Yes, that's sadly cycling in America: one's only choice is to either play tag with the skaters and dog walkers on the MUP or kamakazi in heavy traffic. If only we had millions of miles of quiet neighborhood streets....

Actually, the industry learned in the 1930s that the building of a local "bike" trail caused an uptick in local bike sales. It doesn't matter to the industry if the path is actually a good place to ride any more than it matters to industry if a Costing bike is actually a good bike for the customers - never mind the steak, it's the sizzle that sells. Coasting buzz will get non-riders in an LBS in ways that a KHS Green or Breezeer Freedom never could; a new multi-million dollar path will do the same in ways a $300 cross light switch won't either.

TCS