Speak Out: Bike Safety on the Trails
Following the tragic death of a pedestrian on Four Mile Run Trail, Patch readers are speaking about bike safety.
In his weekly biking column, Patch contributer Mark Blacknell revisited this recent tradegy:
On Monday morning, Ita Lapina was out for a walk on Four Mile Run Trail. According to the police, a cyclist travelling in the same direction rang his bell and called out “to your left!” as he attempted to pass. Lapina stepped to the left as she turned towards the cyclist, who struck her. She fell, hitting her head on the trail. She succumbed to her injuries Monday evening.
Blacknell also discussed bike safety, the importance of sharing the trails among walkers, runners and cyclists and some common rules of the road - some of his suggestions are as easy as installing a bike bell.
As always, the topic of bike safety set off a heated debate on Patch.
Michael Doan wrote, "Good advice. If you see a very old or very young pedestrian, slow to a crawl. And the bell is a good warning (though mine keep breaking.) What a tragic accident."
Biking Yogini said, "Many pedestrians on the trail don't understand that when a bicyclist says passing on your left they should move to the right. I signaled my intent to pass on the left when a man pushing a baby stroller instead veered in front of me on the Custis Trail. Instead of hitting him I slammed on my brakes and ended up breaking my pelvis in a bad crash."
Sarah Richards said bells are only part of the solution. "As a cyclist and a walker, the biggest problem with bells is that most people who use them rely on the bell as their only method of communication and forget how to use their words. A bell doesn't actually communicate anything about your intent; it simply communicates your presence. I don't have one on any of my bikes, though I suppose I should consider it. But I always call out my intent when approaching other trail users from behind. And when necessary, I slow to a crawl and await an opportunity to pass."
You can read more of the comments here.
Now, it's your turn.
Speak Out: How can Arlington make its trails safer for everyone who wants to use them? Let us know in the comments sections.
A.B.
7:38 am on Sunday, June 17, 2012
How about a speed limit on trails? Also enforcement of trail STOP signs?
Barry
7:25 pm on Sunday, June 17, 2012
Put speed limits on trails, as soon as possible.
Clarence
7:33 pm on Sunday, June 17, 2012
Bike riders have an obligation to obey traffic signals. I almost NEVER see this occuring. IF Arlington wants to be a bike friendly place, than bikers need to step up and do the right thing. More pedestrians (and bikers) are like to be killed if this isn't addressed - and Arlington Co police need to do there part and ticket bikers who fail to obey traffic signals, just like cars --and I'll add pedestrians jay-walking to the list.
Peter
8:56 am on Monday, June 18, 2012
Arlington is becoming a place where people can live their fantasies (e.g., participating in the Tour de France) without suffering the consequences.
Robert White
10:47 am on Monday, June 18, 2012
"on your left" is, I believe is a term understood by some bicyclists, but I think it is more obscure to the casual pedestrian or biker.
My family & I are frequent walkers on Arlington's bikepaths and I can't remember how many times a silent but speedy bike has rolled up behind us and startled.
Bike pathways are experiencing increased traffic from pedestrians and bikers....so today's problems will only get worse.
Recommendations: 1. Advertise/teach "share the road/bikepath" (use signage?), 2. Advertise/ teach rules of the road when on a bike path, 3. set speed limits on paths and enforce with Arlington's bike officers patrolling.
Mark Blacknell
12:09 pm on Monday, June 18, 2012
Hi, all. Just a few points:
1) They're not bike paths. Some call them Multi-User Trails, others Multi-User Paths. But they've always been meant for everyone traveling under their own power.
2) Speed limits aren't a practical solution to the problem. First, the safe speed for any given part of the trail can change very very quickly. Second, you have little to no hope/means of real enforcement (see, for example, other area trails that *do* have a speed limit - they still face the same challenges as those without). The resources devoted to trying to come up with a speed limit solution are probably better aimed at education and policing reckless behavior.
3) Clarence, I agree that cyclists have an obligation to obey traffic signals, and I teach as much in my bike safety classes. I'm not sure that focusing on that, over everything else, is going to actually improve safety. But it seems to be the very first thing that gets raised in these sorts of discussions, without an ounce of attention paid to the fact that the very same charge could (even more appropriately) be leveled a motorists. I'd prefer to focus on what actually keeps people safe.
4) Robert, you bring up a tricky issue, with respect to calling out passes. Over the years, I've taken the full range of approaches, from silence to clanging bells. Everyone seems to want something different. I've settled on bells, but even those upset some trail users.
Allen Muchnick
1:56 pm on Monday, June 18, 2012
In this tragic fatality, the bicyclist was riding a cheap (<$100) discount store "bike" down a very steep hill. In all likelihood, he was not a very skilled bicyclist. Did the police investigation of this crash verify whether the bicyclist had functional and properly adjusted front and rear brakes and knew how to use them?
CSG
3:33 pm on Monday, June 18, 2012
Speed Limit signs will slow down the racers and others who use the trails inappropriately. Promoting 'free range' bicycling should be a Patch terms of service violation. We are tired of hearing 'we can't / won't do it because...' from the leaders of the bicyclist community.
Mark Blacknell
9:48 pm on Monday, June 18, 2012
CSG/A.B./Jim - if you had an ounce of shame (or honesty, really), you'd not get near the idea of calling out someone as violating a Terms of Service agreement. Seriously, own up, shut up, or keep your multiple personality issues to your own blog.
Peter
2:05 am on Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Bicycle Community is shameless. Does what it pleases no matter what the consequences. Bicyclists zoom around pedestrians on trails. Ignore traffic lights and stop signs. Trash mouth Arlington adults who call them on their bad behavior Speed limit signs are there to slow vehicles down. I'm all for installing them on trails ASAP.
R Robinson
6:25 pm on Monday, July 16, 2012
I am a mountain biker, but when using a multi-use trail, I think it is our responsibility to slow down for horses, walkers, runners, etc. We are the ones moving fast and seeing what is coming up ahead of us, it just makes sense. This may not be a popular opinion among cyclists, but it's the responsible way to deal with multi-use trails. If you want to fly down the path or trail, then go find one that isn't full of pedestrians. That's what we do.