I live in Sacramento, California, and have been part of an effort to lift a ban on inline skating on the American River Parkway Trail. Our County Recreation and Parks Commission is proposing that a task force of representives from the user groups of the trail be formed to study the inline skating issue and other aspects of trail useage.
Two things on your web site caught my eye. The first was that it featured the American River Bicycle Trail. The second was that you were planning a topic titled "The mixed blessings of multiple use".
Do you have any information concerning conflicts between inline skaters and bicylists? Of the trails listed in your website, I know that Denver and Eugene allow skaters and, reportedly, they mix with bicyclists without significant conflicts. Do the other trails listed allow skaters also? Do you use different design criteria when you know that inline skaters will be using a trail? Have you set up safety education programs designed for multiple trail users?
Please respond to my home e-mail address which is Gordon_Innes@msn.com.
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Writer and expert consultant on bicycling; Certified Effective Cycling Instructor; Technical writing, translation (German->English, French->English); Mechanical design, acoustics and music.
Email: jsallen@bikexprt.com web site: http://www.bikexprt.com/users/jsallen/
I have a reliable report that a cyclist was seriously injured on the Minuteman trail when overtaking an inline skater who turned suddenly, but I have few details. I do know from my own experience that inline skaters are a big pain in the neck for cyclists using trails.
I agree with John Forester that bicycles clearly are vehicles, and inline skates are not, due to their operating characteristics. He maintains that inline skaters weaken bicyclists' claim to the right to use the roads, by being lumped together with bicyclists in the public mind as not operating proper vehicles. I am not entirely sure that I agree with this conclusion, particularly when trails and "bicycle paths" are involved. The clogging of these facilities by inline skaters reinforces cyclists' claim that they must maintain the right to use the roads. Skaters' use of trails also strengthens the claim that funding for bicycle-related transportation improvements should be used for road improvements, if bicyclists are assertive enough to point it out.
I prefer bicycling myself -- it is faster, safer and allows me to tandem safely with my young son in a street environment and/or carry baggage. Still, I can not dispute that many people find inline skating appealing. Sakting equipment is more compact than bicycling equipment -- backpackable, and it can be thrown into a corner in a closet -- and also less expensive and simpler to maintain. Inline skating is useful not only for recreation but also for short utility trips. I have a friend who carries his skates with him on a commuter rail line here in the Boston area, and uses them for the mile from the train station to his work. He is also a bicycle racer, by the way.
The big problem is those operating characteristics. As Forester has pointed out, you don't see strings of cars waiting to overtake bicyclists. But because inline skaters are slower than bicyclists -- and also 6 feet wide due to arms' and legs' flailing out to the sides -- they use road space (or trail space) inefficiently and impede other traffic, including bicyclists. The typical 4-foot sidewalk is too narrow and too rough -- skaters avoid sidewalks, even though the law almost everywhere defines them as pedestrians.
Will inline skating increase the public's understanding and acceptance of alternatives to motor vehicles for short-distance travel, or will they, as Forester maintains, lead to increasing restrictions not only against themselves but also against bicyclists? I simply don't know. I do know that there is no easy answer to the issues they raise.
I also suggest that you pose your question to Sheldon Brown <captbike@sheldonbrown.com>. I am sending him a copy of this message and of yours.
Bicycle-Pedestrian Coordinator, City of Seattle, email: Pete.Lagerwey@ci.seattle.wa.us (SEDTRANS.ET1:PLAGERW)
My approach has always been to look at this as a speed issue. To the extent that in-line skaters and bicyclists are going about the same speed, user conflicts are going to be minimal. If there is a situation where there is a high speed bicycle facility that is also used by slow, novice skaters, there is going to be a problem because of the speed deferential. If there is a problem there are three possible solutions - slow down the cyclists, ban the in line skaters or build a parallel path for the skaters.
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts, email: CaptBike@sheldonbrown.com (Sheldon Brown) web site: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/biz/hub/
Due to my location, I was formerly a regular user of the Paul Dudley White Bicycling Paths which run along the Charles River between Boston and Cambridge. These paths used to offer a viable, safe alternative to the expressways which parallel their route.
Unfortunately, the current roller-skating fad has led to their becoming unsafe for cylcing at normal, reasonable speeds except in bad weather or off hours.
I once saw a person who had rigged up a skateboard with a sail from a sailboard, tacking back and forth on a closed section of a 4-lane parkway. It was a very cool thing, healthy, silent, non-polluting...but sailing skateboards are not, and never will be, safe road vehicles. I believe that the same is true, (to a lesser degree) or roller skates.
