Sunday, October 12, 2008
Use of greenways remains hot topic
Mark Taylor
Mark Taylor's Outdoors column and notebook appears regularly in The Roanoke Times.
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Sitting on a bench next to the Roanoke River Greenway on Friday morning, the young cyclist seemed to perfectly signify the diverse nature of the people attracted to this popular linear park.
He wore colorful pants and a beat-up old bike helmet, and he was smoking a cigarette.
I nodded a greeting and rode on, thinking about how the greenway attracts all kinds. A minute later I heard a racket behind me.
I turned to see that the cyclist wasn't really a cyclist. He was riding a moped. And he wasn't pedaling.
"Sorry," he shouted as he rode past.
At least he was a courteous rule-breaker.
Morphing momentarily into a crotchety old curmudgeon, I shouted something about motorized vehicles not being allowed on the greenway, but I'm sure he couldn't hear me above the clattering din of his bike's out-of-tune power plant.
Yes, the Roanoke River Greenway attracts all kinds.
And lots of them.
If you've been on the path on a pleasant summer evening or one of the recent pretty weekend days we've had, you don't need me to tell you this.
At times the path takes on the semi-chaotic feel of the pool at Bushwood Country Club during Caddy Day in the movie "Caddyshack."
I'm a contributor, especially when I hit the greenway with my 6-year-old, two-wheeled twin terrors.
This is a good problem to have, of course. It means people are using the resource.
As greenways officials and others look toward expanding the paths, busy greenways send a better message than under-utilized greenways.
It's basic supply and demand.
But with congestion comes inevitable conflict.
Not necessarily violent conflict, but simmering frustration.
That frustration was on full display at a public meeting Monday to discuss a hoped-for connection from the Roanoke River Greenway to the Tinker Creek Greenway.
Attendees were asked to work together in small groups to come up with lists of issues and opportunities.
The opportunities exemplified the great things a greenways system can provide, from wildlife viewing areas to access to canoe and kayak launches to traffic-free connectors between neighborhoods.
A key concern was safety, elements of which included the remoteness of certain sections of greenways and conflicts among users.
We bikers took it on the chin, with plenty of walkers and joggers complaining about speeders.
Some of the criticism is deserved. I've had riders fly past me without warning. I've probably ridden too fast myself from time to time.
A key to the Roanoke Valley's greenways being a comfortable environment is to first realize what they are, and what they aren't.
They are convenient, nearly level, smooth paths that are ideal for walking, running, and moderate rollerblading and bike riding.
Except during those rare times of low use, they aren't an appropriate place for fast cycling or rollerblading.
Roanoke parks and greenways officials want to do a better job of educating users about safety, etiquette and courtesy. Plans are to install larger signs and information kiosks to better get the word out. A series of TV spots is planned to run on RVTV.
Roanoke's bike-mounted police can and do patrol the greenway, too.
But, for the most part, the people who will keep order on the greenways are the users themselves.
Those who are courteous and use common sense -- and that's a majority -- shouldn't be shy about sharing the information.
There's a possibility that some citizens could be able to get even more involved.
Since last spring a core group of about a dozen mountain bikers, myself included, have been riding the great trails on Mill Mountain as part the Roanoke Valley chapter of the National Mountain Bike Patrol.
This is basically a ski patrol on bikes, with the focus on assistance, education and outreach, not enforcement.
The key players are avid mountain biker and trail volunteer Dick Howard of Salem, and Mill Mountain Discovery Center director Paul Chapman.
When they launched this pilot program, the hopes were to expand to other areas where there is need.
There certainly seems to be a need on the greenways, but it's not as simple as just saying, "Let's add the greenways."
The patrol is doing a great job of maintaining Mill Mountain's trail network, but the group is struggling to meet its goals in terms of number of hour patrolled. Many patrollers are doing great, but a few non-participants are dragging averages down.
So patrol leaders are wary about expanding the area of responsibility.
Also, the greenways and off-road singletrack are two different worlds, and many serious mountain bikers simply are not greenways riders.
But that doesn't mean greenways riders can't join the patrol. The NMBP also has a Trail Advocates program with less stringent training requirements that could be a perfect fit for the greenways.
The key will be finding a couple of leaders to head up the effort.
Whether or not there's an official group working to educate greenways users -- a group that will keep growing -- things will work themselves out over time out as people learn to commingle.
It's just better if those lessons don't involve collisions between bikers and runners, or court summonses for the random moped rider.
