Clearance Rules establish the minimum safety distance various obstacles must be from a bike trail or path (signs, trees, and structures of all types). They have been adopted for bike trails and shared use paths for the safety and protection of all users and persons and property nearby. Etiquette Rules for their use have also been adopted and should be enforced for both the safety and the comfort (sense of safety, security or aesthetics) of trail users.  All major standard-setting guidelines state that a 3-foot clearance is required from a bike path to any stationary objects.

Bike Schenectady, our City’s Bicycling Infrastructure Master Plan, establishes such a 3-foot clearance for Schenectady’s bike and shared use paths, as do the relevant federal and state authorities.

 . . They follow the clearance guidelines given in the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Guide for Development of Bicycle Facilities (AASHTO Bicycle Guide); the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways (MUTCD); and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines.

• A shorter clearance means a smaller safety buffer for persons on or along the trail, providing less space for emergency and discretionary stops, and a smaller recovery area if pedestrians, cyclists, or others are run off the trail. 

 The short, one-third-mile distance across Riverside Park has a multitude of below-standard clearances from the edge of the Trail to stationary obstructions, old and new (trees, signs, utility poles, trash cans, curbs, a giant pair of entry pillars, a Cycle! stand, and more). As a result, Riverside Park’s path has become even more dangerous and disrupting than I feared and discussed in detail in 2017, when its conversion (after generations as a leisure path for low-key park uses) to a transportation-oriented Shared Use Path was first proposed.  It is hazardous for users of all ages and skill levels, whether cycling, walking, skateboarding, rollerblading, dog-walking, stopping to chat, viewing sunsets, or using wheelchairs, buggies or strollers. 

The images below show and describe clearance violations along the Riverside Park shared use path. Click on them for a larger image.

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 WHAT SHOULD BE DONE? Is there a remedy for the many safety hazards along the Riverside Park path? Most of the hazards cannot readily be removed. I suggest that bikes, scooters, and skateboards be walked across Riverside Park, as is required on the Jay Street Walkway and Stratton Plaza pedestrian pathway in downtown Schenectady. Cyclists can enjoy the Park and River while walking across the Path, or by staying awhile, or can use any of the streets that deadend at the Park to ride back to shared traffic lanes and the Empire State Trail.