My husband and I walk on the Grace Trail (the North Plymouth rail trail) daily and observe so many disturbing behaviors by grownups and young people alike on wheels. Grownups with traditional pedal bikes often go like hell, like they’re in the Tour de France. The Grace Trail is hardly long enough to set a speedy pace that they do. Take it to Falmouth.
The kids (and some grownups) who are on powered bikes, scooters, and skateboards just go at any speed they want to whether or not it’s crowded with pedestrians and seem to enjoy the challenge of weaving in and out of these groups to frighten them. Most of the time pedestrians are pushing baby carriages with dogs on leashes attached. None of these riders bother to announce their presence either vocally or with a bell or horn of some type.
The kids putting on a show doing wheelies through pedestrian groups are the most dangerous. On full size pedal bikes. They seem to have little control once that front wheel is airborne, and at times I’ve felt they were purposely coming straight at me. If you say anything to them, they come back at you with cussing and cursing like you’ve never heard before.
I believe that because of all this bad behavior, the Grace Trail should be for pedestrians only. Many of us are seniors and are frail and hard of hearing so a verbal warning by a bicyclist goes unheard. Nobody uses a bell or warning device on their bicycles. The only things on wheels down there should be baby strollers, toddlers on tiny bikes, and people with walkers and wheelchairs. If the bikers who are using this trail are serious about bicycling, they should be somewhere else, not on this little trail that is so perfectly suited for pedestrian walking or strolling while enjoying the view of Plymouth Bay. We walkers could all use a break from people on wheels. Ban them all from this perfect little walking trail.
– Valerie Fredette