News-Miner Editorial
Training wheels
Spring or summer, driving requires caution
Published Wednesday, May 28, 2008
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Stumble It!In the winter, motorists learn to watch for the glare of ice and lack of traction in our less-than-perfect weather. We take the hazards in stride. It comes with the territory.
In the summer, our roads have hazards as well, one of them being bicyclists.
So come the early season near-misses and nicks and bumps, soon followed by the griping, complaining and acrimonious assertions of right and wrong.
We see it and hear it year after year.
It seems that we are not unlike the little ones pedalling around neighborhoods with training wheels keeping them upright each spring. We just need to get that summer balance back again.
We all have to be careful out there, but the greater responsibility, one can argue, lies with the motorist.
Motorists are the licensed operators of tons of steel (and rubber and plastic and polymers) with the potential for high speeds and the ability to crush and kill. A vehicle can be a deadly weapon. A bicycle can dent and scratch a fender like nobody’s business, but it’s the bicyclist who suffers the most for his or her own mistakes along the roadway.
With the price of gas steadily increasing, Fairbanks likely will have a growing population of bicycle commuters this summer.
Alaska law does give bicyclists the same rights and responsibilities on the road as any other vehicle. If we’re going to see more and more bikes on local roads, motorists need to get used to that idea.
They are required to ride as far to the right as possible on the roadway — on the shoulder if possible. They’re also supposed to move over if they get a line of vehicles behind them.
Our town is far from fully navigable via bike path. Many of our local two-lane roads don’t even offer a decent shoulder. Some bicyclists complain that paths like the glorified sidewalk along College Road are hazardous because while they offer the illusion of an open path, they cross dozens of driveways and parking lot entrances that cars may pop into in the blink of an eye. Cars have a clear view of the roadway and they generally stop before they pull into traffic, cyclists reason, so it’s safer to pedal in the flow of traffic.
With the law the way it is and the condition of our roads the way they are, these conflicts will crop up year after year.
We could spend millions reworking local roadways to accommodate bicycles, but that doesn’t seem practical. It’s better to address the roads and paths issue gradually as we move forward with new planning and construction. We could rewrite the law, but to ban bike riders from roadways without an alternative would be patently unfair — especially to productive workers who simply can’t afford a car.
Or we can endure the “training wheels” phase of each summer, drive and pedal with caution and — as Alaskans are known to do — take these less-than-perfect conditions in stride.
Community Discussion
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To the addressing of the paths as we move forward with new planning and construction part of this editorial..
I would really like to know the reason why when Plack Road was redone last year, there was nothing added for pedestrians or bicyclists!! There is absolutely nowhere for kids to go except the road! The shoulder isn't even wide enough for a disabled vehicle to get out of the way. The ditch is at least 5 feet deep or more and is just inches away from the road. Millions were spent to redo this road and I had hoped, at the time, they were going to do something to address this problem as LOTS of kids live along it..Nothing was done and I was, and still am, baffled as to why not! Hurst has a bike path(that gets plowed BEFORE the road I might add!) and so does Badger, so what is up with redoing Plack and NO path to ride or walk on! Please, somebody, tell me!
Thanks editor, for a voice of reason. We'll see what the rabble does with this.
Thanks for the positive and forward looking insight. I agree with your observation that bike paths often prove to be dangerous when separate from the road. That being said they still get used quite a lot by people other than cyclists. Perhaps there is a need for both. Bicycle lanes along the shoulder of a road are probably the most cost effective way to address cycling needs. Bicycle and motorcycle usage will be increasing and we should acommodate that in driving habits and in road design. Fairbanks isn't an outpost anymore so we ought to start making it how we want it to be by accomodating the needs of an active public. Its our town so lets make the very best of it. I'm sure it will pay off in the end.
You should say we should address these issues as we move forward, but there is little sign of that in this town. Look at the box store district. Find a sidewalk anywhere near that area. They are even adding more roads and intersections as we speak, and are not adding sidewalks or bike paths. That is a VERY dangerous situation, that has people out walking in the street.
Make the box stores and that area add sidewalks post haste!!! That is where your battle should start for safer streets.
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