Bicycle Touring Club of North Jersey
 
 

Safety/Skills

Monthly Safety Tip

Safety & Etiquette on Shared Use Paths

Harold Leibovitz, Safety & Advocacy Chair

Quite a few BTCNJ rides include a section on a shared use path – commonly called a bike path. These narrow roadways separate cyclists from cars by putting us with walkers, joggers and their pets. In this scenario, we’rethe ones flying by.

This article looks at ways to ride safely in a group on these shared use paths.

What are the essential skills for riding on a shared-use path?

The Necessary Skills

Because of the need to negotiate a variety of slower-moving traffic, bike handling skills are as important on a shared-use path as they are on the road. You will need to:

  • Start and stop easily.
  • Balance on your bike at very slow speed.
  • Ride in a straight line.
  • Look over your shoulder while riding in a straight line; there may be someone passing you.

For Ride Leaders

  • Make sure you are familiar with a shared-use path before leading a ride on it.
  • Avoid busy times on shared-use paths – weekends and week days before work, after school and work, and lunchtime.

Safety and Etiquette on Shared-Use Paths

  • Plan to ride slower than you would on the road.
  • Keep right. These paths are narrow.
  • Yield to oncoming traffic before passing. Pass with lots of space between you and the person you are passing. Pedestrians or slower cyclists should never have to go off the path.
  • Don’t “thread the needle” by riding passing someone on the right while someone is coming the opposite direction. You don’t like it when a car passes close to you on the road; pedestrians and other cyclists don’t like it when you ride close to them.
  • Pass single file. If you are riding side-by-side, single up when passing. Similarly, go single file when someone is approaching from the other direction.
  • Give a warning before passing. Ring your bell or say “Bike Passing” or “On Your Left.”.
  • Be ready for hazards. Pedestrians may take up the entire width of the path. Dogs may lunge at you, even those on leashes. Beware of fallen branches and leaves, especially after a rain storm. Root heaves can affect handling.
  • The edge of the pavement is often a crash hazard.
  • The pylons (also called middle posts, bollards and stanchions) at intersections are unforgiving. Make sure to call them out!
  • Many multi-use paths have blind curves. It’s easy to underestimate the sharpness. Go slow! Crossing the center of the path may lead to a head-on collision.
  • At intersections, obey all of the rules about crossing intersections as if you were on the road. Use hand and vocal signals. Come to a complete stop and make your own determination regarding oncoming traffic before proceeding across the intersection.

Shared use paths are popular in our area and the numbers are growing. It appears that many state and local officials prefer shared use paths to making our roads safer for cyclists. Knowing the potential hazards of these paths and how to avoid them will improve your path riding and the safety of all.

Thanks much to the folks at Cycling Savvy, whose two-part series on this topic informed much of this article.

BTCNJ’s campaign to stamp out riding in the middle of the road continues!

We encourage all riders and Ride Leaders to enforce club policies on riding single file.

  • Speak to riders who continually ride in the middle of the road.
  • Ask riders who persist to leave the ride.
  • Report unsafe riders to the Ride Leader or Rides Captain.

 


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