Phillips said the boy, who was riding a bike, and the van met at the corner of Hovey Street and Kansas Expressway. Phillips said a witness said both the boy and the van stop, then both went at the same time.

Phillips called the accident “really just bad timing.” The police department had not yet decided who was at fault for the accident.

This photo, taken by News-Leader staff photographer Nathan Papes (a former student of mine), was published online but not in the print edition.

And right there we can see the need for bicycle education for children in the United States. I’m talking about something formalized — perhaps through the schools using local volunteers (to keep costs down because, geez, we certainly wouldn’t want to spend too many tax dollars on the safety of our children).

The photo seems to indicate that the child was riding the wrong way down a major 4-lane artery. The speed limit here is 45 mph. It is not clear from the photo if the boy was on a sidewalk or not. I am not sure if there is a sidewalk at that intersection.  From the angle of  the van’s front tire I’d say the driver was turning right. In any case he would have been looking left for on-coming traffic.

I am not trying to make an argument that the child is at fault.

(Many commenters on the News-Leader site want to blame the parents for “allowing” a 7-year-old near such a busy street.)

I am beginning an argument that WE are at fault for not doing a better job of teaching children in this community how to ride safely.

Bicycle education and a Safe Routes to School program are even more important now that school bus service will be trimmed because of a cut in state funding.

Technorati Tags: bicycle accident, bicycle politics, bicycle safety, cycling

Question: If these roads are so dangerous, why are the speed limits 55 mph? Perhaps what needs to happen is to slow drivers rather than to ban bicyclists.

The council tabled the bill in order to consider expanding the ban.

More coverage from:

• St. Louis Post-Dispatch
• AP via KPLR
• KMOV4
• MoBikeFed
• LAB

Does MoDOT have a say in this?

UPDATE: From an e-mail sent by MoBikeFed:

Missouri Bicycle & Pedestrian Coordinator Melissa Anderson says that the roads in the proposed ban fall under the jurisdiction of Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission and that “MoDOT has no intention of prohibiting cyclists from state roads. Bicyclists have the same rights and responsibilities as drivers according to the law. It is important that there is mutual respect and consideration between cyclists and motorists. Cyclists must obey the laws and motorists need to respect a cyclist’s right to use the road and not intentionally cause them harm. Local law enforcement may be able to assist with both of these issues.”

Technorati Tags: bicycle advocacy, bicycle politics, bicycle safety, cycling, traffic law

But, then, I’ve never bicycled in Copenhagen.

Further, this study has nothing to say about fully separate systems such as those we see in the Netherlands and in our Greenways system in Springfield.

The damning evidence seems to indicate that bicycle lanes/tracks that do not integrate with intersections create hazards for bicyclists.

This is empirically true based upon experience. It appears painfully obvious (to me, anyway) the last place you want to be in a line of cars is stuck in a right-hand guttler lane. You’re just asking for conflict.

So the upshot for me is this: The study offers me a little more evidence in my continued fight against painting gutter lanes on Springfield roads. This study helps me argue that sharrows on the bicycle route system — a project coming under the CIP renewal — is a far better way to go in terms of the safety of bicyclists.

I have a moral problem with this conclusion from page 14 the study:

“The positive benefits [of bicycle tracks and lanes] may well be much higher than the negative consequences caused by new safety problems. It will be reasonable to sum up costs and benefits in order to identify roadways that are relevant for implementing bicycle facilities.”

What the author of this study fails to note is that the burden of injuries and deaths will be borne by inexperienced bicyclists. I won’t pay the price. I won’t be affected. I know when to avoid those lanes. I am comfortable taking a commanding lane position in traffic. I know that it is safer to be a part of traffic intellectually. And I know it is safer to be a part of traffic experientially.

Far too many novices (and roadies with limited urban experience) still believe you will be “run down” if you ride in a commanding lane position. A few miles of urban travel — and surviving same — usually cures this condition.

So, ultimately, I am against lanes and tracks because I believe them to be immoral; they put the inexperienced at greatest danger.

Technorati Tags: bicycle advocacy, bicycle infrastructure, bicycle safety, cycling

I’m a bit old-fashioned; anything that I want to study carefully I prefer to read in print. So I’m taking my printed copy of this study and heading straight to the Mudhouse for java and reading. I’ll post a reaction here later today.

Technorati Tags: bicycle advocacy, bicycle infrastructure, bicycle safety, cycling

If you want to learn to ride a bicycle in traffic with ease and confidence, this is a great place to start. I hope this site becomes the beginning of the cure for bicycle-lane fever — the false assumption that bicyclists are safer riding in what amounts to the gutter.

Great stuff. Please check it out.

Technorati Tags: bicycle advocacy, bicycle culture, bicycle education, bicycle safety, cycling, traffic law