Basically, we had some bad rains and flooding in Davenport recently, and so when I tried to bike home from work I encountered this:
And this was just the one that I bothered to dismount, photograph, and continue. Basically the whole Duck Creek Trail was like this, from pools of water across the entire trail to every underpass choked with mud.
And unsurprisingly, I have some thoughts about that.
1. Bike (and Pedestrian) Infrastructure Should Count
This is the reason for that alternate title up there: because these trails get identified as recreational, the city (and not just Davenport, in my experience) acts like they don't count as infrastructure. They're just for fun, just for exercise, just for recreation. And thus when there's a storm or some other major disruption they basically don't count in the calculus of what needs repairing, cleaning up, or just general maintenance in the aftermath.
But while it's easy to discount these trails, they're actually pretty important: not only are they unique opportunities to get cars off the road and people moving on distinct paths that have affordances that streets don't (no easier way to get to the softball fields!), they're also relatively small and easy to repair. If we bother, of course.
In some ways what annoys me most is the tire tracks in that mud up there: someone did drive a vehicle through (and given what I see on the trail they were almost certainly a city employee). But whatever they drove through didn't clear the space. All it would take is a few minutes with a plow to get that mud off--much less than a street takes to clear, because the trail is smaller. But it never happens.
2. Ongoing Problems Compound
Making that mud worse is the fact that the trail also has consistent spots where it's graded poorly so the water pools instead of draining off. This happens without flooding anytime there's a rainstorm. And every time it makes the trail significantly harder to use--while also compounding itself by encouraging people to use the grass next to the trail instead, worsening the overall health of the trail space.
I'm not suggesting these are as easy to fix as the mud--but I am suggesting that if the only major roadway in an area got the same consistent giant puddles it would have been a much higher priority.
3. The Knife's Edge
Overall, this is symptomatic of a larger issue with bike and pedestrian infrastructure not only in the QCA but in the US outside of very few cities. It can function for commuting, or eerands, or generally for life for a while, but it's on a knife's edge. Just a little nudge: one storm, one rainfall, a section of trail that wasn't a priority to restore when roadworks took it out, and suddenly the whole system collapses. I had to change my clothes afterwards when I rode this because there was so much mud and water on the trail. If I had had a meeting or other event I needed to be clean for, it would have meant I could not use the bike to get there. And it wouldn't be the bike's fault.
We treat trails and paths and other bike infrastructure and pedestrian infrastructure as a complete afterthought, at best. It's always on the periphery--sidewalks and gutter bike lanes get the worst of storms too--and it's always the last priority. This makes it difficult to impossible for people to commit to using it, which creates a vicious cycle where no one uses it and so it looks like investments would be wasted.
So please, keep the dang trails open even after a storm. And stop treating this non-car infrastructure like it doesn't matter--because it can only matter if it gets some actual attention.
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