I don't see your point. Maybe you have been done in by a scofflaw cyclist but not all are that way. Nowhere did I say the above. I said per the rules referenced many times, peds are to use the shoulder facing traffic when safely possible.
THOSE are the rules as stated by the ARP and the Folsom P&R websites. Your responses are exactly what I said.. dont care, I will whine and cry about the narrow sections (not all are narrow) and quote unsubstanciated "city workers" vs. what the Folsom P&R site states for a fact. Dude, when you run along the trail whether on the ARP or in town that is not safe for you to run on, use the paved portion but keep as left as safely possible so cyclists and other trail users can enjoy their activities...safely. This is what the rules and common sense dictate.
Please show me on the Folsom Park and Rec site where it says the rules are the same as ARP.
I just talked to Robert Goss, Director of Folsom Parks and Recreation. He is a friend and what I'd call a hardcore bicycle enthusiast. In the past couple of years he's ridden down the coast to the LA area and through the Pacific Northwest. He races and rides for fun as well. He knows the Folsom trails as well as anyone.
Here are some the points he made:
To his knowledge, there has never been an adoption of the operating rules and procedures of ARP to the Folsom trails. They want to be similar, but as I said, it is not always practical.
There 3 different government agencies mainting and operating the trails: Sac County runs ARP, the State Parks are responsible for the trails on either side of Lake Natoma up to Beals Point, and the City of Folsom handle the rest of the city's trails. There has been no coordination of the rules between the 3 agencies.
Some trail sections are older than others and were built by different parties witih different standards.
Sometimes because of money, sometimes because of who built them, sometimes because it wasn't required, and sometimes because of the topography, some sections of the trail were built with little or no shoulder. To put a pedestrian shoulder on the Oak Forest section, for example, would have required the removal protected oak trees. The trees have more value, so no shoulder was built.
Although these trails meet the state Class I bike trail standards, they are in fact multi-use trails.
Ours are generally narrower narrower than ARP.
One major issue is speed. Because our trails are narrower, often lacking shoulders, curvy and hilly, speeds should be kept at or below 15 mph. The trails are not suitable for hardcore training, but for recreational and commute biking.
Facilities have to be shared. Because of the differing width of trails, shoulders and topography, this is a shared trail. Perhaps the 'share the road' signs with the silhouette of a bicyclist on it, which encourages motorists to be aware and follow the law, and respecting cyclists' right to the roadway should be adopted for the trails, only this time, with a silhouette of a pedestrian, so the bikers will realize that they don't own it, but must share it.
He was unaware of locations of signage displaying the rules, and reminded me again that he is unaware of a formal adoption of rules.
He has stopped his bike to talk to pedestrians about the benefits of walking to the left. It is a matter of awareness of why this is in their best interests, and he acknowledges that it is counter-intuitive, as we are raised to travel on the right.
We also discussed the issues and dangers we face from pedestrians when riding, such as the inattentive dog-walker, or the moms with large strollers walking 2 abreast, or the families who might take a Sunday stroll and spread out across the trail.
This isn't about whining or making one's own rules. It is about a lack of adopted rules, no signage citing any such rules, awareness of pedestrians that walking on the left is safer, conditions of the trail, and misunderstanding by some bikers who believe those who are not following the rules are inconsiderate scofflaws who should 'get in the dirt' as they put it, rather than people just out enjoying the trail system.
As has been said time and again, common courtesy would go along way.
