As more people leave their cars at home and hop on bikes as their primary way they get around, safety issues become increasingly important.
Road Runner has seen the dangers that accompany on-street cycling firsthand.
While driving east out of downtown on Broadway one afternoon last month, I saw a cyclist attempt to merge across the streetcar tracks near Fifth Avenue.
The rider cut to the right across the green markers on the street, but the angle at which he hit the rails was too acute.
The impact caused him to teeter back and forth. He might have recovered but for the backpack he had hung on the handlebars, which made contact with his spokes and sent him head-first onto the asphalt of the bicycle lane.
He managed to bounce up quickly with nothing more than minor road rash on his hands and knees. Had his mishap sent him into the path of an oncoming car, the incident could have been much worse.
Another incident personally witnessed about a week ago appeared more serious.
At the same intersection, a car was stopped in the right lane of Broadway just east of Fifth Avenue with its hazard lights flashing.
As I approached, I saw a small crowd of people around a downed cyclist. Some were helping him.
A woman cradled the cyclist’s head in her lap as others attempted to comfort him.
I didn’t linger for too long — one more onlooker wasn’t going to help the situation. But both incidents show the responsibilities motorists and cyclists have for keeping the streets safe.
“A lot of people don’t realize that they have to follow traffic laws,” said Eric Post, a Tucson attorney with a specialization in bicycle laws.
Post said the law maintains that cyclists who want to use public roads have to follow the same rules as vehicles.
“Any statute that says ‘the drive of a vehicle’ also applies to a bicycle,” he said.
That means stopping at traffic signals and going in the same direction as traffic.
Motorists also have responsibilities.
Post said it’s important for drivers to understand cyclists have the same rights as they do.
“If we can keep up with traffic, we can use any lane,” he said.
If a cyclist can’t maintain the same speed as cars, the cyclist has to move to the right.
But cyclists are allowed in the normal travel lanes and can use left-turn lanes.
If a car wants to pass a cyclist, the driver has to give the cyclists at least a 3-foot berth. That means 3 feet from cyclists, whether they are in a bike lane or not.
Post said Tucson is largely safe for cyclists.
Regional officials also see the need for increasing safety for everyone who uses the public rights of way.
“We’re trying to improve the quality for everyone,” said Matthew Zoll, Bicycle and Pedestrian Program manager with the Pima County Department of Transportation. This month and next, the Pima County Bicycle and Pedestrian Program plans a series of bicycle safety programs. Classes cover topics such as riding around the university area and streetcar route, trail riding on mountain bikes, basic traffic skills, a traffic skills class for women and bicycle mechanic skills.
“We try to introduce them to the very basics of what they might encounter in traffic,” Zoll said.
The classes teach people how to navigate urban traffic, cross streetcar tracks safely and about the rules of the road. There’s even absolute beginner classes, for all ages, that teach people how to ride bikes.
There also are classes for more-advanced riders who want to refine their skills, Zoll said. No matter what the skill level of the rider is, there’s always more people can learn to stay safe on our regional streets.
For more information on the bicycle safety classes, visit www.bikeped.pima.gov or call 724-2453.
Down the road
Beginning Tuesday and lasting through Thursday, Sept. 17, the left lanes of eastbound and westbound Tanque Verde Road will be closed while workers replace a portion of curb and complete landscape work along the center median.
The work is part of the ongoing North Rillito Interceptor Sewer Rehabilitation Project.
Reader Question
A Road Runner reader asked about directional signage on the newly completed bridge at Kino Parkway and 22nd Street.
The reader is concerned that signs don’t indicate lane mergers, which results in drivers making frantic, potentially unsafe, merges into traffic to avoid having to exit Kino.
Tucson Department of Transportation said temporary signs will go up within two weeks, followed by permanent signs within 30 days.
The signs will read “22nd Street — Right Lane Must Exit” and “Thru Traffic Merge Left.”
