There has been a lot of talk the past couple of weeks about the challenges of winter bike commuting on unplowed trails and streets. Snow removal has been an issue for all modes of active transportation in the past week.
I'd like to get a sense (albeit an unscientific one at this point) of trail usage by winter bike commuters. My gut tells me that the Keystone is probably the most used by far, but I don't want to make that assumption. Can we get a roll call going here on this topic? The information may be helpful as we engage people in conversation about trail plowing issues.
It seems to me that this might also point to the need of a more formal study on this topic. One group college students + lots of coffee = legit data!
7 comments:
I mainly use Keystone, but more for recreation than commuting. Commuting mainly on midtown streets.
I have colleague at UNO that might be interested if you do want to do more formal research on this.
I primarily take the West Papio Trail from Pacific to Lake Zorinski, then the Zorinski trail to 180th & F Street. If the trail is cleared around Zorinski, I can bypass the West Papio by way of Arbrust Acres, but I would still need the neighborhood access paths to get into Lake Z. I do see a few others that either take the West Papio or the Lake Zorinski trails when commuting. I know a police officer and a bike store manager that both use parts of the West Papio trail for year round commuting.
Mostly use Keystone, as well as 144th street trails.
The only trail I use is the Paxton Blvd one. After this last storm parts were plowed, but it was still almost unusable. The streets were plowed afterward and at every intersection you have to carry your bike over the drifts. Also, about 2/3rds of the trail was missed by the plow, instead a grassy path was cleared, too rough to ride on with my road bike.
I ride year round and primarily use portions of the West Papio trail from about Blondo to 144th and 'L' Street. Roughly 1/3 of this network is cleared. As an alternate route in poor weather I take 144th Street from Bennington to Millard. About two-thirds of the sidewalks/trails are cleared. I ride in the street the other third. The sidewalks from Pacific to L Street are uncleared and Yes, I have called the "city" to complain, as I do each year to no avail.
I do almost all of my winter commuting on the Keystone. There are side streets I can use when certain sections are not plowed, but using them takes a LOT more time.
I've been sidelined for the last few weeks with family duties, so I have not seen the Keystone trail conditions first hand.
I commuted from home, using the Keystone from Capehart to Fort on Monday, clear most the way. Only a few spots and the bridges had some minor challenges. Keep riding.
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