BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

and i will cross-post my reply from the porc forum

that red area is the heart of the original 151 acres. the rest of the park was added later bringing the total area to somewhere around 400-500 something acres. you really should walk your bike in the red area as it is a very environmentally sensitive area, and a very rare bit of interior forest in an urban area.

technically it is illegal to ride on a non-paved path in any city park, but the city knows how much money mountain biking brings to those areas and how much work we bikers do as a community to maintain the parks, so they kind of look the other way. there has been talk of changing the law several times but i dont know if anything has ever come of it. someone who has been involved with ptag longer than myself would probably know the history of access in the city much better.

Clarification from the Frick Park website:

The Frick Woods Nature Reserve is a 151-acre

reserve in the northwest portion of Frick Park.

The reserve aims to protect and enhance natural

diversity in the heart of Pittsburgh and provides

opportunities to experience nature through

educational programs, habitat restoration projects

and volunteer participation. Surrounding the

Environmental Center is a variety of gardens filled with Pennsylvania’s native plants and a popular trail system.

Bikes are prohibited in this part of Frick Park.

it's my understanding that you are allowed, by law, to bike anywhere in Frick except for the two red areas....those are the area behind the garden where you took that picture, and the area where the wooden overlook is below the burned out nature center.

Batman AND Robin have been alerted about your evil doings and you will be apprehended within the hour.

On a more serious note, I understand the laws to be this: It is technically illegal to ride bicycles on the unpaved trails in the city parks.

With that being said, there seems to be no enforcement and very very little signage. I always make sure not to ride(or even walk a bike) through the nature preserve.

When I produced adventure races a couple of years ago the city approved not only mtn biking, but racing mtn bikes in Frick.

Which trails are actually off-limits? I've heard that the single track off of Nature Trail is... then again I've also heard that it isn't.

Seth I think that law was changed last year. The only two trails that are off limits are the trails behind the burned out nature center and the trails above the garden near the nature center.

this is what the municipal code says:

I think it's pretty clear.

(e) Bicycles confined to roads. No person in a park shall ride a bicycle on other than a paved vehicular road, or path designated for that purpose. A bicyclist is permitted to wheel or push a bicycle by hand over any grassy area or wooded trail or on any paved area reserved for pedestrian use.

that sign left out that very very important line: "or path designated for that purpose"

so is technically wrong. I'm guessing that was by design because the person who made it a) doesn't like bikes, or b) the signs been there for a really long time and no one bothered to update it.

the frick park nature reserve is a special part of the park.

i thought this might apply, but it doesn't because for the parks purposes, bikes (non motorized) are not considered vehicles

(b) Vehicles confined to roads. No person in a park or in a greenway shall drive any vehicle on any area except the paved park roads or paved greenway roads or parking areas, or such other areas as may on occasion be specifically designated as temporary parking areas by the Director. For purposes of this Section, the definition of vehicle shall include but not be limited to an automobile, truck, all-terrain vehicle ("ATV"), quad, motorcycle, motorbike, or motorized dirt bike.

plus, the pittsburgh parks conservancy has a whole page on their site dedicated to riding bicycles in Frick Park

http://www.pittsburghparks.org/frick-bike-trails

btw, if anyone wants to see the municpal code themselves, it's right here:

http://library4.municode.com/default-test/home.htm?infobase=13525&doc_action=whatsnew

The city's page on general park rules prohibits bikes except on roads.

http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/parks/general_park_rules.htm

But the Parks Conservancy has a similar list of rules, apparently derived from the same source, that omits this rule (and some others).

http://www.pittsburghparks.org/rules

Maybe the city's page just needs updating.

i wouldn't doubt that it needs updating. it's one of those things that would slip thru the cracks too. in Highland Park it says: Our only long-course pool, bike trails, playgrounds and the new bike track are part of the park.

on the city's "bicycling" page, there is still a pdf of "cycling resources" that was posted in 2006

Thanks everyone!

Erok, that's something about leaving such a significant qualifier off the end of the sign's text. I'm really glad to know how the rest of it goes and where to refer people (what? there are more words? and you just want us to believe you about what they are? yeah. also, bikers are entitled to a portion of any snacks you may be carrying while walking in the park- hey, is that a sandwich you have there?)

Anyway, I hope it's just an old version of the law and not a creepy intentional omission. According to the woman on the trail, there was a guy working (working? actually not sure of that. she made him sound like someone official, but who knows at this point) up in the little building at the Beechwood entrance who told her what the park rules are, basically quoting that sign as written.

Tempts one to tape an addendum to the bottom of the sign. (will. not. get. tape.)

The sign you show illustrates the original meaning of "the exception that proves the rule." If you see, say, a parking sign that says "No Parking Mon -Thurs" that implies that parking Fri-Sun is allowed.

in my experience, the city employees that are telling the rules, etc may not know, or get the memo on official rule changes, especially on something as "minor" as that. then you throw in personal biases and you end up with wrong info.

hey everybody, i've been sending emails back and forth with the city, and they've updated the parks "General Rules" section to reflect what the Municode says.

It no longer says "ride bikes on roads only"

check it out

http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/parks/general_park_rules.htm

nice!

Cool

you rock erok.

Very interesting...I go down into Frick @ Biddle Trail and it never occurred to me that I shouldn't. Thanks for sharing bikefind.

Thanks Erok!