People who use city pathways report conflicts, poor manners and lax enforcement of rules

Staci Matlock

Outdoor enthusiasts ride, run, hike and walk their dogs on trails near the city of Santa Fe.

But conflicts between some of those users have prompted questions about how those trails should be managed.

Two of the most popular areas are the 22-mile Dale Ball Trails system on the north and east sides of the city, and trails in Santa Fe's Northwest Quadrant, including the 11-mile La Tierra Trails north of N.M. 599.

Santa Feans talked recently about their experiences on the trails and what should be done differently.

Trail problems

Dan Baker has been chased by dogs while running and biking the Dale Ball Trails.

Katherine McCoy said she, her daughter and her son-in-law were shot at in June by four men in a sport-utility vehicle on a Northwest Quadrant trail where motorized vehicles aren't allowed.

Other people have reported conflicts with all-terrain vehicles and four-wheelers around La Tierra Trails. Hikers report run-ins with mountain bikers on the Dale Ball Trails.

Lisa Hedley's leashed dog has been attacked twice by unleashed dogs on the Dale Ball Trails. "I witnessed the attacks, which were unprovoked, and had to subsequently deal with dog owners who took no responsibility for what their dogs had done by paying my veterinarian bills or even confessing that their dogs had done anything wrong at all," Hedley said. "I have learned over the years to keep my head down and to move off the trail with my dog when approached by anyone."

Some areas of the Northwest Quadrant and La Tierra Trails are closed to motorized vehicles, but either no signs announce the closures or people ignore them.

Dogs are allowed on the Dale Ball Trails "if they are leashed," according to the city website. People ignore the rule.

City police do patrol the areas periodically, said Sgt. Louis Carlos, who has patrolled the trails on both a mountain bike and on an ATV. A four-wheel drive is needed to reach some portions of the Northwest Quadrant and La Tierra, and it is hard to find an available one on a regular basis, he said. In addition, officers have found locked gates across some of the access points. "We're trying to figure out who's putting those up," Carlos said.

While some people report repeated run-ins with loose dogs and belligerent people on trails close to the city, others say they have rarely had problems.

Laid-back attitude

Santa Fe resident Margaret Alexander is a self-described "trail fanatic," hiking four times a week. In 20-plus years of hiking trails near Santa Fe, she's met up with dogs off-leash, fast-moving mountain bikers, horseback riders and people on motorized vehicles. "I'm interested in getting people out on the trail because it is such a healthy thing for your body and your mind," said Alexander, a member of the Santa Fe Trails Alliance. "I go out of my way not to have problems. It is partly your attitude."

Aside from the embarrassing moment when she came across a man peeing on the trail, Alexander said she's only had one bad experience, and that was with a man on an all-terrain vehicle on La Tierra Trails.

She was walking her dog on a trail through an arroyo a couple of years ago and saw the ATV headed toward her in an area where motorized vehicles were prohibited. She put up her hand to stop him and just talk. He pulled alongside her and instead of stopping, pulled a wheelie, throwing sand in her face. She fell over backward.

"What bothered me most was there was a little 6-year-old boy sitting in front of the man who may think it was OK to do this to a 60-year-old woman who couldn't do anything to him," Alexander said.

There was a time when she would rail against the poor trail manners she sees. But now she lets things go. "I pretty much don't get involved with people's behavior anymore," she said. "It's not worth it."

Instead, she tries to be proactive.

She greets other trail users and their dogs. "About the worst thing that happens is people don't respond when I say hi," Alexander said. "That's not so bad."

Nicolas Martinez, with Backcountry Horsemen of New Mexico, has ridden his horses on trails near Santa Fe for two decades. "I think we have a very good relationship with hikers and with many mountain bikers. Most are courteous and respectful to us and to each other," Martinez said.

Dealing with dogs

Alexander usually keeps her dog on a leash but doesn't mind loose dogs coming over to say hi. "Some people don't like the fact that their dogs want to do doggie things like sniffing and growling," Alexander said. "If dogs are allowed to sniff and greet, they are usually happy to get on with the business of walking."

