bornonthefourth

+1

eay

The speed limit is a Sacramento county ordinance.

You can browse and search the county code here at qcodes.

The only other ordinances in the county code "parks" section dealing with people's behavior on the trail are under "animals".

So the tap-dancing and handwaving about "educating the public" that the park officials have been doing when cyclists question them about regulating other users has its basis in the lack of ordinance for walkers and trail use in general.

This is what I could find on qcodes.

The last section is my favorite, having slid through dog turds after a wipeout.

County code: 9.36.066
6. Ride a bicycle on a designated off-street bicycle trail in excess of fifteen miles per hour, except for permitted competitive events; or in a manner which is unsafe or which may be injurious to the rider or other persons except for permitted competitive events."


9.36.061
d. Bring into, maintain or allow in or upon any park facility any dog, cat, or other animal except a horse, unless such animal at all times is kept on a leash of sufficient strength and durability that it cannot be broken by the animal so leashed, and no longer than six feet in length, and be under the full and complete physical control of its owner or custodian at all times, except that all dogs, cats or other animals shall be prohibited at all times in or upon any area, within fifteen feet of such an area, designated as a nature study area, horse trail, or bicycle trail; provided, however, the director may designate areas and times within which persons may show, demonstrate, or train unleashed animals but under full control of their owners or custodians.

and

h. Permit or suffer any animal owned by him, or in his possession, custody, or control, to defecate upon park facility property without immediately removing such animal feces, placing said feces in a sealed bag or other sealed container, and placing such bag or container with feces in a proper refuse receptacle. Persons with horses in their possession, custody, or control, at times and upon roads or trails designated for the riding of such animal, and, unsighted persons while relying on a guide dog, are exempt from the provisions of this subsection;

metalheart44

As long as the ordinance indicates "15mph" it seems there is little wiggle room --- that is what needs to change to something more like "safe for existing conditions."

eay

I think working with the county to get the ordinance changed to 20mph would be good.

metalheart44

I am in on making that effort

UmneyDurak

Well I didn't say law makers are in touch with reality either, but that's usually the case when stupid laws are being pushed on a public. Even if they will not actually benefit anyone, specially children. Just a nice bully stick to beat opposition with to pass a law "Oh he/she is against this { r e t a r d e d ** law, he/she hates the children!!!!!"

Yes, above rant is a bit tongue and chick.

bornonthefourth

Count me in, too.

I went on a short ride on the trail this morning with my husband. The rangers were at the same spot—mile 14, just east of the bridge by Geothe Park. At the time we went by, they were too busy talking to each other to be using the LiDAR.

bornonthefourth

New article: https://www.sacbee.com/2013/06/23/551...y-parkway.html

Lumsden has declined to say whom his rangers will ticket, but has indicated they likely will focus on groups of riders, or pacelines, that speed through crowded areas.

"If someone is doing 20 mph and there is no one around, it's no big deal," Lumsden said. "But when you are doing pacelines, and there are women with strollers, runners, kids, people walking dogs, that's an issue."

scrubbo

Heck, pacelines are dangerous when you're on a bike heading in the same direction! I can't imagine anybody using them on a MUP when it's not on lockdown for an event! That being said, 15 mph is a pretty tame speed on a bike, but can look pretty horrifying to a stroller. And those oblivious stroller pushers who don't think anything of taking up the whole path with a sudden 90 degree turn so their kiddo can see the ducks are pretty horrifying to a cyclist doing anything more than walking their bike. I think the biggest hazard are the inline skaters that can get up a pretty good head of steam, but only by taking up the entire path with the back and forth speed skating moves because I NEVER know where they're going to be if I'm trying to overtake them. But there are probably more cycle 'related' incidences than anything else, and it's easier to blame the cyclist for going to fast than to figure out who was actually misusing the path.

caloso

What a great picture. You've got roadies, walkers, a guy with a dog and stroller, and a recumbent trike. It really is a zoo on summer Saturday mornings.

Shimagnolo

As long as the strollers, runners, kids, and dogs, all take their pulls, I have no problem with letting them join the paceline.

B. Carfree

Something is not adding up. If the speeding cyclists are a problem for the folks who are illegally walking their dogs on/near the bike path, that problem is easily solved by citing the dog walkers for bringing their dogs where they aren't allowed.

