HOUSTON — Trails meant only for pedestrians and bikes were taken over by motorcycles Monday night and it was caught on video.
“I was coming back from a walk or run,” Evan Lewis said.
He's the one who shot the video of the motorcade. He said he first heard the engines before seeing the motorcycles pass by him in Buffalo Bayou Park.
"Without overestimating, probably between, like, 30 and 40 of these little motorcycles coming down the trail behind me,” Lewis said.
The motorcycles took up the entire trail as Lewis said he tried to get out of their way.
“I don’t think they were looking where they were going," Lewis said. "And there’s a couple of tight turns and hills where, even if you’re coming around too fast on a bike, you can come up on someone pretty quickly.”
There are signs throughout the park reminding visitors that motorized vehicles are not allowed. That includes electric bikes or scooters, which are much more of an issue.
"But the motorcycles were really a shocker," vice president of external affairs for Buffalo Bayou Partnership Karen Farber said.
Buffalo Bayou Partnership is the organization that manages the park and strongly discourages people from not following the rules which, in many cases, may also be violations of city ordinances.
"What these riders were doing is terribly unsafe on trails that have bikes and pedestrians,” Farber said.
Lewis said he posted videos on social media to, if nothing else, make people aware.
"I don’t want to get anyone in trouble," Lewis said. "I just think that there are already not enough safe spaces to run or to cycle in town. So I’d just like to keep spaces that are safe now safe for, you know, cyclists and runners.”
Officials said security will be on heightened alert regarding motorcycles on the trails. It's something prohibited in most other parks as well.