lubes17319

I guess if us cyclists don't stay off their roads, they'll just start using ours.

https://www.wtop.com/?nid=149&sid=3345932
https://www.wtop.com/149/3344461/Bicy...-on-bike-trail

howsteepisit

Come on its a DUI, has nothing to do with autos trying to take over bike paths.

ItsJustMe

Obviously, needs more bollards. It shouldn't be possible to get a car onto the trail. If it's possible to do, drunks will do it.

DX-MAN

Yo, dude, smell the sarcasm.

howsteepisit

Sorry, I totally miss any sarcasm.

Chris516

I don't know about the OP. But that trail is about an hour south of my house, and I have biked down there, to go on club rides. If there is any positive, at least she didn't take the W&OD where(via a bike/ped bridge) it goes over the interstate and then she decides to leave the bike trail while on the bridge. I am also glad, she wasn't on the trail near National Airport(it runs right by the airport), and decided to suddenly try to drive on to the airport tarmac.

B. Carfree

I guess you haven't been on the east bank path much lately. Most trips this year I have found that the cars outnumber the bikes on that bike path. (city vehicles, private maintenance vehicles, private contractors for the expanded on-ramp work, EWEB vehicles, people shortcutting over the greenway bike bridge from the mall...) Bear in mind that Oregon state law explicitly limits motor vehicles on bike paths to municipal employees performing their work; there is no provision to permit contractors or other private motor vehicles.

So, once we had bike paths. As our roadways became unpleasant for people to walk along, we have allowed our bike paths to be changed to MUPs. Currently, many are functionally off-road sidewalks (bikes must yield to pedestrians on a sidewalk; peds have no obligation to permit passing). The next change is for them to just become roads so the cycle can start again.

Sure, this drunk is considered a rarity, but next time it won't really be news since everyone will have already heard about it. Eventually, everyone will wonder why someone is upset that there are cars on the bike paths since they've "always" been there.

howsteepisit

Thats quite a slippery slope from a drunk driver on a bike path in Washington DC to a takeover of bike paths "death by a thousand cuts" in Eugene OR. You are correct, I don't ride on the East Bank path. I agree that we have lost bike paths to MUPs, and in some locals, bike lanes to joggers. But why would you expect exclusive use of the facilities since Autos and Trucks do not get to claim sole use of other roadways, interstate highways in some locals excepted?

lubes17319

Sorry, I'll make it easier this time.
Better?

howsteepisit

They say sarcasm is wasted on kids and dogs, me too I guess. No harm no foul, carry on

Roosterbird

There was recently a photo floating around of a couple driving on the W & OD. A bicyclist stopped them and told them they were on the trail and they're reply was that the GPS told them to go this way.

Matariki

The MUP's around here are protected with bollards; however they are hinged so they can be unlocked for maintenance vehicles. The problem is that a lot of the crews leave them unlocked and down. I guess they want to avoid hassling with the lock next time through. Even so, I am not aware of any issues with motorists sneaking a shortcut.

unterhausen

I'm not a big fan of bollards. I once saw someone crash into one and it looked like it hurt.

Commodus

Me too. This issue is rare enough that I would rather the offending motorist simply be ticketed severely than have thousands of cyclists have to swerve around them every week.

Consularrider

Not what the cyclists in this area want. We've just spent a lot of time getting rid of useless bollards in many places.

genec

Narrow spaces and sharp turns can keep motorists off of bike paths and tend to be safer than poles sticking up in the middle of a path.

Chris516

Was that incident, on the W&OD?

Chris516

Around here(region), there are numerous places where, a respective city, has installed a pair of 3ft.-tall metal 'stubs', to let motorists' know, not to go on the bike trail. But just like the drunk who went on the W&OD, motorists' can also be lame of to follow their GPS when it tells them to go on the bike path.