don't say anything else, usually.

The one time I did say something was at the bottom of a steep hill on a sharp curve where there was a group of women just standing all across the path, talking - no room whatsoever to go around them. I was going up the hill, not down, thankfully. I said something like, "Cyclists, rollerbladers and skaters come down this hill and can't see anyone in this spot. Perhaps if you need to stop and spread out, doing so to the side of the trail would be safer for everyone." Boy did I get told off. It's the cyclists' responsibility to not run into them, yadda, yadda, yadda. I tried explaining that even if a bike is going slow, they can't been seen and it's a hazard, but they didn't want to hear it.

I really wish people would get fined for improper use of the trails. Then again, I've had my doors blown off by jerk cyclists going 20mph on the trails with no regard whatsoever for other people. So, I guess it goes both ways - inconsiderate walkers/dog owners/parents and inconsiderate cyclists. How hard is it to just think of others?

[Deborajen]

For multi-use paths to work, people have to share and be respectful of others. Unfortunately, that's asking an awful lot of some people.

I use our trails regularly. Ours are labeled with signs that say "Bike Path." However, city laws, if you look them up, say that they're for use by bicycles and pedestrians, dogs are allowed, and there is a 10 mph speed limit unless otherwise designated. Our city also has a leash law, but a lot of people think it doesn't apply to them "as long as" (insert excuse here). I use the trails for bicycling, running and walking my dog. It seems pretty obvious to me that with others on the trail, you have to be mindful of their going faster or slower, etc. and work around it, and that a little courtesy (ie., sometimes stepping to the side, or completely off of the path to allow room for others) makes it more pleasant for everyone.

But there are a lot of self-centered jerks who only think about what they get out of it. "Bikes are supposed to yield to pedestrians" (so my kids and I can block the whole path), or bikes that blow past from behind without giving any warning, and runners that wear their stupid earbuds which block out all (or some) of what's going on around them (the "one-budd'ers" think it's o.k. to just shut out "some" - ).

I'd rather use the path because "sharing" the road with cars is a lot more intimidating. If only it were possible to fix stupid -

[Kernyl]

Riding on a bike path is really no different than riding on the road in the sense that you still have to be aware of your surroundings. Just like in the road, you can't assume that anyone is watching out for you, you have to watch for yourself. People's unwillingness/ignorance to "share the path" is no different than people's unwillingness/ignorance to sharing the road. The difference now is that you are the fast traffic, not the cars. That said, the bike path is no place for a cyclist to "train". Consider it a recreational ride and enjoy the scenery.