Five of the nine experienced cyclists who were mowed down by a pickup truck on a rural road in Kalamazoo on June 7 died. While most bike crashes occur on urban roads, there are hidden dangers in biking in uncongested rural areas.
Light traffic and beautiful scenery can hide some of the dangers of riding on rural roads like the rural, two-lane North Westnedge Avenue a few miles north of Kalamazoo in Cooper Township, Michigan, where the horrific crash occurred.
It "shows that many rural roads fail to account for bicycle safety, advocates said," writes The driver struck the cyclists — all experienced riders — from behind."
Rear end crashes accounted for 40 percent of collisions in a May 2014, League of American Bicyclists study [PDF].
Unlike urban cycling, "[c]yclists traveling in rural areas were 3.7 times more likely to be struck and killed at a location that was not an intersection," wrote Angie Schmitt for Streetsblog USA in May 2014 on the LAB study.
The 50-year-old pickup driver, who fled the scene, "was charged with five counts of second-degree murder and four counts of reckless driving causing serious body impairment," adds Abbey-Lambertz. "Authorities haven’t disclosed whether he was impaired at the time and haven’t speculated on the cause of the crash."
Roads like Westnedge are particularly dangerous for cyclists [Highway Safety Information System study (PDF)], according to Bill Schultheiss, a principal engineer with the Toole Design Group who works on improving street design for cyclists and pedestrians in projects around the country. While motorists in cities are more accustomed to sharing the street with cyclists and pedestrians, drivers on rural roads don’t always have the same awareness.
Two-lane rural roads have higher fatality rates for cyclists than even a lot of urban streets, because of the higher speeds,” Schultheiss said. “The expectation on those, from most drivers, is that they have the whole road to themselves.”
Schultheiss and Jim Ferner, Kalamazoo biking advocate, "said widening the shoulders on Westnedge to give bikers a separate lane should be the first priority to increase safety," writes Abbey-Lambertz. She adds that while there has been progress in improving bike infrastructure on urban roads, it's difficult to make changes on rural roads.
Instead of making redesigning roads to make it safer for all road users, many media outlets are quick to jump to victim-blaming, asking if the cyclists were wearing helmets and bright clothing.
"Why on earth would any responsible news outlet look at a tragedy involving criminal negligence and use it as an occasion to lecture potential victims?" writes Michael Jackman in a comprehensive piece looking at media coverage of the June 7 tragedy for the Detroit Metro Times.
Hat tip to Barbara Gilbertson.
FULL STORY: Cyclists Shouldn’t Have To Risk Their Lives Just To Use The Road
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Google Maps Introduces New Transit, EV Features
It will now be easier to find electric car charging stations and transit options.
Ohio Lawmakers Propose Incentivizing Housing Production
A proposed bill would take a carrot approach to stimulating housing production through a grant program that would reward cities that implement pro-housing policies.
Chicago Awarded $2M Reconnecting Communities Grant
Community advocates say the city’s plan may not do enough to reverse the negative impacts of a major expressway.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.