Can hikers and bikers share successfully on trails? - Part 5

Biker and hikers negotiating passing on trail.

In the course of this series, we talked about some of the concepts of sharing and whether it was possible or advisable.  When this series started, we quoted Mr. Troy Duffin of Avid Trails and included this thought:

​The verbiage that Mr. Duffin uses is pretty clear that he does not believe shared trails are a positive idea.

​We asked a this:

​So, is that the end of the story?  This is a simple “yes” or “no” question, right?

​At the end of all this discussion are we ready to answer this question?  Oh, hell yeah, we are.
Let’s look at the three areas Mr. Duffin mentioned and give an answer.   Those three areas where 1) speed differences between groups, 2) visibility and the 3) attitudes of user groups.

​Mr. Duffin’s magical speed bus

​Mr. Duffin mentions this little factoid in why hikers and bikers on the same trail is a bad idea:

​…aggressive cyclists often top 30 MPH.

That is unnerving.  A human traveling at 30 mph could be considered a deadly weapon in the case of a collision.  The very few persons killed in collisions with bikers have been killed when the bikers where travelling between 20 mph and 30 mph on streets and paved paths.  Saying a biker traveling 30 mph down a narrow trail with hikers would be problematic isn’t understating the issue.

However, as we discussed in part 2, speeds of mountain bikers are not tied to mountain biking per se, or elevation along the trail, its tied to the amount of straight line segments that are part of the trail.  We saw that when we compared two trails with the same elevation in Minneapolis, MN and two trails with vastly different elevations in and near Portland, OR.  The more “open”, i.e. the larger curve radii and straight segments we have in a trail, the faster it will be.  Conversely, the tighter, i.e. the smaller curve radii and lack of straight segments we have, the slower the mountain bike speeds.
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So, when Mr. Duffin talks about high speed mountain bikes, what he is highlighting is a design problem.  Trail designers, either himself or others, are designing trails with sweeping corners and long straightaways, then find themselves with too high of speeds for safe sharing.

Some may be familiar with the meme created by Strongtowns.org regarding the problems of streets being turned in stroads:

​Well, here is the counterpart meme regarding speeds of mountain bike trails:

We will get our graphic arts department to make a better one, but you get the idea.

​We are concerned with the function of trails in an urban setting.  There is nothing wrong with trails that appeal to quote/unquote aggressive mountain bikers.  There is nothing wrong with those trails allowing mountain bike speeds up 30 mph.  But if the goal is share with hikers, these aren’t the types of trails that are realistically shareable.  Simply put, if you want to share trails, that means more technical, tighter and, yes, slower trails.

​Eye candy

One of the things that Mr. Duffin highlighted in the same article was sightlines for the comfort of hikers.  As we discussed in part 3, that is a real concern.  Hikers need to have longer sightlines to feel comfortable, but conversely, longer sightlines mean high mountain bike speeds.  But as we also discussed, sightlines are more than just seeing down the trail.  We can keep sightlines for hikers in the horizontal plane by breaking up the vertical plane with choke points.  Choke points, especially at locations where there are blind corners, intersections or on a regular interval, can help with sharing by further lowering the speeds mountain bikers can maintain. 
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The Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Crew created an illustration for their trail building process that shows what they consider 6 different kinds of choke points:

While this is clearly made for trail design & maintenance, this type of information can be useful in explaining choke points to land managers.

In designing and constructing an urban trail system, we would want to choose locations that create choke points naturally or move available natural items around to create them.
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But we would also work to incorporate edge friction.  For machine built trails, that may involve resetting debris along the edge.  It most definitely involves allowing the trail to age and get rougher, tougher and narrower.  Trail sanitization should never happen.  If a section of trail needs work, do so in a way that retains its challenges.

​Nice doesn’t just happen

Attitudes can be molded.  Attitudes about sharing can be definitely molded.  How we make sharing happen can ripple onward in a positive or negative way.
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It starts at the entrance, as a user gets to the trail.  What does the kiosk and associated information tell that person.  Is it some 10 point type sheet of paper on a post, or is it something big, colorful and screams, “All users are equal here”?  Does the kiosk have lots of iconography that shows how each user group should use the trail?  On the trail, the trail signage should be clear, easy to read and obvious as to what users should be doing.  The land manager should work to create integrated patrols that are there to help users get along, not choose favorites.  Speaking of land managers, there is nothing wrong with them making it clear that whining about the other user group doesn’t earn you gold stars or any sympathy.  User groups should sit down and work out solutions between themselves.

This is how you do a kiosk infographic to encourage sharing and bring users together.

​The final analysis

​In the end, Mr. Duffin is wrong.  Sharing is possible.  Its worked for years at tons of places.  But to be good at sharing, it’s not just opening up the trails and letting them be used like the running of the bulls.  It requires work and dedication.  It’s going to mean viewing the trail and its usage holistically.  It’s not about making the trail work for hikers.  It’s not about making the trail work for mountain bikers.  It’s about making it work for both. Most importantly, it requires believing sharing can work and it can work for your trails.