[Oldragbagger]

There are lots of discussions currently about rights of way on the paths so I thought I would add this situation to the conversation.

My husband and I cycle the multi modal paths daily and occasionally it happens that a golf cart will pull out to pass us in a blind curve. We certainly understand your desire to pass us. Who wants to be stuck behind a bicycle going 13 mph, right? But every time it happens I get knots in my stomach knowing that if that cart encounters traffic coming his way as they round that curve they are going to have to quickly pull back into their own lane, which means right into us. We always ride single file and as close to the right as possible but it still might not allow enough room for us and the cart in the same lane especially if the cart driver is over reacting due to being startled by the oncoming traffic. Sure enough that very thing happened to my husband a couple of days ago. He had to slam on his brakes hard enough to almost topple him over. Fortunately he narrowly missed getting hit by the golf cart.

So, I am asking, respectfully, these are lives at stake out there on the path, and most of us are on the path for recreational purposes, not because of any life and death need to be somewhere quickly. In an encounter between a cart and a bike the bike is sure to lose, and possibly in the most tragic of ways. The amount of time it takes to get around a curve to the point where you have a clear line of sight of traffic in the oncoming lane isn’t going to be a life changer for anyone, but it could be for the person on the bike.

Thanks for reading.