I've been friends for thirty years with the traffic engineer who designed our county's MUP, a.k.a. the Road to Nowhere. Now, Royce isn't a cyclist, but he's a pretty bright guy and knows his job. I asked him why the sightlines were so poor on our path, why it starts and stops with long gaps between sections, why the stop signs aren't on the intersecting streets, and why, oh why, was there a bright red fire hydrant in the MIDDLE of the MUP... at the bottom of a steep-ish hill? I can average about 18mph if I stay on the roadway along that stretch, but struggle to keep 14mph on the MUP.
He knows me, knows how I get my kicks. He told me that the MUP wasn't designed for me. It was designed for 2 - 3mph walkers, 5mph joggers, and 8mph cyclists.
So there. I don't use the MUP 'cause I'm too fast for it. Same reason I don't rollerblade in my living room.
I do jump onto it sometimes, when the motor traffic reaches critical levels. Hey, my tax money helped pay for the thing, I can use it... or not... as I see fit. Ain't America grand?