Here's the Lawrence-Hopewell Trail near my house. It's a wonderful 20 mile on-road and off-road loop of asphalt that ties together a handful of towns. One of it's little spur-trails provides people from our neighborhood with a safe off-road pathway to get into Pennington. From there you can reach neighborhood streets that even children could ride to get into town for a slice of pizza or to hang out with friends.
But these photos were taken a week after the most recent snowfall. The roads have been clear from curb to curb for days. This trail hasn't even been touched by anyone with a plow or shovel. This is despite the fact that I've seen many other cyclists pedal the associated roadway over the past week.
Multi-use trails are rarely taken seriously as infrastructure for basic transportation. They're seen as recreational space of low priority. In the fall they are often littered with branches, acorns, and debris from trees.
I totally support trail construction for recreation. New and experienced riders all benefit. It's a real luxury to ride without concern for cars approaching from behind. I take advantage of multi-use trails whenever it makes sense to. It's a great place to teach skills to youngsters as they go from wobbly-wheelers to confident cyclists.
But in terms of supporting the use of bikes for basic transportation, the resources are much better used by adding an extra foot or two of asphalt to each side of the main roadway -- outside the white line. This approach takes less total asphalt, reduces net impervious surface, allows for easier maintenance, allows more options for the roadway such as emergency parking or passing, and provides cyclists with a well-maintained safe place to ride.
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