05-15-2015, 09:29 AM
(05-15-2015, 07:38 AM)ookpik Wrote:Quote:I get that it's not a cyclist expressway but it's mostly used for transportation cyclingI hope you also "get" that the IHT was never intended to be "a cyclist expressway" or to be "mostly used for transportation cycling" or as a cycling racetrack. It's always been intended to be a multi-use trail to be shared with pedestrians. We're not all in a hurry. And we're not all just slow moving obstacles meant to be slalomed as quickly as possible.
LOL, pedestrians on the trail often walk or jog 2 or 3 abreast and snark at me when I ring the bell asking to go around, they need to remember that people are trying to get places instead of just being out to smell the flowers so it goes both ways. People walking their dogs with 10 metre extendo leashes that block the whole trail, jackasses in full road gear kit that blast by without even a bell or a shout. I could go on and on. Sharing the trail is the responsibility of everyone that uses it. I don't think the trail should be a bikes-only place and I use it to walk places too and have been doing so since the late 90s. As for being in a hurry I commute everywhere on an one speed cruiser that runners have passed me on, especially when I'm laden with groceries.
I didn't mean to say that the trail was only used for transportation cycling, just that the majority of people that ride on the trail seem to being doing so as transportation rather than recreation. I think a good share of the people that are walking aren't just out there for fun but are actually commuting too. I think casual recreational use of the trail can totally co-exist with pedestrians and transportation cycling. My ideas to make the road/trail interactions better for cycling also improve the safety of pedestrians. The gates that force everyone into a metre-wide opening are just dangerous and invite crowding and chaos and they are close to busy roads to make the situation even worse. The gate at Strange and the sidewalk that forces everyone to bunch up is also kinda dumb.
I think the Courtland crossing by the plaza is the worst, especially around 3pm on school days, the bus stop has a lot of people waiting there, the streets are busy and even if one dismounts you've still gotta push your bike through a crowd. There's plenty of room the city could buy a strip of land and at least make a wide sidewalk there.
There are also lots of places that the trail could be widened too, so maybe that is something that could alleviate crowding, especially in the stretch from Strange to Queen since there is a lot of traffic coming through the park and from the other trail that goes west to Fischer-Hallman.