Bollard needed?

[creadinger]

Over the past 6 months I have personally witnessed 3 cars driving on the 4-mile run trail between the north end of Commonwealth Ave and Route 1.

Drivers are obviously confusing the trail for some super-secret road that only they know about. I know that bollards have been proven to be bad for cyclists in some instances because they’re an obstacle that can cause crashes, but I feel that in this case, a bollard may make the most sense because the trail is obviously attracting a lot of drivers.

Anyone else witness any drivers on the trail? Any other ideas?

[kwarkentien]

Wow! That’s the first I’ve heard of this being a problem.

[AlexandriaBiker]

I ride through this area 2-3 times a week and will watch for evidence of this happening. There must be tire tracks or some evidence of ruts in the grass.

[bobco85]

Thank you for bringing this up, as I completely forgot about it!

I’ve encountered a driver on that connector before (he was almost at Route 1 and looked very confused), and I have seen police cars and maintenance vehicles using it as a shortcut a couple of times. I have only witnessed people going from Commonwealth towards Route 1 and never the opposite way.

The issue is at the end of Commonwealth Ave where there is circle with 2 paths coming off of it. The first path is fine because it is sidewalk-width and has a curb cut and ramp. However, the second path is wider and continuous with the road (i.e., no curbs/ramps/etc. separating the asphalt between it and the circle). There is a sign reading “No Motorized Vehicles” but it is not on the circle; instead, it is on the left side of the T intersection with the path running alongside Four Mile Run. A driver would have already driven off the circle before seeing it.

My recommendation: the sign warning “No Motorized Vehicles” needs to be moved closer to the circle and some white paint should be put on the outer edge of the circle to communicate to drivers that it is closed off. If that doesn’t work, then I’d go for a flexpost.

[Steve O]

@creadinger 108569 wrote:

Over the past 6 months I have personally witnessed 3 cars driving on the 4-mile run trail between the north end of Commonwealth Ave and Route 1.

Drivers are obviously confusing the trail for some super-secret road that only they know about. I know that bollards have been proven to be bad for cyclists in some instances because they’re an obstacle that can cause crashes, but I feel that in this case, a bollard may make the most sense because the trail is obviously attracting a lot of drivers.

Anyone else witness any drivers on the trail? Any other ideas?

Bollards should only be used as a last resort, after other solutions have been tried. For instance, are there clear and easily seen signs that indicate cars are not allowed? Is the trail painted in a way to indicate that it’s not a road, etc? Only after other non-dangerous solutions have tried and failed should a bollard be installed.
I just looked at street view, and there are no signs whatsoever. Bollards would not deter a determined driver from driving there, because she could just drive around them. So the problem we are trying to solve is confused drivers. Signs are the first and better solution for that problem.

[dcv]

@Steve O 108593 wrote:

Bollards should only be used as a last resort, after other solutions have been tried. For instance, are there clear and easily seen signs that indicate cars are not allowed? Is the trail painted in a way to indicate that it’s not a road, etc? Only after other non-dangerous solutions have tried and failed should a bollard be installed.
I just looked at street view, and there are no signs whatsoever. Bollards would not deter a determined driver from driving there, because she could just drive around them. So the problem we are trying to solve is confused drivers. Signs are the first and better solution for that problem.

bollard hater

[mstone]

Why bollards? Why not a wall? How ’bout a moat? With guard sharks, or at least ill-tempered sea bass.

Or paint.

[Fairlington124]

First post here (woo!). I use that stretch quite a bit. Never seen motorized vehicles but I could believe that some use it.

Why not some graphic commands, like this “pedestrian and bike” sign I would see a ton of in Germany? http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/97684/114334543/stock-photo-a-road-sign-for-a-pedestrian-zone-bike-lane-and-no-parking-114334543.jpg

Are there any such signs in the US lexicon of road and path signage?

[KLizotte]

I’ve seen a car driving from Commonwealth to Rte 1. The driver didn’t look confused at all and simply went full speed ahead and bounced off the curbing on to the driveway to the car dealership. Sigh.

[chris_s]

I’ve seen 2 cars on that stretch of trail myself. I agree that it needs better signage and that we should definitely try that before putting a hard metal hazard in the middle of the trail.

[brendan]

If it’s where I think it is, I’ve seen a drunk driver trying to figure out how to get his car unstuck from on top of the pile of rocks on the bumpout in the trail.

I called the cops.

They didn’t find him, but found a lot of damage further east on the trail where the driver had “desired lined” his way back onto the highway.

B

[creadinger]

Anything would work better than what we have now, which is Confused Driver Ave.

I agree, we should first try lots of paint, and more/bigger signs. If that doesn’t work, a flex post may work better, but the point should still be to keep these idiots off the trail. I refuse to share MUPs with cars. Considering how much press drivers on the W&OD gets (Ok, mostly because there are sometimes serious injuries from drunk idiots ), this is happening quite a lot and virtually no one talks about it.

This last incident on Sunday, the driver drove Commonwealth to the circle, paused, then made the right turn onto the trail and continued as if everything was ordinary. When he got to Rt 1, he paused again, drove off the curb to the side street, then into the car dealership. It was a Volvo S80, with Maryland plates. Prior to all of this the moron passed me awfully close going down Commonwealth considering the other lane was empty.

[creadinger]

@AlexandriaBiker 108589 wrote:

I ride through this area 2-3 times a week and will watch for evidence of this happening. There must be tire tracks or some evidence of ruts in the grass.

The trail there is about one traffic lane wide, so the drivers I’ve seen pretty easily stay off the grass. The only time someone really leaves the pavement is when they 3-point-turn at Rt. 1 to go back the way they came, or drive over the curb.

[Mikey]

from the Google Street view I can see why it is confusing if it looks like this in real life.

[creadinger]

@Mikey 108758 wrote:

from the Google Street view I can see why it is confusing if it looks like this in real life.

And as Bobco pointed out I think, if you move over and zoom in, you can see the (maybe) 1 sqft sign saying motorized vehicles prohibited. What good is that?!

[Author]

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