I was born and raised in the Santa Clarita Valley. Having lived here for 15 years, I consider it my home, and enjoy living here. One of my favorite activities is exploring the paseos on my bicycle. In fact, I have ridden hundreds of miles on the bike paths with both my family and my Boy Scout troop. However, I have noticed a serious safety issue regarding the use of e-bikes, motorized bikes, as well as manual bicycles.
While riding on the paseo behind Heritage Park over to the Iron Horse Loop, I have almost been run off the path by cyclist groups, who not only fail to make their presence known, but also veer into oncoming cyclists. Further, many of the e-bikes on the paths go far above the legal speed limit for assisted bicycles, as well as riding classes of e-bikes that are allowed on the trail that they are using. I have even seen a couple of dirt bikes that rode on the trail going the wrong direction.
As for solutions, I realize that implementing safety measures can be costly. However, the benefit it provides significantly outweighs the downside of the cost. Here are my suggestions.
To start, install some sort of device, like pneumatic road tubes, to gauge speeds and identify specific problematic segments of the trails. Post signs or clearer signs that announce the speed limit, as well as the types of vehicles permitted and not permitted. Lastly, periodically have police or sheriff’s deputies monitor the problem spots identified by the speed devices.
The paseos are an essential part of what makes our community unique and enjoyable. However, with the lack of regulations on speed and general safety, I often feel unsafe on the trails. I appreciate your consideration of a matter that is important to me.
Raleigh Solmonson
Boy Scout, Troop 2222
Valencia
