lune 2, 2010
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The Week ¡n Review
H ealth
Bicycle Safety First
Busy streets get
the red flag
by J ake
T homas
T he P ortland O bserver
C lassifieds
O
pinion
pages 14-15 -
EL
O bservador
C orry H u ff has alm ost been clo b
bered m ore tim es than he cares to
rem em b er riding his bike through
Portland.
Last sum m er, he w as riding his
bike dow nhill on B arbur B oulevard
in s o u th w e s t P o rtla n d w h e n a
m inivan pulled out in front o f him .
He slam m ed on the brakes m issing
the van by inches.
“ She w as co m p letely o b liv io u s,”
said H u ff o f the d riv e r’s reaction
w hen he confronted her. “ H ad no
idea 1 w as even th ere.”
A s the so g g ier seasons give w ay
to su m m er and m ore Portlanders
take to the streets on bikes, sce
narios H u ff w ent through m ight
becom e m ore com m on. But there are
a couple things that cyclists and
m otorists can do to m ake the road a
safer place.
O ne o f the big things bicyclists
can do to stay safe is to stay o ff
roads that a re n 't m eant for bikes.
A ccording to G reg R aism an, traf
fic safety specialist w ith the Port
land D epartm ent o f T ransportation,
80 p ercent o f bicycle crashes o ccur
on 30 percent o f streets. M ost o f
those streets, said R aism an, are ar
terial streets- i.e. M artin Luther King photo by J ake T homas /T he P ortland O bserver
Jr. and C olum bia b oulevards- d e Willamette Pedestrian Coalition Director Steph Routh puts safety
signed fo r sw iftly m oving vehicles, first by not riding her bicycle on major thoroughfares that accom
modate automobiles but little else, like Northeast Martin Luther
not bicycles.
T he city has invested heavily in King Jr. Boulevard behind her.
bike lanes and a netw ork o f “neigh good w ay to share the road, said sionally is p assin g through inter
b o rh o o d g re e n w a y s,” w hich are R outh, but it could put cyclists at s e c tio n s o n th e s id e o f a car.
roads that have sparse and slow greater risk w hen they unexpectantly M ennesson said that bicyclists can
m oving car traffic and are m ore suited em erge from the gap.
easily put them selves in a d riv e r’s
for w alking and riding bikes. I f you
A lthough bicy clists are only re blind spot and in harm s w ay.
w ant to enjoy the city on tw o w heels, quired to have front and back lights,
A cco rd in g to analysis o f P ort
said R aism an, stay on these streets. Routh said it’s a good idea to get land Police B ureau data by the B TA ,
A ccording to R aism an, about 24 reflective tape on both sides o f the about 13 p ercent o f all accidents
p ercent o f Portland is w ithin five bike.
that o ccu r are due to a cy clist ru n
m iles o fa neighborhoods greenw ay,
“ I think drivers really appreciate ning a stop sign o r traffic signal to
and the city is on track to get 90 it,” she said.
ab o u t 11 p ercen t for drivers. O ne o f
percent.
M argaux M en n esso n , sp o k e s the m ost com m o n causes o f an ac
“ W e ’re on track to build a net person for the B icycle T ran sp o rta cident is w hen a d riv er m akes a turn
w ork that connects the entire city ,” tion A lliance, en co u rag es bicyclists in front o f a bicyclist, often referred
he said.
to ride d efen siv ely , and seconds to as a right o r left hook, w hich
Steph R outh, the director o f the R aism an ’s su g g estio n to stay on m a k e s up a b o u t 15 p e rc e n t o f
W illam ette Pedestrian Coalition, said the back roads.
c ra sh e s.
that new cyclists w ill try to stick to
“ W e gen erally en courage e v ery
M e n n e s s o n a ls o e n c o u r a g e s
the side o f a road to let drivers pass one to be really aw are o f others on d riv ers to keep their eyes p eeled for
by, and w ill duck into gaps betw een the ro ad ,” she said.
bikes on the road. R outh also adds
p arked cars to give m otorists m ax i
A com m on m istake o f people w ho an even m ore basic w ord o f advice.
m um space. T his m ay seem like a m ay only take to tw o -w h eels o c ca
“ Relax, you ’ 11 get there,” she said.