🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1994Jun23.094909.10808@guvax>,
<rileyd@guvax.acc.georgetown.edu> wrote:
> I have noticed that cyclists often use the road surface on MacArthur
> Blvd in places where there is a bike trail immediately adjacent to
> the road.

> I don't know why some cyclists prefer the road when the bike trail is
> also available.  I hope some cyclists could help me understand this
> choice.  I understand and support the right of cyclists to use the
> road--I just don't know why the road is perceived as better in this
> case.

I'm not familiar with MacArthur Boulevard or the adjacent bike trail,
as I've always lived, worked, and shopped on the Virginia side of the
Potomac.  But I'm familiar with a number of bike trails, and I can
make a good guess as to why cyclists would prefer the road, so I'll
answer since nobody else has.

Bike trails are seldom used just by cyclists.  There are also
pedestrians and rollerbladers.  Joggers often wear headphones, and
suddenly spin around and head back the way they came without looking
or giving a signal.  Rollerbladers also often wear headphones, and
generally travel rapidly from side to side rather than in a straight
line, thus blocking the whole trail.  Pedestians often walk in groups,
also blocking the whole trail.  Dogs are frequently walked without a
leash, or with a very long leash, and dogs, unlike cats and squirrels,
have no tendency to avoid bikes.  The only way to pass any of these
safely is to slow to a walking pace.

Pavement on bike trails is often poorly maintained, with lumps and
cracks from tree roots and other irregularities which can make a
mountain bike ride slow and uncomfortable, and can literally destroy
a street bike.  Sand, gravel, mud, branches, broken glass, dog doo,
and other debris tend to accumulate and is seldom if ever removed.

In the winter, there is often snow and ice on the trail, and it is
unlikely to ever be plowed, or even sanded or salted.  In fact, snow
is often plowed off the road onto the trail.

If there are houses adjacent to the trail, garbage pails are likely to
be left directly on the trail for pickup.

There are sometimes low branches that can knock someone off their bike,
or that can put an eye out.

If a cyclist's origin or destination is on the opposite side of the road
from the trail, they have to find a way to merge into or off of the
trail, through the road traffic.  With most bike trails I've seen, this
is difficult.

Motorists often park directly across a trail where it crosses streets
or driveways.

But the worst hazard of bike trails is that motorists don't check
for traffic there.  Whenever there's an intersection or a driveway,
motorists either pull across the trail, blocking it, or worse yet,
cross right through the trail's right-of-way at full speed without
looking.  It's difficult to ride even one mile on a bike trail during
rush hour without one or two near misses which could easily have
crippled or killed me, unless I go so slow that I might as well be
walking.

What are the disadvantages of riding directly on the road?  They are
much less.  There is a the perceived risk of being hit from behind by
a motorist, but such accidents are actually extremely rare, except when
a cyclist foolishly and illegally rides after dark without lights.
Motorists look where they expect to see traffic.

And, there's the fact that cycling on the road can delay motor traffic,
which most cyclists prefer to avoid.  But if MacArthur has a wide right
lane, it can be shared between cyclists and motorists, and no motorists
should ever be delayed at all except when the motorist is turning right
or a cyclist is turning left.  If MacArthur has a narrow right lane,
hopefully motorists can use another lane to pass cyclists.

Ideally, the space used for the bike trail would instead be used to add
a lane, or widen a lane, on the road.  A lane that can be used by all
users of the road.  Enough room should also be left for a standard
sidewalk, of course.  The sidewalk would only be for pedestrians.

If you post to dc.biking, you'll be more likely to get replies from
cyclists who are familiar with that trail.
-- 
Keith Lynch, kfl@access.digex.com

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