It's my understanding is that it's not the path that kills it, it's the constant walking/running that causes grass erosion. You just can't see it with the pattern paths in place, which is kinda the point.
Paths don't stop grass deterioration.. this was confirmed a while ago. .-.
It's not the paths that kill the grass. It's the running and walking over them (mostly running) that kill it. >_<
I might experiment with this theory. I know a few places in my town full of grass where I pretty much never walk, so I'll lay some paths down there and clear this up. For the record, I've understood the same as what everyone else is saying: Paths themselves don't make grass grow or deteriorate slower or faster, it's the walking that does it.
It is better to have the grass die in a set path, than have the grass die everywhere.
I think the dirt paths left when picking a pattern up look nice anyway, if there was any reason to remove the pattern
Paths themselves do not cause the erosion. I have had the same paths in my town for 2 months, and I have been running on it nonstop. You can check the condition of the grass by listening closely for if the walking/running sounds is constant dirt, grass or a combination of both. For me the grass was worn down to plain dirt for a super long time, but when I go bored of the game for a couple weeks, I got back and I realized it sounded like mostly grass with a little bit of dirt. You can also pay attention to the color of the dust cloud that rises behind your feet when you walk at full speed or run. After a certain point, when there is a lot of dirt, most of the grass worn away, the dust cloud will be more brown, corresponding to the color of the dirt. Try it, run on grass, look at the dust cloud then run on dirt. It is a different color, trust me
That is true, but, the grass also dies from villagers constantly walking or running on it. Actually, I was glad to have my path, because now I have natural dirt paths to follow to get around town.