As more bicyclists are killed or hurt in collisions with other drivers, American towns are increasingly taking steps to protect them.  ,  ,  ,
The number of pedestrians killed or hurt hit a top in 2021, when 966 died and another 42, 000 were injured, according to the latest info available.
In lighting of such data, cities definitely really try to keep riders safe. However, when city officials approve bicycle lanes for dangerous areas like those frequented by emergency vehicles, such as on vehicle routes, they harm cyclists.
Case in point: wonderful Petaluma, California, founded in 1858, where one might never assume a harmful cycle street. The city, which is located north of San Francisco in Sonoma County, has gorgeous structures along the Petaluma River that survived the disaster of 1906.
However, the Petaluma City Council is considering creating a designated vehicle way with a blaze train along D Street. D Street is considered to be a thoroughfare for some of the most serious injury, according to the High Injury Network of Sonoma County.
The proposed vehicle street is unnecessary, since near B Street, which is not a vehicle path, now has dedicated bike lanes. The plan, set to come to a City Council voting Monday, may be rejected on health grounds.
Petaluma claims to be” Sonoma County’s gate to wine country and the Pacific Ocean.” Tourists, unfamiliar with the area, rent bicycles and they wo n’t know that the D Street bike lane is close to trucks and emergency vehicles.
The city uses its money to get people so that it has a duty for the safety of its residents and visitors.
In 2021, 85 % of biker deaths occurred in places like D Street in Petaluma. More than 60 % of those fatalities occurred when bikers were cycling along streets rather than roads.
One indication of countless: In 2022, State Department minister Sarah Langenkamp, who had just returned from Ukraine, was killed in a vehicle street on a big Maryland path. A flat-bed Volvo truck struck Langenkamp after turning right into a parking lot. Although it was daylight, the driver in his high cab did n’t see her on her bike.
A survey of engineers and traffic for Petaluma in March 2020 found that D Street has” an above-average collision rate.” It is undoubtedly not a bike lane candidate.
Even on quiet streets, cycling can be dangerous, and adding trucks only makes things worse. On residential streets like D Street, bike lanes cannot be constructed without pedestrians crossing the street and delivery trucks stopping to drop off packages, preventing bike lane access.
Cars and trucks make right or left turns across lanes at intersections even when a line of parked cars or a physical barrier separates bike lanes from car lanes.
Jan Heine, editor- in- chief of Bicycle Quarterly, wrote over 10 years ago:” Any barrier that separates the cyclist visually from other traffic effectively hides the cyclist. This is counterproductive to safety”.
This situation would be much worse on a truck route, where truckers’ elevated positions result in numerous blind spots.
By removing 120 parking spaces used by homeowners and members of the Petaluma United Methodist Church, the proposed D Street bike lane would also harm the neighborhood.
The Rev. Robert Herrmann says he is concerned that people with disabilities and elderly will not have parking for Sunday services or midweek events like Alcoholics Anonymous gatherings and quilting parties.
The proposed lane would not also improve the climate. Even if California eliminated all fossil fuels, global temperatures would decline by only 0.0068 degrees Celsius in 2050, according to the U. S. government’s standard climate policy impacts calculator, called the Model for the Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Induced Climate Change, or MAGICC.
Bicyclists should be discouraged from using truck routes by local and state officials throughout the United States. And that’s why Petaluma should set up bike lanes so that both locals and tourists can avoid getting hurt and fatalities.
