Blog#208- 7/14/24
SAFE BICYCLING
By Richard Davis
We live in a world where safety is often elusive. The police have their areas of responsibility and all other departments of cities, states and the entire country protect us in many ways. But there is one area where Americans seem to be more vulnerable than they need to be: bicycle safety.
As a member of the Brattleboro selectboard, a small Vermont town with limited resources, I am trying to work on making our town safer for bicyclists. There are lots of reasons why we should promote bicycle travel and in order to do so it means citizens have to become activated because they can’t rely on government alone to get the job done.
That is why I, and a number of local people, are working to figure out how to make our town safer for bicycling. As with any other issue, safe bicycling is something that is not simple to assure. This is especially true when it comes to trying to plan bicycle paths along public roadways.
My new mantra is “paint does not make a bicycle lane.” If we want to protect riders we need to create lanes that have some sort of barrier between the two thousand pound beast and two wheeled vehicles.
Years ago I would rollerblade on rural roads and it became too risky because too many drivers drive without paying attention to the road. That is the new reality and it is only getting worse. I was forced to seek out safer recreational options and that meant I had to travel to Massachusetts and rollerblade on paved trails. There were few, if any, local options.
Today I ride an electric bike. An aging body with lots of problems makes it difficult for me to ride a regular bike and the e-bike has opened up a new world of exercise possibilities. These bikes are expensive but they offer an option for many more people to become bicyclists. But riding on roads has become too dangerous.
I have calculated that over the 25 or so years I have been travelling to places such as Hadley, MA, North Adams MA and Keene, NH I have spent abut $20,000 on gas, not to mention all of that time driving. I always have lamented the fact that there are no local options.
Brattleboro has a dormant project called the Whetstone Pathway and it is a plan for a short recreational trail through town. A group of people are trying to revive the project with the hope of seeing it completed in the near future. Although it is a small start, it is a start and that is important.
I would also like to see if we can develop plans for other trails. The problem unique to Brattleboro is that our topography makes it difficult to create flat trails. Any type of project to do so would be incredibly expensive. And, as is the case with most ventures in the political world, it is all about the money.
But how much money is it worth spending to improve the lives of people? We could start with a few demonstration projections on local roads by putting up physical barriers and see what difference it makes.
Recreation is about improving the quality of people’s lives but it is also about boosting economic development and making a community more vibrant. Brattleboro needs all of those things and now is the time to start making it happen.
Roads, sidewalks, bike paths and shade trees
One of the problems facing drivers who’d like to peacefully coexist with bikers is the same problem for bikers themselves – the roads are generally terrible in Brattleboro. Nice and smooth as you enter and exit the town, but cross that line into Brattleboro and watch out.
This causes a number of dangers-
– Bike riders have weird bike lanes combined with crappy road edges to navigate. In many places they are super-narrow spaces for bikes (Putney Rd from the Common to the bridge, for example.)
– Cars and trucks are always swerving left and right to avoid potholes and weird grooves in the pavement. This is often a sudden, jerky move.
– People looking out for road damage are distracted from looking out for other riders and drivers. Split seconds count. All those holes and grooves and debris are obstacles to safety.
– Add in that Brattleboro has an overabundance of signage (also distracting – especially for people who are not from here, ) and people can still be seen noodling with phones while they drive.
There are three options for roads. Do what we do now and have most in disrepair but a few freshly paved. Do nothing and let it all return to dirt and gravel. Do more and keep everything in good shape.
First impressions matter. For example, Western Ave SHOULD be a gorgeous avenue lined with giant shade trees, with perfect roads, bike lanes and sidewalks. It should make your jaw drop with beauty.
I say put money toward roads, sidewalks, bike paths and shade trees. (and not surveillance cameras!. : )
Cycling
In this discussion I am more in agreement with Chris than Richard. A bike trail here in town would be good, and I think it should be along the Connecticut River parallel to the RR tracks. But a bike trail doesn’t get you anywhere as practical transportation, it would be expensive, and you still need to bike to it or build a big parking lot. We do have the West River Trail if you need a bike trail, just use a gravel or mountain bike. Driving to go ride a bike make little sense to me. 95% of all my bike riding starts and ends in my driveway.
Once you leave the downtown area of Brattleboro the bike riding is not to bad. There is always some danger from distracted or uncaring drivers. Not sure barriers in town or out are practical given the area’s topography, existing rights of way, and cost factors. Difficult/expensive to build and not many people to pay for things.
In town Chris is very correct that the roads are terrible. People including myself weaving in the car to avoid the worse road conditions. I have cycled the bike lanes on Western Avenue a number of times and think if it started with a quality road surface all would be ok. Now traveling east from I-91 to Solar hill area the new bike lane puts you in the old right hand wheel track of autos and it nearly jars your teeth out. I regularly cycle on Birge St toward Canal St and find it nearly impossible to maintain a straight line trying to avoid the storm drains and many road defects.
I would much prefer money is put into better roads in town than the building of a short bike trail that is of little practical use. This would benefit both cars and bikes.
If I was Emperor of the U.S., I would raise nation wide gas taxes by a few cents every six months for many years and automatically put all that money into better roads, taking all control away from congress to screw it up. I might also just eliminate congress, and the supreme court. This over time would also be a green incentive to encourage higher MPG vehicles. This and many other “great ideas” should be done nation wide rather than Vermont taking on ideas that bordering and very nearby states do not.
Then you also have the cyclists on the road whose mom and dad never taught them about riding on the right side of the road, wearing a helmet and the numerous other rules of the road all cyclists should be obeying.
Gary
"If I was Emperor of the U.S."
I’ll anoint you Emperor if elected King… : )
Bicyclists should also use common safety sense
About 10 years ago, I was stuck in traffic heading down the hill a bit before the intersection of Canal and South Main. I needed to make a right. The traffic started to move, I moved forward stopping at the stop sign, then entered slowly into my right turn. Just as my turn started, a bicycle pulling a trailer came coasting down hill without stopping.
The sudden appearance of the bicycle took me by surprise, and my front bumper barely tipped the back corner of the bicyclist’s trailer, yet with enough impact to cause the trailer to rock left and right several times before continuing on, discombobulating both me and the bicyclist.
I know the fellow, he called me that evening to admonish me. He said that before entering my turn, I should have checked my mirror to see if a bicycle was about to come by. Rather self-righteously he said that in Europe, that is required. Never mind that he was passing on the right. Never mind that bicycles are required to follow the same traffic signals as car: He breezed through a stop sign to enter the intersection, protected by nothing more than his assumption that any driver with the slightest ability to mind-read would know and follow European laws.
I wonder if he is still ignoring stop signs, passing cars on the right to coast into intersections, endangering his own life?