It is curious to see that on the stretches where there is ample room to walk elsewhere—Oak St. Beach, the stretch near Queen's Landing, and many others—the majority of pedestrians (especially those with toddlers in strollers) prefers to take the trail, especially in those spots where it is closest to Lake Shore Drive, I suppose to need to get their noxious car-exhaust fix.

Admittedly some form of code of conduct for the trail would be nice. However, it is a trail for *all* non-motorized traffic, not just bikes, and its primary purpose is to enjoy the lakefront park, not to function as a highway for bicyclists. You cannot hold the Park District responsible for this city's gross lack of meaningful infrastructure for bicycle commuting. For me, the lake front trail is a winding detour, albeit a pleasant one, and it is the only car-free long distance option available on the east side of Chicago. So, for the sake of safety and peace of mind, I add 5 miles to my daily commute, which I would very likely forgo if other similar car-free alternatives existed. Until then, I simply cope with the absent-minded pedestrians, roller bladers and joggers, and use a loud bell and adjust my speed to make sure I don't hit anyone.

I have high expectations for the direction in which the Emmanuel administration is steering things, and the pressure that organizations like ATA keep up. Next to 20 dollar a gallon gasoline—not realistic any time soon—that may very well be our best and only hope to solve this issue.

As long as the ATA goes along with the "everything goes" philosophy on the Lakefront Trail they are part of the problem, not part of the solution.

Before it was an everything path, it was a bike path. Now, at peak times, it's a path that many bikers do their best to avoid and who can blame them.

How did this happen?

I first of all blame the Park District for allowing the anything-goes culture to go unchecked. Yes, path users are selfish - they need someone to enforce a few rules.

No one should be wearing earbuds on the bike path. You are not alone out there in your own zone. It's just selfish to expect others to look out for you if you don't look out for yourself. If you can't either others calling out to you you're endangering yourself and them.

Rollerbladers walking dogs on leashes they have no control over.

Clueless pedestrians stopping in the middle of the path to chat. Would they stop in the middle of Michigan Ave.?

Parents teaching their kid to ride a two-wheeler at rush hour on the path.

And Tour de France wannabees who slow down for nothing.

It's time to acknowledge that the path is a highway for non-motorized vehicles. This doesn't mean that I want cyclists to be able to ride at unsafe speeds with impunity. But I do expect every user of this path to use it safely, and since many are evidently too stupid to do so, I think we need some rules and some light law enforcement to enforce them.

• speed limits for bikes
• no earbuds, walkmans, etc. so that others may call out
• no "walking" dogs from moving vehicles

There needs to be signage informing people what the rules are. Evidently the Park District thinks they are in a better position legally if they don't post rules. But anarchy isn't cutting it.