noisebeam

I17 is best driven at posted limits - at least for me. The folks who go >75mph on that road, especially the curves and grades are crazy - the many vehicles off the road tell the story. Many years ago I was one of those pushing 85 - and now found interestingly that traveling at the SL hardly takes longer (and is much more relaxing), due to the many places (especially in Friday afternoon rush hour) that traffic slows well below SL.

Al

genec

The only thing I want to know is are they ticketing motorists with the same level of intensity... or do they allow some "tolerance."

I think it is quite safe to say that motorists have a far worse record than cyclists.

noisebeam

That is where I was going too with my comments. I don't doubt that a shared (or not) path has a speeding problem - there are always some reckless cyclists, flying around blind corners or squeezing between slower cyclists without consideration. Good enforcement should go after them - and focus enforcement in zones that are most heavily used and during times of most congestion.

But if they are nabbing 22kph cyclists for speeding say on an empty stretch of path with good sightlines - that is BS. (not that they are)

Al

genec

+1000.

Although that does disagree with the 85% rule...

randya

$50.00 is a relatively small fine, consider yourself lucky.

I really dislike cyclists that use the MUP as their personal time trials course, it's rude and inappropriate to ride so fast there; you should use the road if you want to put the hammer down.

genec

I think it depends on the MUP.

There are some locally where trying to ride it as a race course will get your face planted quickly into a chain link fence. (there is even one MUP with stairs... for cyclists no doubt) Then there is the MUP right outside of my office that is built along side the freeway... it has excellent sight lines, wide sweeping turns and is some 9-10 feet wide... it begs to be ridden at speed.

Bottom line, not all MUPs are built equally... ever see a "standard" for MUPs???

UmneyDurak

No, but apparently there is a 'standard' for cyclists riding on any and all MUPs.

randya

I think it depends on the number of users, more so than on the design of the facility

Allister

Over here there are also rules governing pedestrians use of shared paths. They basically amount to 'hold your line, look when crossing, and don't unnecessarily obstruct other users'.

Personally, I think 20km/h is a reasonable speed for a shared path. It's roughly equivalent to the 50km/h speed limit on residential streets for cars. Yeah, it feels slow, but given the unpredictability of most pedestrians, it's probably fair enough. If you want to ride faster, there's always the roads.

My recollection of the bike paths in Calgary was that they were pretty good, but, like I've encountered in so many places, too many bonehead pedestrians using the bike only part of the path, even on the sections where there was a couple of metres of grass between the ped and bike paths.

trekker pete

I would guess that the cops would use some common sense about it. If you are doing 22kph around blind turns where there could be pedestrians, you should be ticketed. Just as you should be allowed 40kph on wide open stretches.

JackTheLadd

I found this story about this situation: https://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/loc...ub=CalgaryHome

I particularly like the second photo, they look like a dangerous crew....

When you're busting women and young children, you've gone too far in my book.

grayloon

Is a "Bylaw Officer" the same as a police officer? Sounds more like a glorified meter maid. If they are not LEO's , then what are there other duties?

JackTheLadd

"Glorified meter maid" is a pretty good description.

donnamb 

Exactly. The MUP randya is thinking of is crowded with peds and bicyclists of a variety of skill levels. A lot of newer bike commuters use it to gain confidence in their balance and control of their bikes before they venture out onto busier roads. During the morning and evening rush hours, it's incredibly rude and potentially dangerous to be going 20+ MPH in that melee.

