Burke Raises Mountain Biker Safety Concerns With Kingdom Trails

Burke officials are working with Kingdom Trails to address safety concerns about mountain bikers gathering in town roads and emerging from trail crossings into traffic.

Town Administrator Jim Sullivan told the Select Board on Monday that he met with Georgia Gould of Kingdom Trails after receiving complaints about riders. Residents often bring concerns to the town clerk’s office rather than directly to the trail organization, he said.

Sullivan said he feared that the reported concerns could lead to collisions between cyclists and motor vehicles.

He cited reports from the town’s highway department about cyclists gathering in the middle of roads. He worried that vehicles, particularly large commercial vehicles, could come over a hill or round a corner and come upon a group of riders in the travel lane. If that were to happen, he said, it would be “a scary situation.”

To illustrate his point, he described the risk at a trail crossing on White School Road, where cyclists may enter the road with little warning.

“They just kind of shoot out of that trail, because it’s a downhill, and if [a motorist is] not expecting that, it could be a disaster.”

Sullivan said he and Gould discussed installing signs at crossings and posting warnings at Kingdom Trails headquarters, where riders purchase passes. The warnings would remind riders to travel single file and avoid gathering in roads.

And now it’s time for your Moo92 sports…

The Boston Bruins came out firing Thursday night as they throttled the visiting Utah Mammoth by a score of 6-1. Davis Pastrnak with 2 goals in the win. Boston will welcome the Philadelphia Flyers to the Garden on Saturday. Game time 1pm.

The Montreal Canadians dropped their matchup with Nashville on Thursday 5-2. Adam Edstrom with 2 empty netters in the closing minutes. Montreal will host the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night.

And in local sports…

The North Country Varsity Football Team will travel to Milton tonight to take on the Yellowjackets. Kickoff at 6:30pm.

The North Country Lady Falcons soccer team hits the road tonight to play Thetford Academy while the Lake Region Lady Rangers will travel to Lyndon. Both kickoffs at 4pm.