Marin County rangers have raised a few eyebrows within the mountain bike world by announcing the impending use of LIDAR “radar guns” to monitor speeds in the Open Space District lands and Mount Tamalpais trails, near San Francisco, which has long been by many considered the womb of mountain biking.
All cyclists within the 16,000 acre space will have to ensure they don’t exceed the 15 miles-per-hour limit. The plan to enforce a speed limit was approved in December 2014 with the idea that it will help keep all users of the park safe and improve the visitor experience. It’s worth noting that it’s not just bikes – horses, ATVs, and other fast moving traffic (the fabled TurboGranny of Marin?) will have to abide by it too.
There are currently two deputies patrolling the open space preserves with speed cameras; anyone caught breaking the limit can expect a fine of several hundred dollars.
Pat O’Brien, Interim director of the Marin County Park, said in a statement: For years we’ve had concerns expressed to us about safety on unpaved roads and trails, so we think it’s natural to use a proven program in our open spaces. I wish to emphasise that the great majority of bike riders respect safety when they ride on the Open Space trails.”
So what do you think? Could you enjoy the full, heady thrill of 15 mph in this iconic region? At least there are no plans (YET) to enforce a speed limit at trails in the UK.
Full statement and more info can be found here.
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And how many people have actually been injured or killed by “speeding” mountain bikers in the history of the Park?
As usual, people fail to understand “RISK” properly……..
I can quite happily ride safely at 15mph on a clear trail with good visibility. Conversely I can ride unsafely at 7mph on a trail with poor visibility.
Also how are you going to monitor your speed without constantly looking at your GPS device, assuming it’s stem mounted and not thrown in your bag?
16,000 acres, 2 cops, standing start……..
I like those odds
If you get a Strava follower request by Marin County PD it might be a good idea to decline…
Coming to a national park near you, (if the ramblers had their way).
Honestly I thought it was a late April fool joke.
“If you get a Strava follower request by Marin County PD it might be a good idea to decline…”
Seems like another good reason not to use Strava.
And doesn’t this assume that every mode of transport has a mode of speed measurement fitted as standard, or will that be the next legal requirement?
Ummm, if I’m doing anything **like** 15mph on a mountain bike I’m looking at the trail, the trees, my front wheel, other trail users, pretty well everything **except** the Garmin. I can see a sudden rash of serious accidents in Marin County Park coz bikers are distracted from controlling their bike by the need to look away to check they’re not exceeding a ludicrously arbitrary speed limit. I just hope to goodness the Crown Estate management at Swinley Forest never hear about it. They’ve already bulldozed the jumps gully to protect mountain bikers from hurting themselves, we really really don’t need speed limits as well.