Phillip Barron
The Herald Sun
December 22nd, 2005
DURHAM — One reason Lars Trost took his current job is that he knew he could bike to work from home. His office is about six miles south Forest Hills West, and it was important to him to find a route he could ride safely at night, since he often leaves work in the dark. After months of riding, he feels that the American Tobacco Trail is the safest and most direct route.
Ever since Daylight Savings Time ended in October, Trost, like most bike commuters in Durham, finds himself riding home in the dark most of the time. Trost says that after dark he’s not comfortable riding in the traffic of Fayetteville or Roxboro streets, his only alternatives to the ATT. So, he chooses to ride Durham’s most popular greenway instead.
One evening a little more than a month ago, he left work around 6pm. The sun had set, but his path was lit by a headlight mounted to his handlebars. Near the ATT’s intersection with Cornwallis Rd, a Durham Police Officer patrolling the trail pulled him over and issued a warning for trespassing.
The officer pointed to a sign near the intersection and noted that the American Tobacco Trail, like all parks in Durham, closes at dusk. The officer advised Trost that the next time he is caught on the trail after dark, he could be issued a $135 fine.
This incident brought to light a problem for Durham’s greenways. If users rely on greenways to get to and from different sides of town, then why should the trails close at sunset? Doesn’t closing greenways at sunset limit their utility, especially in the winter months when the sun sets as early as 5pm?
While greenways are parks, they are parks of a different sort. Linear parks double as transportation corridors, and transportation is more than a daytime activity. Whereas recreational cyclists have more flexibility to arrange rides at convenient times, commuters are at the mercy of their work schedules and mother nature.
Trost isn’t alone. “I see the same people every morning on my way to work”, he says. “If I had to guess based on my experience, I’d say close to a hundred people a day use the trail.”
Through email, Trost initiated a conversation with the Durham Police Department, City Council, and the City’s Transportation and Parks and Recreation departments. A meeting was arranged, at which the City acknowledged that it would be squandering a resource if a transportation corridor is unavailable to those who need to use it.
Bike commuters in other cities also face the problem of dusk trail closures, so Durham was able to look to other places for solution models. While some municipalities, such as Baltimore, Maryland, address the problem simply by exempting commuters from the trail closure, how to enforce this exemption creates a new problem for law enforcement. The idea of establishing a permit system was also looked at. But requiring cyclists to register with the city in order to lawfully use a greenway after hours would prevent folks from spontaneously using Durham’s greenways to bicycle to and from a Durham Bulls game.
After hearing from Trost as well as many other commuters who use Durham’s greenways as transportation routes, Darrell Crittendon, Director of Parks and Recreation, decided that extending the hours that the trails are open is both the simplest and most democratic solution.
As of Monday, December 5th, the Parks and Recreation department extended the hours of the American Tobacco Trail from dawn until dusk to 5AM until 10PM.
Crittendon also notes that The Durham Police Department (DPD) will continue to monitor the ATT for safety throughout the extended usage hours. He encourages any commuters who use the trail at night to consider using a buddy system. The more traffic there is in any area, the safer it tends to be from a public safety perspective.
None of Durham’s greenways are lit and the City does not plan to install lighting along the trails. So, if you’re going to ride the trail at night, be aware that it will be dark. From sunset until 10pm and 5am until sunrise, Durham police will be enforcing the state laws concerning nighttime cycling.
All cyclists riding at night must be equipped with a headlight visible from at least 300 ft. and a red tail light visible from at least 200 ft. All local bike shops carry these lights, which can be attached to either your bike or your clothing.
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NC General Statutes
20-129. Required Lighting Equipment of Vehicles.
(e) Lamps on Bicycles. Every bicycle shall be equipped with a lighted lamp visible up to three hundred feet in front when used at night and must also be equipped with a taillight or rear reflector that is red and visible for up to two hundred feet from therear when used at night.