BikeWalkLee responds to the News-Press "Paths of Peril" feature reporting on biking safety issues with a guest opinion piece by Ken Gooderham in today's paper.
Guest Opinion by Ken Gooderham
There's been a certain amount of
community comments to The News-Press feature article "Paths of
Peril," an in-depth look at biking and walking and the potential danger in
both on Southwest Florida roads.
Some responded with letters
admonishing bicyclists that sharing the road with motor vehicles — particularly
if you don't obey all the same rules to the letter — can get you killed. Others
worried negative coverage would obscure the positive achievements in bike/ped
facilities and safety locally, while driving even more cyclists off the
roadways for good.
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| Ken Gooderham |
Yes, sharing the road with 2 tons
(or more) of fast-moving glass and steel can be dangerous, particularly if
there's a distracted or distressed driver behind the wheel. But obeying all
rules is no guarantee of safety, as some of the victim vignettes made clear.
However, there are many instances showing bikes and cars can coexist if both of
them are willing to work together, extend some common courtesies to one another
and act in a consistent fashion.
Yes, negative news can overwhelm the
positive — particularly to those who have worked so hard to achieve our
incremental bike/ped progress. But news articles overlook the vast majority of
mundane bike-car interactions that occur daily. Absolutely, if some riders
don't feel safe sharing the road, they shouldn't — they should ride only where
and when conditions don't unnerve them. Doesn't mean those riders will give up
cycling, they just need to be a lot more selective about how and where they
ride.
Better facilities make biking safer
and more accepted, and communities across Lee County have been working on
expanding our biking and walking network, building more than 150 miles of new
sidewalks, bike lanes and shared use path facilities throughout the county
since 2010.
For example, having some 90 miles of
bike lanes and routes marked and marketed in Cape Coral is going to improve
cycling by both quality (better routes) and quantity (hopefully more bicyclists
making motorists more aware of their presence). Ditto for the Tour de Parks
route, for the widely popular Sanibel shared-use system, for the many roadways
improvements put in place and for the many more in the works.
Let's also remember responsibility
for safety falls on everyone using the roads — and blaming one group in
particular is shortsighted and wrong. If drivers try to justify cyclists being
maimed or killed as a result of them not obeying the rules, will they hold
their fellow drivers to the same high standard? Will the cyclists who rail
against arrogant drivers yell equally as loud at other cyclists who ride
stupidly, endangering all around them? Will everyone take all necessary and
prudent steps to ensure their interaction on the roads and paths is as safe as
possible — not just by actions, but by attitudes?
More users can also mean more
potential danger — even when motor vehicles aren't involved. This season,
traffic on area biking and walking facilities is higher than ever, and that
means skilled riders have to dodge the newbies, cyclists have to negotiate around
walkers and the ubiquitous strollers and leashes, and everyone has to take a
deep breath and be a little more patient. Now, translate that onto our
overcrowded roadways and consider the consequences.
There's risk in everything we do.
The key is minimizing the risks you can, and preparing for the risks you can't
… which, for cyclists, means riding defensively, taking advantage of the array
of equipment that can save your life, and riding where you feel comfortable as
you work on the skills (and facilities) to expand that comfort zone.
Don't just listen to the bad news,
but focus on the good opportunities to bike and walk.
Ken Gooderham is a resident of Fort
Myers and a member of BikeWalkLee, a community coalition raising public
awareness and advocating for complete streets in Lee County.
I really appreciate you Mr Ken.
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