would you bike more, if your state had more bike paths?

Question

I'm writing a paper for a college writing course, and trying to get a feel for peoples opinions on bike/walking/etc paths.
mention your state, if you would.. and also any comments you'd like to make.
thanks for your time.

Answer 1

I moved from California to Washington DC 6 months ago and yes, I'd be out biking more if the DC Metro was as friendly to bikes as California is.

California has good bike lanes on most of our roads and the drivers are much more used to bicycles being part of traffic than they are here in DC. I find that many drivers here are baffled when they encounter me in the road, trying to take a lane in order to cross an intersection or make a left turn.

The bike paths in both states are not exclusively used by cyclists, however, the bike paths here are much more crowded with people out for a walk or jog and visibility is short, so it's harder to ride on them. I get mad every time I think of how many times I've come around a blind curve and found some fool parents with strollers standing in the middle of the path, blocking traffic, chattering and nattering with their friends or playing with their kids in the middle of the path none the less!

The best course of action is to have distinct bike lanes on the roads. Many of us use bikes for both recreation and transportation and would appreciate the ability to do our shopping and other errands without having to worry about being run over by a car. We also use them to get to more rural areas where the scenery and lack of traffic makes for great cycling. With the exception of bike paths that move cyclists off busy streets in urban areas, the addition of bike lanes would serve us much better than more bike paths.

Answer 2

I am in the New England area. In the Boston MA area, there is a big one called the Minute-man Trail. It runs from about the Hanscom Air Force Base all the way into Boston. There is also one in Cape Cod called the Cape Cod trail, I believe. I haven't ridden that one yet, but I have driven by it in the truck when I'm down that way.There is also a new one out near the former Fort Devens area. I don't know much about that one. As far as the Minute-man Trail goes, I've ridden that one a number of times. You should see how heavily used it is during the cycling season. I strongly believe that more people, families in particular, would ride more often if there were more bike paths.
By the way, there are quite a few more being "brainstormed" for the New England area. The ones that I know of (so far) were former railroad routes. I don't know if the future ones will be from old railroad routes, but if these existing bike paths are any indication of what the future holds, I think that more people will use them, including myself. Thank you for your interest. Good luck on your college paper. I hope that I was helpful.

Answer 3

I live in Chicago, and there are alot of bike riders here. The bike paths are excellent! We have a route called the North Branch Trail. Very nice! It starts in the city, along Elston Ave., and goes all the way up to Wisconsin. The path along the lake is nice too. There are many paths in the state. Many people here usually go up to Wisconsin to do mountain biking. The riding up there has alot more elevation changes. It's pretty flat in the city, but it's still fun.

Answer 4

hell yes id be less distructive with my bike and have my mind set then wondering around for stuff to jump off of. I live in florida, its the flatest place on earth and the nearest bike and or skate park is way outa my range, I was hit by a car on my bike about 5 months ago and soferd from a tibia and fibula break i had to wear a cast for 3 months the cops said i travled 25 feet from the crash so i flew and tumbled wow it hurt but now im more into freestyle bmx than ever. so if there were more paths id ride more and progress more with my biking.

Answer 5

Well I don't know about Florida leading the country in bicycling related deaths but if we do it's probably because we have more riders than most other states.

As far as having more trails or paths, here's a link to check ours out http://www.dep.state.fl.us/gwt/guide/index.htm

If I ride more or not isn't base on the amount of trails available because for the most part I ride the Roadways. Most trails are 45 to 50 miles away and very inconvenient to get to and when I get to a trail, I'm not that impressed and find myself wanting to get back to the roads.

I find most trail users ( Bicyclist, Roller Blader's, Parents who turn there kids loose etc.) to be very stupid about the way they use the trails. I find them to be a very hard and inconvenient place to cycle. To much of the wrong traffic.

Answer 6

Maybe a point of view from out of the country. I live in Mexico city. I would like to ride more if the streets were safer, or had a reliable network of bike paths (ones that I know could take me from my home to whatever I wanted to go). If it would be as a replacement for my car, I think it would be an alternative medium of transportation, not as a replacement.

Answer 7

Absolutely! With more bike paths and bike lanes on existing roadways I would definitely ride more! The 2 reasons I don't commute are the distance and the lack of safe bike lanes. Part of my commute is on a very busy highway known as Pacific Coast Highway!

Answer 8

definately! i live in southern CT (new haven county) and we dont have a lot of parks around here, especially ones dedicated to bikes. i spent over $1500 on a mtb and the only time i get to go to interesting places are for races, and its off season now. even then, i cant enjoy it to its fullest b/c im racing. i want a trail to ride just for fun. problem is that there arent enough "true cyclists" down here to get more trails opened. people just arent willing to fight for it.

the only places i ride now are on the streets, mainly. i do the same laps over and over and it gets sooo old after about a week.

i would ride every day if i had more trails here - even in the pouring rain. im hardcore like that..lol

good luck with you paper.

Answer 9

I live in the Dallas area (Plano) and we have a very nice bike trail, but it kinda leads to no where. Basically it's for exercise only. I would love to see it expanded to included routes to our light rail, and maybe malls, and shops. This might make some people more open to alternate mods of transportation.

Answer 10

I live in Tennessee and some of our parks have walking trails but there no bike trail. I would ride a bike more and take my son for bike ride too. Where I grow up in New York there was place to ride your bike.