Director, Washington Traffic Safety Commission, email: JMoFat@aol.com
Trails in Washington State commonly allow inline skaters. The Greenlake Trail and the Burke Gilman Trail in Seattle both allow skaters, and they are extremely busy trails.
There are many conflicts between skaters and walkers, but few with the bicycles. The biggest hassle is not the skater, but with groups of walkers who walk three abreast (Usually the type that should have "wide load" signs, as well!)
Green Lake has separate wheels (bikes and skates) and walking lanes, but groups of walkers traveling together often block the full trail paved surface. For joggers, and to a degree, bicyclists, this does not present a problem. They simply swerve off the trail to pass. Skaters must stay on the pavement, however. Frequently, the walkers are indifferent to shouted warnings from the skaters, and collisions occur.
I have the impression that walkers often overestimate the control that skaters have over their speed. There have been collisions that look like a hockey "check". Bicycles and skaters seem to meld together without any difficulty. The speed of a good skater seems to be about halfway between a walker and a bicycle.
As a skater, my biggest concern is with controlling my speed on steep grades. Even for a reasonably skilled skater, a steep hill is a scary challenge. As long as all goes well, you can control your speed. Once you lose it, though, it is very difficult to get back under control. Skate or die!
So... I think that attention to the slope, opportunities to escape by going off onto grassy side areas, and provision of a smoothly finished surface is important. All of these are the same problems that wheelchair users encounter, so it seems that a trail that meets ADA requirements would be a pleasure to skate.
We have had several skater deaths in Washington, where they were hit by cars. Providing safe paths on trails is an important measure to prevent such deaths. It is interesting to note that skating is becoming a huge sport. K2 skis began manufacturing skates to provide for a summer business to tide them over between ski seasons. Now, their skate business is three times as much as their ski business!
Exec. Director, Velo-Quebec,
email: "Jean-Francois
Pronovost" <jean-francois_pronovost@mailhost.velo.qc.ca>
So, inline skating!
Since 1996, Montréal allow inline skater on the bicycle path network. Until that time, there were no application of the restriction, it was theorically forbidden to skate on bike paths. No serious study has been made on the subject here, but the general impression is there is no major conflict resulting of this share use. The Old Port and the most urban part of the Lachine Canal Bike path are probably the sites were cohabitation is a little bit more difficult: it is related to the operation of a couple of rental shops. From my point of view, the problem is more related to the general increase of path users. During busy time, 2,5 or 3 meters wide path are just not enough and that is what we say to the city authorities even we supported last year the principle of bike/skate share use.
Also, at the provincial level (Québec) the Québec Automobile Insurance Board (Société de l'assurance automobile) (which is responsible for road safety, insurances and licensing) made a short study on the question of inline skating previously to modify (maybe) the highway code (eventually allow inline skating on some type of streets). It is in French, but if you are interested I can send it to you.
Director, Walkable Communities, 320 S. Main Street, High Springs, Florida 32643, (904) 454-3304 or FAX (904) 454-3306;
email: DBurden@aol.com
I did some early work on this issue. The Audubon Park in New Orleans had a roller skater collide with two bicyclists, then fell into the ankle of a pedestrian, causing the pedestrian severe injury. I was hired to help as an expert in the case and then later came back to redesign the 22 foot wide facility for in- line skating. I took four hours of video showing the interactions, then studied the results and came up with recommendations that supported what the courteous in-line skaters were already doing.
My conclusions: Have in line skaters share space with pedestrians when they are first starting (15 minutes or so), then advance to a mid-area (a striped area on the trail of 2 feet) when they are better, and then move to the wheeled portion when they are able to stay upright. Everyone seemed to be figuring this out on their own. The main thing is to keep a reasonable speed limite based on maximum desired speed of wheeled vehicles.....all based on density, volume and compexity of mix. I truly do not see any more complex problems than this.
Just as with traffic mix and traffic law on roads, it is the few jokers that we need to watch. Also, ask John Moffat, he is a guru on in-line skating, and has more common sense on keeping people in safe motion than anyone else I know.
