Markers instruct walkers to stay to the left of wheeled traffic.

>

The Providence Journal / GLENN OSMUNDSON

Rhode Island’s four main bike paths are already crowded on good-weather weekends, not just with bicyclists but with walkers, dog walkers, Rollerbladers –– even Rollerbladers with dogs. With so many people using the bike paths, the potential for accidents and collisions is ever-present, so the start of the season is a good time for all users of the bike paths to be reminded of the rules.

Confusion arises because the posted signs and painted icons that instruct walkers to “walk in the left lane, facing bicyclists” don’t spell out the rest of the rule, which is that walkers are to stay to the left, close to the grass edge, and make way for oncoming bicyclists.

Just as on an automotive highway, pedestrians are safer if they are facing the oncoming traffic –– but that doesn’t mean that they can walk in the middle of the road.

Rhode Island bike paths were constructed with federal and state highway dollars to be used as an alternative transportation mode for wheeled vehicles, and with gas prices on the rise, more and more people are using them that way.

Bicycles have the right of way in BOTH lanes of the bike paths. Rollerbladers are considered the same as bikes and use the bike lanes. Dogs must be kept on leashes shorter than 6 feet and out of the path of wheeled traffic.Bike to Work Day

To encourage people to ride their bikes to work, Friday, May 16, is National Bike to Work Day.

In Providence, the Providence Bicycle Coalition ( www.bikeprovidence.org) and the Rhode Island Department of Transportation ( www.dot.state.ri.us/bikeri/) is hosting a free program of bike information at the Bank of America Skating Rink from 7 to 10 a.m. and from 3 to 6 p.m. There will be a free breakfast for cyclists in the morning, and in the afternoon there will be music by Joe Parillo & Friends, demonstrations, giveaways, and exhibits by vendors such as REI, Whole Foods and Starbucks and bicycle groups including the Narragansett Bay Wheelmen ( www.nbwclub.org), the Sierra Club and the East Coast Greenway Alliance.

Useful Web sites for R.I. biking

The best site on the Web for updated information on the bike paths in the state is the Department of Transportation’s Bike RI site, www.dot.state.ri.us/bikeri. There you will find printable maps of all the paths, as well as construction information and links to other sites, such as Narragansett Bay Wheelmen ( www.nbwclub.org), which runs free weekly bike rides all over the state, from beginner to expert level.