Blocked paths bum bikers

As Bike to Work Week begins, Rail Runner work leaves main trail from south side closed

Tom Sharpe | The New Mexican

5/12/2008 - 5/13/08

Just in time for Bike to Work Week, construction to prepare for the Rail Runner commuter train has shut down the main bicycle trail from the south side of Santa Fe.

Bicyclists and pedestrians once could follow the dirt trail along the Santa Fe Southern Railroad spur without traveling alongside motorized traffic.

But about a year ago, construction in the Santa Fe Railyard shut down the northernmost section of the trail, between Paseo de Peralta and Montezuma Avenue.

As the Railyard construction proceeded south, the path from Alarid Street to Paseo de Peralta became impassable. When the triangle between Alarid and the intersection of Cerrillos Road and St. Francis Drive became a staging area, more of the trail was lost.

About a month ago, reconstruction of the railroad spur to accommodate the Rail Runner train blocked the trail between Alta Vista Street and Second Street — a stretch of about a mile through the center of Santa Fe.

Last week, Rail Runner work closed the trail between St. Michael's Drive and Siringo Road — paved last summer and reopened in September.

One of the two new metal pedestrian bridges across channels of the Arroyo de los Pinos has been removed. Crews soon will dismantle the timber railroad bridge across the same channel, so the arroyo channel can be filled in over a new pipe that will carry stormwater runoff.

Since there are no warnings of the closure where the paved section starts at St. Michael's Drive and Siringo Road, bicyclists and pedestrians don't realize their path is blocked until they get to a chain-link fence.

Sorrel Page, 51, who has been commuting on her bicycle for 24 years, had to reverse her route at Siringo Road, where she had tried to get on the Rail Trail.

"I work at home, so I don't usually come this way and I didn't know this was closed," said Page, who was on her way home from a teeth-cleaning. "Now what do I do?"

The city's new Bikeways & Trails map says the Rail Trail isn't likely to be reopened until December, when the Rail Runner should begin operations to Santa Fe.

But Rail Runner Project Manager Chris Blewett said the bike trail, or at least portions of it, could be reopened before the Rail Runner arrives. Until then, he said, the area will be closed to bicyclists, pedestrians and everyone else.

"As long as we have activity in those areas — and by activity I mean heavy equipment and things like that — it's not a good environment for people to be in," he said.

Blewett said finalizing the schedule for reopening the trail will have to await the City Council's approval of the Rail Runner traffic-control plan Wednesday.

The section of trail through the Railyard is expected to be reopened by the first week of August, said Richard Czoski, executive director of the Santa Fe Railyard Community Corp.

Contact Tom Sharpe at 986-3080 or tsharpe@sfnewmexican.com.