Is the River Trail Safe to Share, Vol II? Or, Where Is The Eastern End?

In the last post, I discussed the Santa Fe River Trail, covering the segment from St. Francis SW to Siler Road. Today, after putting a pair of Schalbe Marathon Plus tires on the Long Haul Trucker and having a former BTAC member gently remind me to look at the eastern end of the River Trail, I  took a look at the trail from St. Francis Drive towards Downtown.

Mounting those tires was indeed a bit of a marathon. They were so tight on the rims that I ended up using motorcycle tire levers to mount them. My buddy Pat O'Brien concurs.  If I ever flat on the road, I think I might just call a cab.

Back to the trail. I hopped on it at St. Francis. For the most part the trail is plenty wide and the sight lines are excellent.

Between St. Francis and Campo, looking W.

Between St. Francis and Campo, looking E.

 However, when you are passing Campo you start seeing suggestions that the trail will soon end. But where?

Sensing impending end of trail, I kept riding eastward. Finally, when I was approaching Galisteo, the trail precipitously narrows to about five and a half feet and there is a sign indicating cyclists can take the full lane. Presumably, since at this point the trail is not of minimal AASHTO width to share and the sign indicates we can take the lane, this is the end of the multiuse portion of the River Trail. At that narrow width, I would not attempt to share it in a busy downtown area.

I think the City should put up a sign or signs indicating that the multiuse portion of the River Trail ends where the sidepath narrows below AASHTO minimum.  I wonder if this is the area where the older gentleman who spoke at a recent BTAC meeting felt genuinely rattled sharing what at this point is a sidewalk with cyclists.Not sure, but at any rate, we ought to recognize that at this point the sidepath is actually a sidewalk.

Of course it is legal to ride on a sidewalk unless there is signage posted to the contrary as per 12-8-15 ("Riding on Sidewalks") of the Santa Fe Uniform Traffic Ordinances, (downloadable pdf here) and I didn't see any signage as required telling cyclists not to ride on the sidewalk. That said, I would think, as an LCI, that one's underlying assumptions would change just a little bit. Its now a sidewalk rather than a multiuse trail facility. Be more careful as there is less space to share and you therefore will not be able to give other users as much distance from yourself when sharing that space. 

Personally, I see no reason why a competent adult cyclist should be riding on the "sidewalk" rather than on E. Alameda. Traffic is manageable. I ride it all the time as it is part of one of my frequent short loops. My personal view is that once the sidepath narrows to below AASHTO minimum, it should be reserved for pedestrians in all but a few cases (riding with children, an elderly person who can't risk any possible contact with a motor vehicle, etc.). In those cases, RIDE WITH CAUTION AND WITH DUE RESPECT TO PEDESTRIANS.

Vandalized sign at W. Alameda and Campo
 indicating trail ends soon,

Wayfaring at Campo

Approaching Galisteo from the West, 
you see the sidepath narrow and are invited to take the lane.
Maybe we should add "multiuse trail ends here"

Just W. of Galisteo, the sidepath narrows 
to sub-AASHTO width. End of the (multiuse) Trail?
Long Haul Trucker with difficult to mount Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires 
is ~65 inches long (five feet five inches) for scale,
so "walkway" is about five and a half feet.