I’ve spent the last week or so reading the differing opinions regarding longboarding on the recpath, and would like to chime in. While both sides point out some valid points, I think people’s opinions are clouded by the way they enjoy recreating. For me personally, my wife and I are avid road cyclists – somewhere between recreational and competitive. When we ride down Tenmile Canyon, we are often in excess of 30 mph and usually within inches of each other and the people we ride with for more effective drafting. For us, everyone on the recpath is potentially dangerous: slow bikers, people who ride side by side, anyone using the wrong lane, small children whose parents are oblivious to the fact that there are other users on the recpath, and our personal favorite, people who step into the left lane upon hearing “On your left!” For me, longboarders are just one more potential hazard.

My point is that concern for a specific type of recreation introduces an additional hazard to one’s own method of recreation should not be a reason to prevent a group from using the public path. While some users might see longboarders as being dangerous, there are probably other users that think your method of recreating is equally dangerous.

The best way to make the recpath safe is not to arbitrarily limit activities of certain groups, but for each of us to use personal responsibility, caution, and respect for all users.