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... But there's room for improvement

I recently wrote about the expansion of Madison County Transit's bicycle trails and the new maps that point out all the great loops possible from the Edwardsville-Glen Carbon, Ill., area.

As with all endeavors, there's room for improvement. Here's a couple of things I would like to see MCT address in the next few months:

• The condition of the MCT Nature Trail. It's been several months since I've ridden it, but there are several cracks in the section of the trail between Interstates 270 and 255 that can easily grab a road tire and cause a serious accident. I handed out the new MCT maps to several people on the Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society's Ravissant Winery ride, and several cyclists mentioned the poor condition of the trail to me. Until MCT gets around to repairing that trail, cyclists on road bikes should use plenty of caution on that stretch of the Nature Trail.
• Lack of signage: The completion of the Goshen Trail opens up a lot of possibilities for cyclists it takes cyclists safely through the rapidly growing communities of Edwardsville and Glen Carbon. However, if you are not familiar with the region, it can be confusing to figure out which trail you need to take. At a minimum, MCT needs to put up signs at trail intersections to guide them on the proper trail. It would be even better if MCT also adds the mileage to certain key locations on the trails such as towns, parks, schools, universities, etc. Not everyone who rides the the trails will have a map, so the signs would be really helpful in guiding people on the 85 miles of trail MCT maintains.

These points are meant to be constructive criticism to help MCT make a great bicycle trail network even better. The people of the St. Louis Metropolitan Area are fortunate to have a governmental agency such as MCT committed to building and maintaining trails that provide lots of recreational opportunities for cyclists, runners and walkers.

Roger 1 comments 2:53 PM

Comments:

Not just road bike tires... there are many cracks that could easily swallow a mountain bike tire.

I recently rode it with a lovely young lady.. and outside of the few miles of dangerously cracked trail, it was a nice ride.

Thanks Roger,
TC

# posted by  Anonymous : 11:40 PM

 

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