freefallkev

*This thread has no value other than me blowing off steam to some folks who may sympathize*

So, the one bike trail in town (Cape Fear River Trail) is worthless. It's a 4 mile stretch that runs from my neighborhood to a soccer field. It doesn't connect to anything else. the pretty trees shed leaves and make every curve a hazard. oh, and those curves are all blind, can't see where you're coming out or if there's anyone on the path ahead - I almost plowed into a kid on a tricycle. the path is too narrow to facilitate some types of two way traffic, i.e. bicycle and dog walkers - I almost ran over a shih tzu. the only redeeming value is the hills, some are a pretty good climb, and the ladies from Methodist U who like to jog the trail.

Are other trails this bad, or has Fayetteville just failed again?

lil brown bat

You're new to the commuting forum, aren't you?

In the US, the typical "bike" path is viewed as part of a town's recreational rather than transportational infrastructure. The typical "bike" path characteristics result from that. Think about it.

unterhausen

there is a residential road near me where they built a bike path/sidewalk next to it. This road must be almost 40' wide, two lanes. So the need for a bike path simply isn't there. And it puts you in harms way every block, so I just ride in the road beside it. I was trying to figure out why they built this thing, and then I saw a couple of recreational cyclists riding on it. They were going at approximately walking pace. Now it makes a lot more sense.

lonesomesteve

This reminds me of an article on Ken Kifer's site titled The Interstate Designed Like a Bikeway. Almost to true to be funny.

I'm lucky to live in an area that has a number of MUTs that are actually a very useful part of the bike transportation infrastructure. About half of my daily commute is on one of the trails. During commute time, that trail is like a crowded interstate with a constant stream of bikers and walkers.

freefallkev

though satirical, this describes the CFRT with spooky accuracy.


Thanks for the laugh though!

CliftonGK1

The Sammamish River Trail and Burke-Gilman Trail are mostly nice, if not a bit crowded.

Sure, there are leaves on much of the trail in the fall... but there also aren't many tight turns to make. It's a fairly straight shot trail with the exception of a section in Bothell and the bridge in Redmond where the trail splits for the park or the mall.
There are some root-heaved sections from Bothell through LFP.
There are lots of peds during the nice weather.

However, it's a reasonably well maintained thoroughfare connecting the east and west sides of the lake without having to hop a bus at the 520, or take the extra mileage down to the I-90 bike crossing. Does it have its flaws? Yes. Am I going to complain after seeing how bad some other MUPs are designed? Heck no. We've actually got it pretty good up here.