A path for wheels and paws

It's sunset, and the Somerville Community Path is bustling.

Parents push strollers, dogs play as their owners chat, and runners, rollerbladers, and bicyclists cut through the crowds. One dog strolls across the dividing line into the path of an oncoming bike. The bicyclist hits his brakes with about 10 feet to spare, flipping over his handlebars, as the dog is jerked back to the right side of the pavement.

"Keep an eye on your dog," the irritated rider yells as he remounts his bike.

Nearby, a veteran dog-walker observes that the bicyclist would never have crashed if he hadn't been speeding in peak traffic.

"One day," she says, "the wrong two people will meet on this path and things will get pretty ugly."

Until December 2006, dogs were barred from the popular walking and biking path. As bicyclists and other users have grappled for space on the narrow trail in the 21 months since pets were granted access, there have not been any documented physical altercations or serious accidents, said Somerville Police Captain Paul Upton. But there have been plenty of "close calls," said Joel Bennett, a cofounder of Friends of the Community Path.

With so much action in a small area, it is up to those who use it to police it, such as bicyclists reminding one another to slow down, Bennett said. But he wants users to do more than just speak up occasionally. He wants them to make the rules.

"I think it would be good if the users decided what the rules were," said Bennett, who bikes and walks the path regularly. "Maybe the city could organize a meeting of different path users and try to reach out to the cycling community and dog-walking community."

While some bicyclists complain about unleashed dogs - in violation of the city's leash law - and some dog-walkers wonder why there is no speed limit for bikes in high traffic areas, the majority of users get along, said Michele Biscoe, a director of the Somerville Dog Owners Group.

"What makes the Somerville Community Path such a great shared space is that most people are responsible and respectful of each other," said Biscoe, who occasionally walks the path with Strummer, her 11-year-old female standard poodle. "Most people with dogs have their dogs on leash; most people on bikes ride at a safe speed and audibly signal others before passing."

Biscoe and other dog advocates believe an off-leash recreation area for dogs would clear space, cut down on congestion, and decrease the chance of a territorial battle on the path.

"Since there are no legal off-leash options for owners," said Rob Auffrey, a member of the New England Mountain Bike Association who regularly walks his dog on the trail, "many people let their dogs run free in the section between Willow and Cedar, especially adjacent to Lexington Park. This often causes non-dog-owners to stop and watch or interact with the dogs. Sometimes kids and parents on bikes and trikes stop right in the middle of the path with treats. Seldom does it cause any harsh words, but there is a bottleneck." The next extension of the trail, from Cedar Street to Central Street, Auffrey added, could be used to create a fenced-in area for dogs.

Bennett believes signs detailing proper usage of the trail would decrease the likelihood of run-ins. The Minuteman Bikeway, an 11-mile trail that runs from Cambridge to Bedford, features "etiquette signage" that tells the unaware how to properly give space to other users.

"A lot of people don't know how you use the path, which side you should walk on or run on or bicycle on," Bennett said, adding that he's e-mailed the city with a request for the signs. "The most accepted rule on multiuse paths is for all users to stay to the right, as if you were driving. There's actually nothing that says that anywhere."

But one thing everyone should agree on is that the trail is enjoyed by all, Bennett said.

"There's a strong sense of community that happens on the path that is so much more prevalent than any conflict," he said.

Send comments, bike news and events, and ideas to shiftinggears@globe.com.