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, email: rtcandy@transact.org
The topic of allowing in-line skating on trails is certainly heating up -- especially with the advent of off-road skates that make limestone and gravel trails accessible to skaters. There's no single solution that fits all circumstances, so here's a few thoughts and ideas. These are purely personal and don't reflect the official position of the Rails to Trails Conservancy (because we don't have one!) :
a) In the Washington DC area in-line skaters frequent many of our trails and do so without much apparent fuss. I pass them every day on my bike and we seem to get along just fine.
b) It certainly makes sense to provide more width on trails where in-line skating in going to occur. A 12 or 14 foot trail width should be provided where possible. Where use is going to be high, along with high bike and ped use, separate trails might make sense where there's room. That's how Seattle and Minneapolis deal with the issue.
c) There may well be some trails -- or sections of trails -- where in-line skating is inappropriate. The same is true of horse, bike and snowmobile use of trails. In such cases, after appropriate review and consideration of the situation, and the input of in-line skaters, trails might be restricted.
d) Bear in mind that in some communities trails may be the only really decent place to skate -- some communities ban them from the highway. So, it may be unreasonable to ban skating on a trail that is really the only facility open to skaters. Plus, trying to ban use in such a situation might be an exercise in futility! If skating really is incompatible with existing trail use and design, a community must make a commitment to provide an alternative place to skate.
e) Just as mountain bikes sought legitimacy as a trail user group in the late 1980's, so in-line skaters are in the late 1990's. Skating deserves the same chance to join the family of trail users many of us urged for mountain bikes a decade ago. Skating is a fast growing sport that is expanding the trail constituency. It would be foolish for anyone to believe in-line skating is going away any time soon and equally foolish to adopt or recommend wholesale bans on the activity.
Arthur Ross is Pedestrian-Bicycle Coordinator and Tom Walsh is Traffic Engineer for the City of Madison, Wisconsin. Email: Arthur: Arthur Ross <AROSS@ci.madison.wi.us> Tom: Tom Walsh <TWALSH@CI.MADISON.WI.US>
Wisconsin State Statutes permit in-line skating in the roadway, as long as the road is not a state highway. Local jurisdictions can establish bike lanes and bicycle ways (including bicycle paths) and regulate the use of these facilities.
The statutes are vague as to how skaters in the road are to operate ("in a careful and prudent manner and with due regard under the circumstances for the safety of all persons using the roadway.").
The Wisconsin DOT's Bureau of Transportation safety has published a brochure on in-line skating advocating skaters to operate with the flow of traffic and to use reflectors and/or flashing lights at night (and, of course, helmets and pads).
Local units of government can pass local ordinances restricting the use of in-line skates on roadways.
There is nothing specific in these statutes in terms of skaters using bike lanes or bike paths. A bike lane is defined in the statutes as "...that portion of a roadway set aside ... for the exclusive use of bicycles or other modes of travel where permitted ... ". Bike lanes are designated by local authority and the local authority can also designate "the type and character of vehicles or other modes of travel which may be operated on a bicycle lane . . .". Thus, one could interpret these together as skaters are prohibited from bike lanes unless specifically permitted by local ordinance. None-the-less, it should be expected that in-line skaters on streets with bike lanes would use the bike lanes for the same reason that the lane has been provided for bicyclists--spacial separation from faster moving traffic.
In terms of bike paths, Wisconsin State Statutes grants local units of government the authority to establish "Bicycle ways", defined as ". . . any path or sidewalk or portion thereof designated for the use of bicycles by the governing body of any city, town, village or county."
Just as for bike lanes, local jurisdictions may ". . . Designate the type and character of vehicles or other modes of travel which may be operated on a . . . bicycle way, provided that the operation of such vehicle or other mode of travel is not inconsistent with the safe use and enjoyment of the bicycle lane or bicycle way by bicycle traffic." Further, local authorities can "Establish priority of right*of*way on the . . . bicycle way and otherwise regulate the use of the . . . bicycle way as it deems necessary." Regulations adopted under this authority must be signed.
In Madison, I an unaware of problems with skaters in the street or in bike lanes. Skaters seem to know the limits of their skill and avoid busier streets. I have seen a few skaters in bike lanes, but not many. This makes sense, since most bike lanes in Madison are along busy streets.
Most complaints I hear involve skaters on bike paths taking up too much room and using head phones making them unlikely to hear warnings from overtaking bicyclists. There have not been reports of serious enough conflicts, including reports of crashes between in-line skaters and other path users, for Madison to take any actions to restrict or otherwise regulate in-line skaters on any of our bike paths.
We believe that mixed use is generally appropriate with adequate ( 10' min.) width for 2-way usage. We can also see, however, that "high-demand" facilities like those typically found along big city lake, river and ocean fronts may require special design and regulation for safe operation because of the differing operating characteristics of pedestrians, bicyclists, and in-line skaters.
346.94(17) In*line skates on roadway. (a) A person riding upon in*line skates may go upon any roadway under the jurisdiction of a local authority, subject to any restrictions specified by municipal ordinance enacted under s. 349.235.
(b) Any person riding upon in*line skates upon any roadway shall ride in a careful and prudent manner and with due regard under the circumstances for the safety of all persons using the roadway.