I have no opinion about what's going on in Calgary, as I have never been there to see their MUPs and whatever congestion issues there might be. It wouldn't break my heart to see some speeding tickets handed out here when our riverfront MUP is totally congested.

maximushq2

Another reason to hate bike paths. I avoid bike paths at all costs except at night when no one around here ever uses them. If you own a mountain bike, find some actual real trails in your area where you won't come across strollers and old bags.

socalboomer

Around here, bike paths are great. Heading to do Santa Ana River Trail tomorrow morning - 60 miles (about) and should average 18-20mph. Pretty much everyone well behaved, and even though a good amount of traffic, I haven't seen much of any incidents. . . so it can be done.

unkchunk

I saw it right off. This is the sort of thing that happens when cyclists abuse the pedestrians in the same manner that cagers abuse cyclists. Next they will place "Share the MUT" signs along the trails. Then there will be a mandatory 3' passing law, followed by installation of pedestrian boxes at all the intersections. The Vehicular Walking movement will develop and they will put them in a special section in Pedestrian Forums. Xtracycles will become the pedestrian's hated SUV and, of course, the BigDummies will be the Hummer. The more progressive thinking cyclists will start riding unicycles, which are the Priuses of cycling world, to assuage their guilt.

Eventually a pedestrian version of Critical Mass will develop and they will "cork" the bike trails that last Friday of every month. Every now and then a frustrated cyclist will try to run through the pedestrians, causing a big ruckus which will be posted on uTube. Nancy Sinatra and Lawton Childs, the former Governor of the State of Florida, will be heralded as champions of the early pedestrian movement.

Southern Baptist televangelists will decry the pedestrian movement with the mantra, "If God had wanted people to walk, he would have given them feet!" Hollywood celebrities will fly in on the jets to appear on television talk shows where they will claim that they personally have walked a couple of times and think that everyone should try it. NGO's will study the success of the Dutch walking system and recommend various new legislation.

dmac49

+100. If you don't like the rules on the path use the road. It's called sharing...kind of opposite of being selfish and inconsiderate of others.

Pig_Chaser

Wow, 20kph is like cycling into the wind uphill slow, that's painful. I'm all for courtesy on the mup, are they going to be ticketing pedestrians who walk 2 or more abreast?

genec

I donno, I've never seen a well designed MUP with too many users.

On the flip side, one user can be too much for a poorly designed path.

JackTheLadd

Thanks for the comments, guys.

The trails in Calgary are pretty good in general. There are many long, straight stretches with perfect visibility. Also from my experience so far they are generally functionally empty (apart from weekend afternoons), with joggers and cyclists being by far the major users.

I think what many here may be missing is that it is only cyclists who are being targeted in this campaign, nobody else. I have seen more "mistakes" made by the other types of trail user than I have by cyclists, who seem to be able to hold their lines pretty well given the good conditions. In particular I have had problems with dog owners who don't attempt to control their animals, and parents of little children who do the same (and yes, I slow significantly passing children and dogs for this reason).

closetbiker

one credit I do give to my local council is they tried to pass a by-law making dog owners liable for their dogs and enforce the leash by-law.

Of course, it never passed. Too many dog owners complained. So it's a cyclists fault even if it is a pedestrians or dogs fault.

gcottay

I have been wrong before, but it seems to me Canadians are a pretty reasonable bunch. Perhaps the 20 kph limit will be enforced with appropriate discretion.

GodsBassist

This was awesome. You're my hero.

rajman

LOL - glad to know we're reasonable
There are many reasonable Canadians, and a few unreasonable ones, too.

As far as 20 km/h on Calgary trails - there are some spots/times where 20 km/h is pretty dangerous on the trails. Downtown around rush hours or noon (Jogger hell), and you're putting someone's life in your hands if you do 30 along the south side of the bow trail when it winds through the cottonwoods.

That being said - I used to regularly commute home along the north side trail in December, in the dark, on ice, averaging over 20 km/h. You just need to slow down for curves, ice patches, and pedestrians - when you've got a straightaway with dry pavement and good visibility, there's no reason why you can't do 30 km/h or more.

The problem is that they have a fixed limit, which makes no reference to sightlines, road conditions, and so on.

I hope that the police are ticketing people going over 20 around blind curves, etc. If so, I have no problem with the campaign - the trail in central calgary is really busy at certain times, and I get annoyed by those who refuse to slow down for hazards - on bikes or in cars.

If they nab people who are going 20 around Parkdale where there are good sightlines and a separate path for peds and cyclists - that's harassment. They should actually raise the limit there to 30 or 40 if they want to enforce limits.