Dogs also are tuned in to their humans' emotions. "If we are nervous and uptight, our dogs are nervous and uptight," Alexander said.

Martinez thinks it is fine for dogs to be off-leash if they are well trained. "If they don't run after the horses, that's all that matters to me," he said.

Dan Baker, who runs and hikes the Santa Fe trails, thinks "dogs should be on-leash no matter 'how good they are,' for everyone's safety," he wrote via e-mail. "I have had near collisions with dogs, been chased by dogs, had my kids scared to death by barking dogs, and had my dogs attacked by unleashed dogs."

Baker said on remote, flat trails where an owner can keep a dog in sight and under voice command at all times, unleashed is fine. But trails close to Santa Fe present too much risk for dogs to be off-leash. "With shared use and poor line of sight (on winding trails), a bike can approach way faster than an owner can call a dog back. It can really present problems for other humans, and the dogs themselves if they get t-boned on a trail (by a mountain biker) or attacked by other unleashed dogs," he said in the e-mail.

People who choose to leave their dogs unleashed are sometimes hypersensitive to comments.

"I recently witnessed, as I came down one of the Dale Ball Trails toward the parking lot, a woman being attacked physically by another for simply requesting that she leash her dogs," Hedley said. "And to my horror, a man who was loading his mountain bike onto his car and didn't seem to have any affiliation with either of the women, also got involved and assaulted the woman who made the request. It seems to me there is a false sense of entitlement most dog owners feel about having their dogs unleashed."

Trail etiquette

Trail etiquette is simple.

Mountain bikers and motorized vehicles are supposed to defer to hikers and runners.

All of them are supposed to give way to horseback riders.

Alexander said she usually steps off a trail for mountain bikers, though. "If you are going up a hill on a bike, you need to keep your momentum going," she said. "I understand that."

Horses get first right to trails because they are unpredictable animals. Martinez said it is important for people to remember horses are prey animals. "We ask people to get on the lower side of the trail when horses go by because if they are above it makes a horse nervous," Martinez said.

It also is a good idea for hikers or mountain bikers to speak to riders as they draw near. Hearing a calm, human voice lets the horse know a person isn't a threat.

Managing trails better

Several trail users recommend setting aside specific areas and trails for motorized vehicles and closing other trails to them. Martinez suggested the same thing for mountain bikes. "As you get more bikers, sometimes hikers and horses get displaced. You don't want to ride your horse among a lot of bikers, not because they are disrespectful, but because they are moving so much faster," he said.

Carol Allen thinks owners of unleashed dogs should be ticketed and motorized vehicles should be banned from La Tierra Trails near the residential neighborhoods. The leash rule should be posted at each trail head, and owners of unleashed dogs should be fined, she said.

Alexander said other towns require dogs to be on-leash only for the first quarter-mile of all trails.

Who should be patrolling trails and enforcing the rules?

McCoy thinks the city has largely ignored the Northwest Quadrant and its "dangerous conditions and endangering citizens in the city-owned Northwest Quadrant area bordered on the southeast by Calle Mejia, Alamo Drive and Camino de las Crucitas; and on the northwest by N.M. 599 relief route." She said the city has "half-heartedly" fenced off vehicular access to the Northwest Quadrant, "but fails to maintain these fences from incursions and fails to patrol the area with police officers."

"The area hosts drug dealing, driving under the influence, fireworks in drought conditions, and numerous other illegal activities," she added.

Baker and others recommend finding a way to pay off-duty police officers to regularly patrol trails. In addition, he suggests, officers could be assigned to patrol the trails on mountain bikes as part of their physical fitness requirements.

The city is working on a trails plan for the Northwest Quadrant and La Tierra Trails. A master plan outlines the needs expressed by various trail users under Northwest Quadrant Master Plan at www.santafenm.gov.

--Source: http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/Tug-of-war-on-the-trails

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