(c ) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection or s. 349.235, no person riding upon in*line skates may attach the in-line skates or himself or herself to any vehicle upon a roadway or, except while crossing a roadway at a crosswalk, go upon any roadway under the jurisdiction of the department.
349.235 Authority to restrict use of in*line skates on roadway. (1) The governing body of any city, town, village or county may by ordinance restrict the use of in*line skates on any roadway under its jurisdiction. No ordinance may restrict any person from riding upon in*line skates while crossing a roadway at a crosswalk.
(2) The department of natural resources may promulgate rules designating roadways under its jurisdiction upon which in*line skates may be used, except that no rule may permit a person using in*line skates to attach the skates or himself or herself to any vehicle upon a roadway.
Executive Director, International Inline Skating Association, email: "Clark, Gilbert" <skatexec@erols.com>
I understand that you are interested in this topic, as well you should. As the former exec of the LAB and currently the exec of the International Inlne Skating Association, this is a topic that I am keenly interested in. The growth of inline skating in the US is directly tied to the growth of multopurpose recrestional paths. Inline skating is more suited to bike paths than are bikes. IISA strongly supports the renewal of ISTEA. We see ourselves as a friend of the other interests that support ISTEA. That does not seem to be a mutual feeling but that is another issue. I would be more than happy to provide you with more information or to engage in a dialogue.
Bicycle-Pedestrian Coordinator, City of Denver, email: Mackaybike@aol.com
We are "twinning" the busiest portion of our Cherry Creek Trail in Denver. Bikes and Skates on one side, pedestrians on the other. After five years of operation, there seems to be a pretty consistent 85% compliance with the signage. I am quite pleasantly surprised by all of this.
Original poser of the question, email: "Gordon Innes" <Gordon_Innes@msn.com>
I want to thank you and your friends for responding to my questions concerning in-line skating on bicycle trails. The responses were very helpful. And I appreciate the time, effort, and thinking that went into them.
In Sacramento, we have group skates on Monday and Wednesday evenings on the bike lanes and residential streets of the city. The Monday night skate is a slower skate and attracts about 70 skaters each evening. We skate in a parking lot for half an hour, and then take off onto the streets. On the streets, we skate from seven to eleven miles. We give skating lessons to beginers in the parking lot and evaluate their skills. If they have not developed adequate contol and braking skills, we discourage them from coming out onto the streets with us. But it does not take skaters long to learn. Most are on the street skate within two weeks. The Wednesday night skate is faster and attracts racers. Typically the group will skate for an hour and a half and cover about twenty miles.
From the comments, there seems to a perception that in-line skaters lack basic skills such braking and have limited control. This is true for beginer skaters, as it is for beginer bicyclists. But experienced skaters have more lateral control than bicyclists, which enables them to quickly more left or right. Hills are no problem for experienced skaters. There is skate in San Francisco that meets on Friday nights that attracts about five hundred skaters in the summer. This group skates over several steep hills in the city.
In-line skating is maturing as a sport. Inline skate sales were flat last year, indicating that most the of the people who are going to get into the sport have already done so. As a result, I expect the skill level of the average skater to increase. I would assume, however, that to limit liability, most trails will be designed so that beginer bicyclists and in-line skaters can use them. Hence, designing them to meet ADA standards sounds like a good idea.
Aside from the American River Parkway Trail, I have not been able to find any bicycle trails that prohibit in-line skating. In the Rail to Trail Conservancy's guide to seven hundred rail trails, there were sixty three trails listed that were asphault or concrete and over ten miles. Each of these trails listed in-line skating as a designated use.
When designing trails to accomodate in-line skaters, the concensus seems to be to make them twelve to fourteen feet in width. If the trail has high pedestrian use, separate lanes should be constructed for the pedestrians. This is reasonable design criteria, although there are existing trails less than ten feet in width that allow in-line skating that have had minimal user conflicts. Using them, however, requires a lot of communication between users.
I think the behavior of the trail users is more important than the trail design. Getting skaters and bicyclists to travel single file would eliminate most conflicts.
The perceived conflict that in-line skaters are dealing with in Sacramento is coming from strong recreational bicycle riders. These are bicyclists that ride racing bikes and cruise at speeds from twenty to twenty five miles and hour, even though the speed limit on the trail is fifteen. They think that if in-line skaters were allowed the trail, a large number would use the trail and congest it. The skaters would also skate erratically and unpredictably. Hence, their recreational goal would not be achieved.
I do not think that either of these concerns are true. The population of in-line skaters is small compared to that of bicyclists and only beginer skaters skate erratically.
There is a conflict, however, on multi-use trails, between the fast bicycle rider and the slower trail users, including slower bicyclists. Finding ways of minimizing this conflict will be a challenge faced by many trail managers.
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