Maybe it’s the unusually mild weather we have been experiencing this autumn, but there seem to be more early morning joggers in Montreal than I can recall. I see them in the park where I myself trudge through a morning run, and I see them on sidewalks and roads. But one place where I wish I did not see them is on designated bicycle lanes.
In a nutshell: it is not acceptable to walk, run, or jog on a bicycle path.
It’s only proper that I point out this fact that, given I have often harangued cyclists for riding on sidewalks.
During the course of my daily run, I cross a bicycle path, I do so very gingerly, looking in both directions to ensure both my welfare and that of any cyclists. While it seems people have grasped the concept that walking on a bike path is both stupid and dangerous, many people still think it is alright to jog or run on them. Regardless of whether you are training to give the Kenyans and Ethiopians a run for their money in the next marathon, or are more likely to be at the back of the pack with the people dressed as mascots and those who will run the race with a tray full of beer glasses, or maybe you’re just out to sweat off last night’s Jameson shots, a bike path is not the place to do it.
When dedicated bicycle lanes and paths were first being introduced to our fair city it was only natural that people took some getting used to them. Much like the trees in the garden of Eden, there are many paths in the park that are fine to walk on, and only one that is forbidden. Yet at first many folks just strolled along the bike path. You don’t see that too often, but joggers and runners still have a bit more of the learning curve to scale before they grasp the danger they pose to themselves and cyclists.
I dunno. Around here, no one pays any attention to lanes in the roads, much less bike paths. We consider traffic laws mere hints on what we MIGHT like to do, if were are in the mood.