Nearly every day for the past 17 years I have been walking the paths in and around Phelps Luck with my dog. First with Maggy, and now with Alby. On nearly every walk we've encountered cyclists - some riding on their way to work, some riding to school, and some dressed in full bike gear - shirt with back pockets, padded stretch shorts and clip in shoes - out on a training ride. Last Monday one of those full gear cyclists was riding around Lake Elkhorn and collided with a 4 year old little girl who is now in a body cast with a broken femur. He did not stop after the collision, but sped off instead and now the Howard County Police are looking for him. This is not the first time a cyclist has collided with a pedestrian. I spoke to a woman in Thunder Hill who had to have her jaw wired back into place after a collision. That cyclist did not stop either.
Everyone, and especially in nicer weather, likes to use the paths to enjoy the outdoors. I have felt for a very long time though that the cyclists, the vast majority of which are men, ride way too fast on these paths to coexist with the rest of us. Some of them are very friendly, but most are incredibly rude. They ring their bells to let us know they're coming and expect us to leap out of the way, sometimes never slowing down at all. One man recently yelled at me "On your left!! On your left!!" as he went speeding by. I do like to stay out of the cyclists' way because I walk a dog who would like to chase and catch a bike if he could. In fact, we went back to basic training last fall specifically to work on him NOT chasing bikes. I wonder what kind of training we could send these cyclists to?
Most people I talk to on the path hate the cyclists - not the kids out on bikes, not the families out for a Sunday ride, but the ones in full training gear riding at top speeds. It's tough to be a cyclist for sure. Out on the road cars make it very difficult for them to ride. However, on the pathway it's unrealistic for them to be riding at road speeds. It's clear that we've not done enough to secure bike lanes out on the roads to make it safe for cyclists and the pedestrians on our pathways are paying the price for that now.
The Columbia Association is working to widen paths, but I'm not sure that really solves the problem. Until the cyclists can ride safely along the roadways with the cars, in bike specific lanes following all the traffic laws, pedestrians along the paths will still be in danger of colliding with bikes riding way too fast.
BikeHoward cannot happen fast enough!
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