I often ride the local bike trails at night, i have decent lights and with the reduced or almost barren trail , i feel it is safer than the roads if you stay in your lane. 1/2 of the people i cross have no lights. either walking with a dog or a late stroll. others jogging usually have reflective strips. which is fine. Most of the trail is very dark and would be most helpful if there were reflective tacks on some of the fence post so you can track the turns of the road and make it easy to stay in the lane. I have done a small section with reflective squares and like the results. i wish i had the funding to do large stretches because with more bike comuting this would be great ! I don't understand why all trail mile markers and other trail obstructions don't have any reflective marking. I guess i need to contact the trail council ?
cowchip
2013-11-09 11:22:04
Cool. Which trail did you mark?
Cost is definitely an issue, but there are products that are likely to do what you need at maybe reasonable cost. In particular a
clear reflective spray paint might be good for marking stuff without defacing it (I think, I've never used it).
ahlir
2013-11-09 18:21:19
Great allegheny passage trail going from southside toward waterfront is marked from mile marker 142 to rest area for eagle watchers . i cut 1/4'' squares from good 3m tape
cowchip
2013-11-09 19:43:02
I'd have to get going by 5-6am tomorrow to check it out (then I leave town again).
Wait.
Maybe I could skip that after-party tonight...
Are the markers bi-directional?
ahlir
2013-11-09 20:05:21
no
i only did one direction . right had side of trail heading from barges into scap yard / sandcastle . small stickers you would not see in daylight. Placed one every 18 foot .
cowchip
2013-11-10 01:25:44
Your thoughts, though, bring up a broader and more over-arching issue - bike riders and their advocates need to keep it right in the front of mind of policy makers and the general public that these "trails" can be and should be 24/7/365 functional transportation mechanisms and need to be outfitted as such. I'm sure it is stuck in the minds of too many non-riders that biking is just an 8 month a year, sunny day fun time activity, and not a real way to get places. Maybe some trails need reflective side lines or center dashes, or little reflective doo-dads in the pavement, who knows. Something to think about.
edmonds59
2013-11-10 07:34:18
I wonder the same thing , there is a sign in the south side that says the park closes at 11 pm
. Is the trail even open ?
cowchip
2013-11-10 12:14:35
Asked a friend who works for a City Council office, and he got this answer from Friends of the Riverfront:
as of now, the three rivers heritage trail segments all technically close at dark. the reason is that police will not patrol them without lighting, and because they are not able to be patrolled by police, they close at dark. groups are looking into finding ways to improve lighting along the trails to change this state of things, and it seems to be a dynamic issue right now.
epanastrophe
2013-11-10 20:47:28
buffalo buffalo wrote:as of now, the three rivers heritage trail segments all technically close at dark. the reason is that police will not patrol them without lighting, and because they are not able to be patrolled by police, they close at dark.
The police don't patrol the roads, so how is that a sticking point? (snark)
edmonds59
2013-11-11 07:18:05
"police will not patrol them without lighting"
The cops are more afraid of the dark than we are. Maybe they should, I don't know, bring lights with them. We are required to have lights on our bikes, aren't they? It strikes me that these dark places are exactly the places we need cops the most and they are keeping to the most lighted areas for their own safety. Aren't we paying them for our safety?
kordite
2013-11-11 07:32:09
Not to mention that discouraging the public from using public places is exactly the way to make them more dangerous.
"Those who fail to remember history are doomed something something something..."
edmonds59
2013-11-11 08:47:06
So as i take this it is a ride at your own risk !
cowchip
2013-11-11 10:35:53
We can just use semantics until we can manage to install some lights. The police currently patrol with a frequency that varies considerably. How about they switch to an every-12-hours frequency for the trails when it gets dark? Then they won't be due for another look-see for 12 hours, yet they're now "patrolled" and OK to bike on.
But seriously, the reason given seems dumb. Bike cops should have lights. Do cops stop patrolling in rural areas at night because those roads don't have lights?
steven
2013-11-11 11:31:28
I don't care if the city police patrol the trail or not , as long as they don't tell me the trail is closed . If they do they can chase me and we could patrol it together > lol
cowchip
2013-11-11 23:31:43
I have an unused roll of
this stuff if you want to keep marking dark sections of trail. Personally I like to see the trail surface as much as where the trail is or isn't, but I can see how it would be helpful if you were left with only a small light.
renny
2013-11-12 10:03:19
cowchip wrote:I have done a small section with reflective squares
BRAVO!
This is great!
If you would like any volunteer help for this kind of things, I would be eager to join in.
As would many others - I think if you posted here for volunteers, you would be overwhelmed.
mick
2013-11-12 11:25:46
cowchip "closed" is a legal technicality to cover the city's ass in case of an incident. its not a practical reality and you shouldn't see it as an obstruction to your use of the trails at night.
cburch
2013-11-12 11:46:11
Ok i will keep everyone posted on this and maybe have a sticker ride. We just need more reflective tape. I had a roll that was 1/2'' wide and i cut that in half and cut 1/4 '' squares . found the best way was to cut tape and leave it connected to backing on long strips so i did not have to peel each one . then i used a flat head screwdriver to peel and install at Knee height . 1 sticker on every 4th pole /
cowchip
2013-11-12 12:07:06
How visible are they at that size? Similar to
trail tacks? Those seem to be pretty visible in dark woods but are they bright enough to compete with point sources of light behind the reflector?
With the roll I have you could yield: 16 squares per inch times 12 inches per foot times 15 feet equals... 2880. At a sticker per 18ft., you could mark 9.8mi. Or 4.9mi. in each direction. Either way that's a whole lot of stickering.
Maybe a size increase is in order, if not for visibility then for your own sanity.
renny
2013-11-12 15:32:54
the tape i had was 3/4'' so actual size was 3/8 ''
good 3m tape was used. i think 3/4 squares would be perfect.
but i don't have much tape. some parts of the trail don't have fence but what does would be awsome !
cowchip
2013-11-12 18:10:22
cowchip
2013-11-12 18:31:17
Um, isn't the fence a marker in itself, if I'm understanding correctly?
If you can't see the fence, I'd recommend brighter lights
What is more annoying to me is that it's not always clear where the trail stops and the gravel begins with leaves on the ground. A similar situation occurs by the Panther Hollow Trail when there's snow on the ground
sgtjonson
2013-11-12 18:48:50
ride this section and see ?
Tacks are awsome !!
cowchip
2013-11-12 19:38:21
Trail tacks seem like a good way to cause flats.
benzo
2013-11-13 12:41:35
Benzo wrote:Trail tacks seem like a good way to cause flats.
Only if you don't put them in trees the way they are intended to be used. In spiderweby or really long mtb trails at night they are AWESOME.
cburch
2013-11-13 14:47:51
Yeah, I can definitely see those things being awesome on MTB trails. Hell, I'd feel a bit spoiled using them, but I can't say I wouldn't love it.
I would hate to see those tacked in to the ground though. So easy to get unseated and run over.
benzo
2013-11-14 14:00:53