I do fully agree with enforcing the speed limit where crowds of people, particularly children, warrant slowing down. The basic speed law exists on roadways and should apply, at least in principle, on bike paths as well. It does sound like the rangers are looking to direct their enforcement where appropriate (except for giving the dog walkers a pass).

eay

I saw no rangers today (Sunday, between 9am and 11am) except for one on trash detail. Rode between Upper Sunrise and Watt. Ran between 13 and 15mph, with one accidental foray into the low 20s. Oops.
Got passed less than in previous months. I passed about as many bikes as I have in the past.
So it seems the really really fast people are missing these days.

bornonthefourth

I was on the trail Sunday as well, from Watt to around Lake Natoma, starting at 10am. I didn't see any rangers, either. There weren't many people out, I guess the clouds scared them off. Fine with me . I kept an eye on my garmin and noticed I was usually going 17–19 on the flats. I was thinking of going out to Davis to ride, but I had a busy day and the trail is so very convenient and I decided that I wasn't going to be scared off.

I thought it interesting that Lumsden's quote in the paper was different than what he told me in an email. I do think they need to raise the limit to 20 and deal with the large groups on the trails—the training peletons and commercial running groups.

Totoboa

Does anyone still read the Sacramento Bee ?

JoelS

Nope

freighttraininguphill

I don't, but I found out about this story on Facebook. People linked to the article on several cycling groups I'm a member of. I also got a heads-up phone call from a friend I ride with. Since she is a news junkie, I got that call before the story hit Facebook.

I think I have the perfect bike to ride on this trail. I recently purchased a Novara Transfer One on clearance for $349 at REI. It's a steel-framed commuter with metal fenders (much better than those plastic ones I always break!), rack, kickstand, chainguard, 700x37c tires, and a 42x16 single speed with a coaster brake. I added a pannier, rack bag, and my lights. This bike should keep my speed down! If I rode my 42x16 Langster or my geared road bike it would take a conscious effort to go that slow, as those bikes are made to go fast.

I also bought a couple more Garmin mounts, so just to be a smartass I'll actually use my Garmin on this bike when I'm on the ARBT. I'll give the ride some silly name on Strava, and laugh at how much I suck when I can't go much faster than 15 mph. Even at higher speeds I sucked compared to most of the leaderboard. Riding my heavy low-end road bike solo, with no drafting benefit, tends to keep me waaaay down on the leaderboards

I'm also going to have my helmet-mounted GoPro camera recording continuously. There's been a bunch of sh__-talking on Facebook from people who claim they will run from the park rangers, so I'd love to capture a high-speed bike pursuit on video!

caloso

There are already a zillion Strava segments on the ARBT.

freighttraininguphill

I know that. I didn't say anything about creating a new one

eay

Saw no rangers on the trail today.
Rode from Wm Pond to Discovery, then south on the Northern Rail Trail to C Street. Came back from C street to Wm Pond (no Discovery Park on the return) about noon - oneish.

JoelS

They're just lulling us into a false sense of security until they start writing the tickets.

Dchiefransom

It's actually a Multi-Use Trail, not a dedicated bike path. Cyclists need to get over themselves and realize that the world does not revolve around them. If you don't want to be restricted to 15 mph, ride somewhere else. Also, remember to only pass pedestrians and other rider with 3 feet of clearance.

B. Carfree

First we had bike paths, paid for by transportation funds for the explicit purpose of encouraging nonpolluting transportation. Then some jurisdictions renamed them multi-use paths. Some have even gone so far as to give pedestrians explicit right of way without restriction. Thus, we are now moving to off-street sidewalks that people drive to. If we are going to make such a change, let's do it with full public awareness and participation in the process; this stealth taking of the bike paths has been disgusting to watch over the years.

I'm more than fine with rules/laws being enforced. I wish all police would get as serious about traffic law enforcement as these park rangers are making noises about. Like I said earlier, there is definitely something wrong with folks who race into crowds of people and everyone should accommodate children no matter the law.

eay

Saw no rangers on 2nd July: Lower Sunrise to Wm. Pond, 5am - 6am.

LocoCycle

so any updates on the Rangers and where they typically are? I am not ridden out there in awhile...was on vacation etc. But I am planning on riding out from Disco Park to about the 20 mile marker and back....