The Sunday June 1 Washington Post Metro section featured an article saying that the Maryland National Park and Planning Commission is now establishing a speed limit of 15 MPH on some sections of the Capital Crescent Trail. Sorry, I can't provide a link to the article; it did not seem to be available on the Post's website or on the web earlier today.
I know from the article and my own observation that many of my fellow cyclists do not and will not take kindly to this new regulation. However, I do think it's needed, and I hope people will obey it and police patrols will enforce it. In the late afternoon and on weekends all day, the trail is crowded not only with cyclists but also with runners, walkers, and people pushing strollers. I have seen more close calls than I can possibly count on the trail. The near accidents all result from bicyclists going too fast for conditions--usually the crowding is the hazardous condition, not the weather. In particular, I have had some scary experiences when passing a slower cyclist or a couple walking together with other cyclists passing me at the same time--this on a 10 foot wide paved trail.
We can all enjoy the trail if we just take simple precautions, so I ask my fellow cyclists to slow down and enjoy the ride and not pass until the left hand lane is clear; that's no different from what you do as a matter of course when driving on a two lane road. However, you walkers and runners pay close attention and stay well to the right of the centerline.
More generally, as I state in my paper, "Recreational Trails in Our Sports and Fitness Present and Future", I believe that the trail user population, especially in urban areas, will increase faster than trail capacity, so there will have to be more regulation and more policing of trails. If not, there will be a growing number of accidents, many serious, that will deter people from using trails and the nation's overall fitness and health will suffer.
PS in regard to Saturday's post, on the Save the Trail event, Pam Browning wanted me to note that people from many communities helped in organizing the event. She said about 400 people attended.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment