Razorback Greenway safety means following simple rules

Walkers, runners, dogs and cyclists all traveling on one 10-foot wide stretch of concrete can present safety problems on the Razorback Greenway, which officially opens today.

"Everybody needs to keep an eye out for the other person," said Paxton Roberts with Bicycle Coalition of the Ozarks.

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For more safe biking tips visit The League of American Cyclists at: www.bikeleague.org/…

GreenwayTips

• If parking at a trail head lock your car and stow valuables out of sight before you leave.

• Keep to the right and pass on the left on trails.

• If you’re going to pass on the trail, let people know by saying “on your left.”

• Keep dogs on a short leash, out of the path of others and clean up after your dog.

• Carry a phone.

• Be aware. If you run or bike with headphones leave one ear bud out or keep volume low so you can hear others on the trail.

• Change up your routine. Don’t run or bike the same route at the same time every day and don’t post your plans on social media before you go.

• Use a tracking app like Road ID to let family members keep tabs on where you are in case of accident.

• Take a self-defense class. Check with your local police department.

• Stop and look at all crossings. Fifty-nine percent of all local bicycle crashes in 2009 – 2011 happened as people crossed a street, according to data in the Northwest Arkansas Regional Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan.

• Wear a bike helmet when riding. Pick a helmet that sits two finger widths above your eyes and moves only a little before if you shake your head without fastening the straps. Side straps should come just below the ears and the chin strap about a half inch below your chin with your mouth closed.

• Police and firefighters have all-terrain vehicles to reach people on the trail. Look for landmarks to clue in dispatchers on your location.

• Report graffiti or damage to local police.

Source: Staff Report

Cyclists need to warn people as they come up behind them by saying "on your left" before they pass.

Dog walkers need to be aware that retractable leashes can be a trip line for cyclists. Fayetteville limits leashes to 4-feet for trail use.

A pair of strollers or a social group can take up the entire width of the trail and make it difficult for others to get around them.

Trail crossings can cause confusion for motorists and pedestrians, partially because they are new. Some crossings require a user to hit a button, others signal automatically. Make eye contact with drivers and be sure they will stop before heading into the street, Roberts said.

Pedestrians have the right of way, and cyclists who dismount from their bikes are considered pedestrians, he said. Not every cyclist stops, especially University of Arkansas riders.

"I see students just assuming that cars are going to stop all the time," he said.

A busy trail is a good problem as long as people follow the rules of the road.

"It's just like a street network," said Matt Mihalevich, trail coordinator for Fayetteville.

The concept of staying in your lane protects more than just the person passing, said Melly Rohrbach, an avid runner and cyclist.

"If a cyclist hits you, you're both going down," Rohrbach said.

Children in Springdale will take trail field trips as part of a program that puts bikes in all third- through ninth-grade physical education classes in the city beginning this fall, Roberts said. Trail and bike safety will be part of the class. A first bike is a good time to introduce children to bike helmets and to make sure they fit snugly.

If the helmet falls off when slapped by an open palm then it's too loose, Roberts said.

"It's not just having it on your head. It's making sure it's secure so if you do fall it's going to protect you," he said.

Rohrbach has logged many miles on the greenway. She likes to make destination runs for her children. She needed a 10-mile run while training for a half Ironman last year, so she packed up the stroller and made a park or a bagel shop her halfway point.

Rohrbach is the Northwest Arkansas chapter leader for Moms Run This Town, a women's group that supports and encourages an active lifestyle. Facebook page members have debated safety ideas from the merits of carrying pepper spray or a phone to a whistle or a gun.

"Being aware is the biggest thing," she said.

The greenway is one of the safest places to run, Rohrbach said. The Crystal Bridges trail is one of her favorite places.

"I've run the greenway with a headlamp, and the thing that scared me most was a deer," she said.

Fayetteville trails are lighted with 350 lamp posts, Mihalevich said. Safety is part of the issue. Trail use is another. In the winter it gets dark at 5 p.m. and people are still heading home from work. Summer brings people out at 4 a.m. as they try to beat the heat. Infrared counters track 2,000 people a day on Lake Fayetteville, he said.

For women who will be alone on the trail Rohrbach recommends a women's self-defense class offered several times a year by Bentonville police. People shouldn't publicize a planned route beforehand on social media, but let a family member know. Rohrbach uses an app called Road ID that sends an alert if she doesn't move for more than five minutes and tracks if she's been gone longer than planned.

People feel safe because "nothing ever happens here," Rohrbach said.

"I feel like that's naive," she said.

He can remember two, maybe three incidents where a woman was attacked on a trail in Bentonville, said Capt. John Hubbard, spokesman for the Bentonville Police Department.

Runners and cyclists should leave an earbud out so they can hear their surroundings, he said, but the real problem is people who leave their cars unlocked while they're out on the trails. Purses or other valuables should be locked in a trunk, he said. A car can pull into a parking lot, a would-be thief tries the handles of adjacent cars, takes what they want and they're gone.

"All it takes is a second," he said.

Bentonville has had bike patrol for its trail network for years.

Most of the trails in Springdale are new. There are 12 new mountain bikes outfitted with blue lights and police stripes ready to patrol them, said Lt. Derek Hudson, spokesman for Springdale police. Last year the city purchased an all-terrain police mobility vehicle that can be driven on the trails for either patrol or rescue.

Patrolling on bike gives officers more interaction with people than they would have in their cars. There may be some late- night bike patrols just to make sure no one is out doing things they shouldn't on the trail, Hudson said. Bikes are less noticeable than police cruisers and although bike police will patrol the north/south Greenway corridor they'll get into neighborhoods too, Hudson said.

There was graffiti reported on the trail early on, but like other cities in the region, Springdale plans to have police investigate and get it removed in 24 to 48 hours, Hudson said.

Neighborhoods in downtown Springdale will get fresh life from visitors on the greenway.

"I don't think people need to be in fear of riding on those trails," Hudson said.

Springdale, as one of the flattest cities, has potential for beginning bikers, Roberts said.

The boardwalk trail in Springdale is already changing the culture of downtown and making it a place to be, said Misty Murphy, an avid biker and regional trails coordinator for the Northwest Arkansas Council.

"Every time I go there I see three or four people I know," she said.

People should experience the entire trail, not just visit the city they know, Murphy said.

"When you're in your car and you're driving through our cities, you miss so much," she said. "It's a whole world out there."

NW News on 05/02/2015

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