Originally Posted by
CB HI
Here we go again, whine, whine, whine "Your giving the rest of us a bad name." BS .
Guess what guys, it is likely that the trail (MUP) was built with 80-85% of the funding coming from the Federal Department of Transportation FDOT under the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (Public Law 102-240; ISTEA) or one of the many reauthorization acts. Whoever requested that funding for your MUP, had to certify that a primary use of the trail was for transportation purposes. Now that the MUP was funded and built mostly for transportation, you guys decide to whine about cyclist using the MUP at transportation speeds.
If you guys want a MUP exclusively for recreation with only walking/jogging speeds of under 10 mph, go get your local funding for that purpose, and stop lying to FDOT about the purpose of your MUP.
I think you are seriously missing the point. Come over and ride some of our trails here with us -- there is a mix of walkers, dog-walkers, kids in strollers, slow cyclists, and medium-fast cyclists. Then, you add to that mix 10 or 12 guys in full racing kit doing a paceline, or a double paceline, barrelling through at 25 mph, and you have real danger on your hands. One of the trails I frequent -- it's actually a bikeway on the bridge over Lake Washington -- is wide enough for two cyclists to pass each other in the opposite direction, maybe 3 if everyone is going slow. But I've been faced with a racing team coming at me riding two abreast; I've had to actually slow down and stop and pull way over to the right when they approach to make sure I didn't get knocked over.
I don't think it matters who paid for the MUP. Riding at excess speed on a crowded MUP isn't safe.