Trails and roads: Part II

This week, I would like to re-address an unfortunate and ugly issue of intolerance on our shared recreational use of our roads and trails.

So far, this summer has had great weather, amazing athletic events and a number of tragic accidents involving recreational bicyclists and competitive cyclists. Now, jumping on a soapbox is not something I enjoy doing with regard to heath and fitness issues, but there are times poor behavior needs to be called out.

Usually drivers in our area show little regard for folks walking, running and biking. This summer, it seems drivers have some serious competition from cyclists in the rude, dangerous and poor behavior category. Now I know it is not fair to compare a cyclist to a 4,000-pound vehicle, but you can compare drivers' and riders' intolerant behaviors.

Cyclists have been maintaining a delicate balance, sharing the road with vehicles for years. This fact makes it more frustrating to see cyclists behaving badly toward walkers, runners and other bicyclists, knowing they get the safety challenges they do with car and truck drivers.

I wrote an article back in May called “Can we make a difference?” addressing this shift in poor bicyclist and cyclist behavior. I guess I was hoping that pointing out that some cyclists have taken on the same attitudes as vehicle drivers would motivate some to make our roads and trails a bit more courteous and safe.

As I have mentioned before, it is no surprise we are seeing a rise in conflicts between cars and trucks with the increase in people riding bikes. However, it is a bit of a surprise that cyclists have become the other fast-moving vehicle with little regard for walkers, runners and other bicyclists. Painting the picture that all competitive cyclists are rude and intolerant when it comes to sharing road and trail is not fair. There are many cyclists out there that take great care when moving fast through our fair city and countryside.

Since I live on Centennial Trail, I get to witness both the good and the bad and frankly this year, I have seen some pretty awful behavior firsthand. This last weekend was particularly bad which is why I have decided to write about this issue again. For those of you familiar with downtown Coeur d’Alene and how Centennial Trail makes its way through town, you know the trail shares some tight space. Many of you also know cyclists often ride in groups and they ride pretty fast. It sure seems many of these groups have a pack mentality and it gets pretty frustrating when you see two older ladies out for a walk getting yelled at to get off the trail to make room for the fast moving pack.

These same fast-moving groups blow through four-way stop signs even when cars have stopped and then enter the intersection — in most cases getting a middle finger and verbal assault from the riders. I have watched our local police let this behavior slide which, in my opinion, endorses the poor behavior.

Idaho Law around bicycles is pretty well defined and has some basic common sense rules that need to be followed. For example, cyclists are required to yield to right of way to both vehicles and pedestrians. Here is a link to the online Idaho Statutes, which cover many of the laws in place (https://legislature.idaho.gov/idstat/Title49/T49CH7.htm).

On the other side of this, I have seen cyclist stop to help people and other cyclists in trouble. It all comes down to a mind-set of tolerance and consideration when it comes to sharing multi-use trails, paths and roads. The intensity of training and exercise seems to place both tolerance, and consideration on hold with many cyclists. This attitude does seem to be more pronounced when cyclists ride in groups.

Here are a few thoughts on ways to improve the safety, courtesy and shared use of our local multi-use trail systems.

• Trail users need to recognize many different people doing many different activities use our local trails.

• Following common sense trail and road etiquette guidelines are a big part of the solution. If you’re not sure what the guidelines are, look them up. There are a number of resource rich websites such as:

http://bikecda.com

http://friendsofcdatrails.org

http://spokanecentennialtrail.org

• Perhaps the city and county should assign right-of-way and provide clear right-of-way assignment with better signage.

• Event organizers such as Ironman or local race organizations should include a special informational packet in the registration process to include a full spectrum of state and local laws along with multi-use trail etiquette guidelines. This could be helpful for both local and out of town competitors putting many hours of training in our trails and roads.

• Our local trail organizations along with our city and county could develop a comprehensive pedestrian safety plan for trail and road use that is online. This information could assist our many walkers and runners on best practices for sharing local trails and roads. Poor pedestrian behavior also leads to many unfortunate occurrences on our trails and roads.

• Local authorities could place an emphasis and guidelines on better pet management on trails and roads. Cyclists and runners both struggle with pets off leash or on long leashes leading to bites and many cyclist crashes. Trail users with pets need to control them to ensure safety of all. This could go a long way to improve courteous behavior on our trails and roads.

Here’s the bottom line. We all share our trails and roads together. No single group has greater rights or entitlement to travel or use our roads and trails unless specified by law and guidelines. To enjoy and have a great experience on our trails and roadways is to be tolerant, aware of each other, understand the law and be respectful to each other’s usage. If we all make an effort, we can make a positive difference out there.

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Judd Jones is a director for The Hagadone Corporation in Coeur d’Alene.