Walkers and cyclists clash on Minuteman path
By Matt Viser, Globe Staff | July 1, 2007LEXINGTON-- Frank Corsino walks nimbly, a cane in his left hand, a transistor radio in his right. He wears a driving cap and a wide grin, and for years along the peaceful, tree-lined Minuteman Bikeway, the 84-year-old man found solace after his wife and former walking partner died.
But these days it is a different story. Instead of the spirit-restoring stroll he used to enjoy, he finds himself going into combat mode, dodging torrents of joggers, cyclists, stroller-pushers, dog-walkers, and roller bladers who have flocked to the 11-mile trail in mind-boggling numbers.
Community leaders who oversee the trail say its popularity is higher now than in any of the 14 years it's been open, and the Washington-based Rails-to-Trails Conservancy estimates that there are 2 million annual users, making it the second-busiest trail of its kind in the country.
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The committees also have stuck to a philosophy of ensuring the Minuteman is accessible to all; they'd rather it be crowded than exclusionary, officials say. They have only one hard-and-fast rule, that there can be no motorized vehicles, unless it's a wheelchair.
"Basically, stay to the right and be happy," said Jack Johnson, chairman of the Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee. "If you don't like it, go find another path. It wasn't designed for one person or one type of person. It was designed as a multi use system."
... <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/07/01/rage_on_the_bikeway/?page=1">http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/07/01/rage_on_the_bikeway/?page=1</a>;
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