On March 12, a longtime Community Cycles volunteer, Jesse Green, was killed biking to work on Jay Road. Jesse was the second bike fatality on Jay Road in two years. This is unacceptable.
In a March 30 Daily Camera op-ed , I laid out the reasons why Jay Road (and many similar roads) are so deadly, not just for bicyclists, but for people walking and in cars as well. Excessive speed, a lack of a safe, viable commuting route and distracted driving all play a role in the increases we see in fatalities and serious injuries.
Community Cycles has been working hard with the city and county to make our streets safer. Much of this is being done at the City of Boulder through the Vision Zero Partnership, which I address in the op-ed. Boulder County also needs to adopt Vision Zero and set about creating an Action Plan and timeline that will address eliminating serious crashes through engineering, enforcement and education.
But there is much that can be also done today to make out streets safer now. More protected bike facilities and intersections with timing that allows pedestrians a protected phase to safely cross the street can happen today with little to no cost.
Vision Zero recognizes that all humans make mistakes, but insists these mistake should not be fatal. Every person killed or injured in a traffic crash is someone’s child, loved one, co-worker or good friend. None of us would accept this fate for people we love and care about. Traffic fatalities and serious injuries are preventable. We know what causes them, and we know how to create road conditions that greatly decrease their likelihood of happening. Let’s work together to make our roads safer for all of us.