Great trail weather is here again, so don’t forget your good manners.
Alec Spicer
We in Dallas proper don’t exactly have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to walkable green spaces in the middle of the city. So, the Katy Trail’s 3.5-mile strip serves as the most ideal escape for outdoor recreation, and, especially in recent years, finding a date.
So, as the weather finally stops feeling like an air-fryer sourced directly from the surface of the sun, allow us to revisit some well-understood (or so you’d think) unofficial rules as the trail gets congested for those brief but beautiful 70-degree fall days in Dallas.
And while we’re on the subject of Dallas decorum, make sure to brush up on your dinner etiquette, concert courteousness and city hall civility.
Walk this way
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Perhaps the most habitually egregious behavior on the trail is groups of people walking side-by-side, and in turn, taking up the entire walkway in both directions. No one likes to be the odd person out, but three (or more) is a crowd on the Katy Trail. Either find a fourth to tag along so you aren’t boxed out in the back, or accept that you’re going to have to catch up on the gossip from behind your friends’ two sets of shoulders. Just don’t expect anyone headed the opposite direction to move out of the way — those lines are painted on the pavement for a reason.
Minding your dog
You would think this one needs no formal reminder. You would be wrong. Throughout the trail, there are pet waste baskets that offer those free green bags, so there’s no excuse not to pick up after your dog — and yet. We know the trail offers arguably the best chance at having a rom-com-written meet-cute in this city, and using man’s best friend as bait is one of the oldest tricks in the book to make that happen. You’re shitting (almost literally) on any fruitful chance of that, though, if your potential dates see you desecrating their beloved trail. Also, keep your dog on a leash. There are young kids, runners, cyclists and sometimes even feral cats, none of whom can be expected to carry responsibility for your dog.
Courteous cycling
Are there better places for cyclists to ride through the city? Undoubtedly. The trail is very much a pedestrian-first space, but cyclists are welcome as long as they follow the 10 mph speed limit. That won’t stop an asshat from tearing through the trail if they can — we’ve seen the safety officers who patrol the trail on bikes themselves have to warn cyclists to slow it down. Shake your head and huff and puff all you want. Or just go to White Rock Lake where the speed limit for cyclists is double that of the Katy Trail’s. Of course, make sure to use the same audible signals like alerting walkers with “on your left/right” or ringing your bike bell if you have one.
Don’t be a waterhog
Even a mild walk on the trail can leave someone unquenched, so when those Katy Trail Ice House water fountains appear within eyesight, they take on the role of a modern-day oasis in an urban jungle. The space around them can get crowded fast, so once you fill up your little paper cone cup, step to the side and let the person behind you slide in – the fountain isn’t going anywhere and you don’t run a monopoly on hydration stations. Oh, and even some of the trailgoers in strollers would know better than to just drop the cup on the ground afterward; make sure it gets to the trash or recycling bin.
The stroll doesn’t stop
There’s probably shared space on a Venn diagram of people who do this and the first rule of etiquette on this list, but it deserves its own emphasis: Don’t. Stop. In. The. Middle. Of. The. Walkway. There are runners, walkers and dogs being distracted by squirrels following behind you, and the way to avoid collision is so simple: just step off to the side of the trail. Are you the type who stops in your tracks when getting to the plot twist of a good read on your phone? You probably shouldn’t be head-down on the trail anyway. Is your sock doing that friction thing where it suddenly feels like someone is taking a pumice stone to the bottom of your big toe with every step? Just move off to the median or wait until you reach the next bench. We aren’t asking for much, to be honest.