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Also, do people feel safe using it (speaking as a female runner).
An update on trail safety plans - I regularly see police officers on the trail around the city of Greenville. They have developed comprehensive plans for EMS response in the case of a health incident. They patrol on bicycles and with a 4-wheeler. It's interesting to see patrol cars with a bike on the bike rack in the back.
Because the trail has become so popular, especially on weekends, there is a good chance that it could extend to the NC state line!
Sorry though, the CSX crossing hasn't been rerouted and is still officially closed.
Some more important safety issues (than rail crossings):
After riding the Swamp Rabbit Trail weekly for a couple of months, here's some advice for those that haven't been on it, or have been on it a limited amount of time and may not have seen the activity that goes on there.
First, just because the trail is away from car traffic, don't assume it is safe in ANY other way.
If you are adult and alone, it still has many un-declared dangers: high-speed traffic, narrow or non-existent shoulders, steep and sometimes water-surrounded or bramble-infested banks.
If you are taking children or dogs with you, the dangers are multiplied in that you have no way to control the animals or children in short order, even with leashes, harnesses, and strollers. The operative words here are "in short order". You will find yourselves continually within just 3 or 4 feet of bikes speeding along at sometimes 15-20 miles per hour. Remember, half the time these will be overtaking you from behind. Whether you are riding or walking, your focus needs to be more on diligence than on exercise, or fresh air or nature.
My feeling about the Swamp Rabbit Trail after walking and riding on it for several months is that it is dozens of accidents waiting to happen. Be diligent and try to make sure you are not involved in one of them. I've seen several, and fortunately they have produced only minor injuries. But before you walk or ride this trail, arrive there and take a look at it and imagine what may happen if a dog on a long leash happens to stray across the path of a speeding biker. Imagine what it might be like to be knocked off the trail down a steep bank into briers.
Probably someone will read this and dismiss it as alarmist. That's fine. Rather that a few read it and look at the "trail" with opened eyes and avoid a mishap here and there. Forewarned is forearmed.
If you are a bike rider, please consider slowing down a little more at each clump of pedestrians you encounter. If you are a walker, please keep your ears open for warnings from bikers. And if you have a dog (please don't take several) or children, keep your hands on them or a leash that's very short. If you have small children on bikes, keep looking both forward and backwards for approaching bicyclists, and especially watch them when on sections of the trail where they may plunge down a dirt or gravel bank if they make a slight miscalculation or lose their balance.
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