Letter to Three Rivers Park District

Here is a letter to The Three Rivers Park District. I have withheld the name and address but thought everyone might be interested in reading it. You might be particularly interested about the biking part. It is topical as I was thanked by a slower biker (There aren't many....) the other day for calling out "on your left!" as I passed. She said "No one does that anymore!" Just food for thought:
To whom it make concern:

We have noticed the increase in rude bikers on the Three Rivers Trail every year. This year is even worse already than last year and last year was even bad.

The trail is right behind our house and we walk and ride our bikes on it almost every day during the summertime. The rudeness of the bikers while we are "walking" has been almost more than one can take. This morning it was not busy, but the 3 different sets of bikers that rode past, nearly took my arm off from passing WAY too close. They have vertually no regard for the walker what so ever! We had our dog and had to nearly jump off the trail to not get hit. They are riding way too fast and no announcements regarding passing and then ride WAY TOO CLOSE.

Because of the incident this morning, we did call the Minnetonka Police and reported what happened. Neither of us were HIT, but some of the bikers were probably only a couple inches away from my arm! That is way too close. They travel fast and 2 to 3 abreast, not caring what is in their way!

We need more patrols on the trail. We need possibly volunteers to stop these rude bikers and explain the rules of the trail! Vertually no one announces their passing anymore. It is so RARE. And, when 2 or 3 abreast try to pass, you almost must hit the ditch so not to get killed!

This needs to be addressed somehow before someone gets killed on the trail this summer. And, the weekends are so bad, that we do not even use the trail during weekends anymore. I would imagine many, many people are hurt or nearly hurt while out on the trail. We see near accidents all the time just from our backyard!
What can be done regarding the rude bikers?? Also, we have asked for more benches for years and the answer is always that there is not enough money. The parts of the trail we use the most, is from Hopkins area out to Victoria while on our bikes. We use the trail for walking from Country Village area out to Excelsior area. A suggestion for some benches would be Williston Road and the trail intersection; Hwy 101 and trail intersection, and man more areas on the trail heading out to Victoria. We find it shocking on how much money is being spent on signs and shelters for maps, etc., yet no additional benches are mentioned. The cost of more benches here and there can't be more than the cost of the concrete the signs and shelters and the cost of the signs and the shelters themselves. For several years I guestioned portable toilets be placed along the trail and especially at the trailheads. (Hopkins & Victoria) And, the answer was always there was not enough room on the trail for them. The concrete laid for the new shelters was more than enough room to place a portable toilet. So how could they be built? Would someone please respond to our email? We need to make the trail safer and more user friendly. More patrol and the addition of more benches and portable toilets. AND GET THE WORD OUT ON RULES OF THE TRAIL! One last concern we just thought of also, is that the trail is being used more during the AFTER hours than it ever was. We are concerned when people are walking past our backyard on the trail and it's midnight! What are they doing on there at that hour of the night? Plus more noisy.

We used to think it was a great benefit to live on the trail system, but don't feel that way anymore. Rude and LOUD people have taken over. And it's really sad it is in our back yard!

Any thoughts?