In Duluth we are super fortunate to have miles of the beautiful  paved part of the Lakewalk for riding bikes, walking, jogging roller blading. But for some people when they get on their bikes it seems they forget that they need to obey traffic signs as well.

Parts of the Lakewalk cross busy  side streets and cars going down to London Road or coming up to Superior Street cut right through the Lakewalk. There are posted stop signs on the Lakewalk path in both directions and is meant for people on the Lakewalk to stop and look both ways before crossing the street and continuing on the paved path.

Last summer I asked Officer Ron Tinsley to come out to a problem area on 57th Avenue East to see for himself how people on bikes to not stop or even slow down before crossing the street and continuing onto the  path. If you are in a car heading down to London Road, the stop sign for your vehicle is after the Lakewalk path and before the railroad tracks, so when you stop in your car you are actually partially blocking the access from the Lakewalk to the street. It is a momentary stop but none the less your vehicle is vulnerable to have a bike rider slam into the side of your vehicle if they do not stop.

This particular crossway is a daily cat and mouse game for many people who have to cross over the Lakewalk to get down to London Road. Just last weekend I had a gentleman going very fast on his bike almost take out the back end of my car If I had not lurched forward onto the tracks because I saw him coming at me out of the corner of my eye.

So please to everyone using the Lakewalk, please pay attention to the stop signs and actually stop or slow down before you cross the street. As adults you would think that we would not need this type of reminder, but apparently some do. This is also a good time to  instill this rule into your kids so everyone has a safe and enjoyable summer.

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