Edhat Reader
January 16, 2024, 9:21 am
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28 Comments
This is a serious question and I’m not criticizing cyclists in any way, I’m genuinely curious.
I noticed that a lot of cyclists aren’t using the bike paths. Especially on the stretch of Las Positas towards Hendry’s Beach where the new path is quite nice.
Is there a reason why cyclists prefer to be on the roadway next to cars instead of their designated and separate path?
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Coming west from Modoc across Las Positas, it’s challenging to cross that BIG intersection to get onto the new bike path on south side. Easier (and safer) to stay on bike lane going west on the north side of Modoc. Also, where bike path on south side ends, you have to cross the road (with no crosswalk) to get to the bike lane on north side at La Cumbre anyway.
Interesting that the “new” bike route Sola, to (going wrong way) on Castillo to get across Micheltorena bridge, there is a “bike stop light” but it does not change for bikes and since no cars trip the lights at that intersection (because its a one way going the opposite direction), the bike light does not change.
Cyclists won’t want to dismount, walk to the curb, push the button and get back on their bikes to trip the light. How about a bike camera at that corner that will change the light for cyclists??
Kudos to City for the Gillespie bike path and crosswalk at Gillespie and Mission for bikes and pedestrians.
its possible that those types of cyclists are on a specific route and have a time frame. alot of those guys are hardcore and the bike lane on the road is……free of pedestrians. that is a massive safety issue and an ongoing problem. people, walk on the side walks please and stay out of the bike lanes unless you’re on a bike or similar….
I think it depends on the cyclist and the location. Along Las Positas, I would agree – except it depends on where you are coming from/ going. If you are coming down Cliff and going all the way up Las Positas to State, for example, it might not really be convenient to cross over and back to the bike path. (Personally, I love that path).
Along Modoc, if you are biking east, the bike LANE in the road does not have stop signs, but the bike path has stop signs at every cross street. On the rare times that I bike to work (west along Modoc), I don’t bother to take the new bike path, I just stay in the bike lane on the right. That will change when the new bike path is fully connected all along Modoc to UCSB path.
Which will not happen until they move it up the hill to the already partially graded roadway and don’t continue to fight to raize a 100-year old walking/equestrian path.
that maybe a dozen locals use, but the rest of the city along with cyclists need the path. sorry. it’s going to happen.
The speed limit on the multi-use path (that includes walkers, strollers, children running wild, joggers, scooters) is 15 mph. Most road bikes are traveling faster than that. Even at 15 mph, the aforementioned other uses are often unpredictable.
As for on Modoc, well, the planners screwed up MAJORLY by putting the path on that side of the road and littering it with stop signs at every intersection, I wouldn’t use it on a bike either! It’s really a shame they designed it that way, it could have been oh so much more functional and safer for all.
Just curious, what’s wrong with stop signs at intersections? Seems the safe and lawful way to ride, stopping when there’s cross traffic. No?
It isn’t that stopping at intersections is a problem, at least for many riders like me. The issue is that the poor layout of the bike path means that there are a ton of intersections with stop signs and strangely laid out intersections whereas the bike lane just to the left doesn’t have any stop signs at all.
Nothing wrong with it, but it is major deterrent for bikers to use the path vs the road.
There are numerous driveways crossing the multiuse path on Modoc, which makes it dangerous … I was nearly run over by car tearing out of one. And the stop signs at the intersections means you have to stop … which you don’t if you’re in the bike lane, any more than cars driving on Modoc have to stop at every intersection.
As for the path on Las Positas … it’s quite nice, but sometimes people forget it’s there and turn onto the street, and then it can be a long stretch before there’s a point where you can cross into the path.
Have you ever rode a bike?
thats because they are not intended as mixed use paths. they are bike paths, also for scooters. pedestrians have a side walk that they walk on….
They are mixed used paths and are legally designated as such. Doesn’t matter if there is also a sidewalk, pedestrians are allowed to walk on the path.
The path on Modoc is actually mixed-use. There is no sidewalk – they removed the sidewalk to create the path. (This is not universally true around town, but it is true for both Modoc and Las Positas).
If you’re already cycle-commuting you’re probably used to sharing with cars and may be going faster than is comfortable for a multi-use path. Can also just be memory/inertia – like on Modoc going east I’ll sometimes forget to cross over onto the path so just keep going on the cycle lane. Really the major beneficiaries and targets of the dedicated cycle lanes are casual cyclists, families with kids, who are not comfortable sharing with cars.
As you note, the new path on Modoc is multi-use. It’s not solely a dedicated cycle lane. Often there are no pedestrians, skaters, etc. on the multi-use path, but fast bicyclists don’t want to take the chance that they will encounter some. However, I do find it irritating when bicyclists ride in the actual car lanes there, or straddle the bike lane line. They have two options! Choose one and let the cars have theirs.
My first thought is people walking 4 across and hogging all the lanes. Same reason why you don’t see many cyclists on the Cabrillo Blvd bike path.
Anonymous, According to the signs, it’s a BeachWay, not a Bike Path along the shoreside; the bike lane on Cabrillo Blvd is to the right of the cars. And there is a sideWALK, not a sideRIDE. (Initially, it was a bike path.)
The beachway is a multi-purpose path for cyclists and pedestrians
That’s another mess! That could easily be fixed with the other sidewalk 20 ft away. I just noticed they painted some warning of a bicycle path 1-2 foot ahead ( took them years to do that)
Modoc east at Via Senda: any guess as to the percentage of bicyclists that actually observe that stop sign?
Me and everyone I’ve seen.
Going east? Everyone, because it’s at the end of a long uphill.
Going west? Nobody, because it’s an unbroken bike lane with no cross traffic.
I always at least slow going west, as there are a lot crazy and incompetent drivers out there who are likely to turn wide and cross into the bike lane (violation of CVC 22107).
It depends on the kind of cycling. Cyclists (i.e. spandex warriors) are out on training rides going well above 15mph. It’s not only inconvenient but unsafe to use a mixed use path like the one in Los Positas. That type of riding is much more appropriate for a standard bike lane and road shoulder. People that are out for a casual ride/commute should absolutely use the path but it’s nice that there is still a bike lane on that stretch for people that want/need to ride faster without obstructions. Same for Cabrillo, the path is not meant for road cyclists.
I could say the same for e-bikes but that’s another can of worms.
Thanks to most of you for keeping the replies to a question civil. I hope more threads on Edhat can be like this one.
Agreed, and thanks for highlighting this.
In general there are too many walkers on bike paths. I get it.