Like many Davis County residents, Pete Whiting and Orion Goff commute to work in downtown Salt Lake City, but unlike most commuters, they don't worry about traffic jams, road rage or irritating radio commercials.

Whiting and Goff commute to work by biking over the mountains between North Salt Lake and downtown Salt Lake along the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. They haven't missed a day in more than a year, often biking through rain, sleet, snow and the dark of winter mornings and evenings.

"Commuting on bike is good on so many levels," Whiting said. "It's good for your health, it cuts down on air pollution and it's even good for the nation because it lessens the demand for oil."

But recent construction on the Eagle Point subdivision has caused problems for Whiting, Goff and others who use the trails for commuting or recreation. Accessing the trail requires passing through a construction area, and that area has been closed to pedestrians and bikers because of the construction.

Though a "no trespassing" sign had been posted for several weeks, Whiting and Goff always passed through the land without any trouble until two weeks ago, when Whiting encountered two police officers who wouldn't let anyone pass, he said.

Workers called police to enforce the trespassing ban that day when they saw two people jogging between the road-grading machinery they were using, said Steve Israelsen, CEO of Sky Properties, the company building the development.

"That's just unsafe," Israelsen said. "We've got huge construction equipment out there, trucks and scrapers, and it's just an unsafe place for people to be going through."

Whiting said he understands the company's concern for safety, but it's important to encourage more trail use, and completely closing down a way to access trails discourages people from using them.

The closure will remain in effect until construction on the road is completed, which will probably take three to four months, Israelsen said.

In the meantime, Whiting and Goff have been taking a longer way around, using the new Wild Rose Trail, which links into the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, and adds about half an hour to the commute.

Whiting leaves his home in North Salt Lake before 6:30 a.m. to make the ride to the Office Building of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where he is in charge of information technology architecture.

Before the construction began the ride took him about an hour each way. When he arrives, he showers and changes into a suit. At the end of the day he changes back into biking clothes for the ride home.