Originally Posted by
genec
Well of course they are.... there are curbs, lines and signs that all indicate to motorists where they should be properly placed on the road... where as MUPs rarely even have lines, much less signs... and even more rare are curbs. Motorists are even guided by signs telling them that there are signs ahead (stop ahead) and by signs telling them rules they should know (Turning traffic must yield to crossing pedestrians). There are even guidance signs for motorists telling them to keep to the right of center islands...
MUPs on the other hand tend to not be marked or divided, rarely have speed limits and certainly do not tell the users things like "stop ahead," or even have stop signs. So is it any wonder that MUP users seem so "undisciplined?"
R.I. has bike paths, not MUP's. There are stop signs at road crossings, lane striping, signs on the ground showing lane usage for bikes and walkers, even traffic lights at major road crossings. Some places have fences and a gravel path parrallel to the bike path for horses.
It does not really matter to most people. The local motorists are so used to bikes flying through stop signs that they stop and let them go. It's the only safe way to handle it.