are an issue in Boston too.
(File photo)
Streetsblog pointed out an interesting article in the Boston Globe yesterday about a very familiar situation with one of their urban multi-use paths.
The Minuteman Path near downtown Boston is popular with all types of users and has gotten so crowded (2 million people a year according to the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy) that there has been an increased amount of collisions and complaints reported.
From the article:
“Police have been called out so often to resolve angry, and sometimes bizarre, disputes that they have coined a new term. “We have road rage,” said Arlington Police Chief Fred Ryan. “And now we have bikeway rage.””
Sound familiar?
Portland has long faced a similar problem with the Eastbank Esplanade and Waterfront paths. In fact, over a year ago, I wrote a story titled, “Cyclists must use more caution on popular paths.”
A growing awareness of this issue has sparked official concern from PDOT. They recognized that something must be done to manage the popularity of multi-use paths so they took a proactive approach.
On July 19th — as a special “field trip edition” of their monthly Bicycle Brown Bag series — they’ll host a ride to the Esplanade to discuss what can be done about the issue.
Cyclists riding too fast and a lack of courtesy are definitely part of the problem. But that’s not the only thing at work here.
We’ve let motorized vehicles run amok for far too long and now we’re seeing the result: a huge demand for car-free places.
More education is needed, but let’s not forget that the best way to solve this “problem” is to open up more non-motorized corridors. Also, some cyclists would not use these paths if they felt safe riding on the street (which many don’t).
The people aren’t the problem. We just need more safe, quiet, and clean spaces to recreate and move around the city.