Can we coexist?
Finn Team Leader Nathan e-mailed me a story from a Strib about a lady who crashed her bike due to some pedestrians on the bike path.
Click here for the story and comments.
I found the comments from the readers more telling than the story itself. In my many years of running the Minneapolis lakes, Minnehaha Parkway, and East and West River Road I have been witness to or in the middle of some pretty tense moments between people using the paths.
In general I have seen four major points of conflict:
1. Rollerblades vs. shoes. This has subsided over the years. But every now and then (especially between Lynnhurst and Lake Harriet), I have had to dodge or confront rollerbladers zipping around pedestrians at dangerous speeds.
2. The battle of the combined path. The cities do not plow the pedestrian path in the winter, and both East and West River Road and Minnehaha Parkway have portions that are shared yearround. Cyclists often tend to bike way too fast under these conditions. And last winter there was this same cyclist who, at least once a week, I believed was trying to run me off the trail, but I can't know for sure. Even so, maybe we runners could do a better job sharing the road, especially when we're running in a group.
3. Runners on the Bike Path. This is one we can prevent. I think bikers can be more polite about directing us back to the footpath, but time and time again I see runners on the wrong path. This is especially perplexing when the pedestrian path is parallel to the bike path, just five feet over. I think this is usually due to lack of awareness more than anything else.
There are places where you may decide you want to be on the bike path for convenience (the bike path is shorter than the foot path) or safety (W River Road's foot path is below street level and secluded, between 44th and around 36th street). In these cases, I say do your best to stay on the grass and string your group out.
Bottom line is: be aware. Be aware which path you are on. And be aware that if you choose to go the bike path route you are a guest on their path. To repeat: Do your best to stay on the grass. If you are with a large group of runners, string yourselves out so you are not taking up the whole path.
4. A pack of runners vs. one or two runners. This happens when our training group is out for a Saturday run, and half of the metro area decides to go for a walk around Lake Harriet, as they are entitled to. Just this last Saturday, on two separate occasions a runner coming from the other direction got pretty ticked at me and my fellow Finns for being in the way. Justified or not, solo runners can get pretty surly towards a pack of runners coming at them.
And on these occasions, I think we should be cut a little slack, as long as we are on the pedestrian path. The lakes are for everyone, groups or individuals. It may be idealistic of me to say this, but I hope that other people can remember they are using a popular city park in an urban area. Navigating through packs of runners comes with part of living in a big city with a great park system. It's just something they will need to deal with.
That being said, awareness on our part can help. I'm sure a huge group of us can be intimidating to an individual going the other direction on an already crowded path.
Remember when the paths are crowded to do your best as a group to take no more than half the path. Try to keep your group strung out as much as possible. Make like ants marching in two lines. Be patient if there is a log jam. Slowly and calmly pass other people.
Bottom line is this: everyone in this city needs to take a deep breath and relax before he or she heads to the trails. Very few, if any other, cities have a trail system as extensive as ours. And, equally rare, we have trails desginated for those moving with heels and those using wheels.
If everyone on the paths can remember that, and be grateful for that, a lot of this tension could melt away. I think our class does a good job with trail etiquette. Let's keep it up. We're giving not just MDRA, but all runners, a good name.
Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions? I'd be interested to hear from those of you who both bike and run on the trails to get your perspective.
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