Is the city pulling a fast one on cyclists that get injured while riding on municipal bike paths? The California Association of Bicycle Organizations thinks so:

People injured on Bike Paths are being cheated out of the protections available to all Californians who are hurt on a public road, sidewalk or bike lane due to the negligence of a municipality. The public has been led to believe that Bike Paths (Class 1 bikeway transportation routes, paved and separated from car traffic) are built with safety in mind partly because California Highway Code establishes minimum safety standards for Bike Paths. But the reality is that municipalities such as the City of Los Angeles are hiding from their responsibility behind a claim that Bike Paths built for transportation are the same as unpaved trails opened for recreation. People are being baited by the promise of a safe Bike Path, but switched to the “ride at your own risk” exposure of an undeveloped trail.

Not a lot of info here unless you want to read the actual legal briefs, but if you’re the type that commutes from Burbank to Downtown on the river path, for example, it’s probably worth looking into.

Related posts:

1. Spoke(n) Art Bike Ride
2. Where to get your Bikeage on
3. Where Oh Where Has My Bike Lane Gone…?
4. Blogger, 1; pedestrians on the bike path, 0
5. Here Comes The Bike Cavalry