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Fight over bike safety re-ignites in Encinitas
Will protected bike lanes with barriers do the trick?
On January 1 just before 6 pm, a 45 year old male bicyclist was rushed to the hospital. (Sideo)
As the new year begins, so do the car-bike collisions. Encinitas, the city that in 2023 declared a local emergency over bike safety after multiple serious and fatal crashes, was first.
On January 1 just before 6 pm, a 45 year old male bicyclist was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries after being struck by a car headed eastbound on Encinitas Boulevard near the intersection of Cerro Street
The crash revives the controversy around bicycle safety, as the class 2B bike lane where it occurred offers no protection from traffic besides painted lines.
Class 4 bike lane
"These types of bike lanes are unfortunately very common in San Diego," said Ian Hembree, with the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, recalling a fatal incident in San Diego's Black Mountain neighborhood in November.
Opponents of the antidote — protected bike lanes with barriers between riders and traffic — point to examples like the coast highway in Cardiff, where numerous crashes and close calls marked the early launch.
Class 2 bike lane
What caused the 79- year-old driver to collide with the bike is under investigation, according to the North Coastal Sheriff's Station. The use of alcohol or drugs is not believed to be a factor in the collision, deputies said.
According to the city's circulation plan, Encinitas Boulevard is designated as a major arterial road, which carries high volumes of traffic.
Officials say where bikes and cars share fast-moving roads, speed and infrastructure are critical factors. The city is now working on a Safety Action Plan that includes vulnerable road users such as bikes and pedestrians and people 65 and older and 19 and younger.
The goal: ending fatal and severe injury crashes by 2028.
At an October meeting of the mobility and traffic safety commission, senior planner Angelica Rocha discussed crash data from 2018-2022 which found that "just 15 percent of the city's roads make up all of the fatal and serious injury crashes."
Among the top crash types, speeding accounts for 24 percent of fatal and serious injury crashes. Generally, hitting an object or veering off the road has to do with speed, she said.
The study looked at crash locations, comparing intersections and mid-block. More crashes, it found, occurred at signalized intersections.
"But when we look at fatal and serious injury crashes, most are occurring at mid-block," Rocha said, which is likely due to kinetic energy, or the force of a vehicle.
"The impact is really significant when traveling at the roadway speed at mid-block.
Last July, new speed limits took effect on several roads the city has targeted for traffic calming, including Encinitas Boulevard. Its 40 mph speed limit saw a 5 mph decrease, as did all roads with speed limits of 30 mph or higher.
As the city tries to address the rash of collisions by changing roadway behavior and infrastructure, they'll be looking at where protected bike lanes, sidewalks and sharrows exist and how well they are working — and where there's a glaring gap, as many pointed out during public outreach.
The main requests by residents were for off-street bike paths, protected bike paths, roundabouts, shorter and more visible crossings, and better traffic enforcement.
Hembree, with the Bike Coalition, sees protected bike lanes as a fitting solution for roads like Encinitas Boulevard.
"These class 2B bike lanes on stretches of road with 40+ mile per hour speed limits and no curb parking are often amazing candidates to be upgraded to protected class 4 lanes by adding some vertical separation."
Here's something you might be interested in.
Fight over bike safety re-ignites in Encinitas
Will protected bike lanes with barriers do the trick?
Fight over bike safety re-ignites in Encinitas
Will protected bike lanes with barriers do the trick?
On January 1 just before 6 pm, a 45 year old male bicyclist was rushed to the hospital. (Sideo)
As the new year begins, so do the car-bike collisions. Encinitas, the city that in 2023 declared a local emergency over bike safety after multiple serious and fatal crashes, was first.
On January 1 just before 6 pm, a 45 year old male bicyclist was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries after being struck by a car headed eastbound on Encinitas Boulevard near the intersection of Cerro Street
The crash revives the controversy around bicycle safety, as the class 2B bike lane where it occurred offers no protection from traffic besides painted lines.
Class 4 bike lane
"These types of bike lanes are unfortunately very common in San Diego," said Ian Hembree, with the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, recalling a fatal incident in San Diego's Black Mountain neighborhood in November.
Opponents of the antidote — protected bike lanes with barriers between riders and traffic — point to examples like the coast highway in Cardiff, where numerous crashes and close calls marked the early launch.
Class 2 bike lane
What caused the 79- year-old driver to collide with the bike is under investigation, according to the North Coastal Sheriff's Station. The use of alcohol or drugs is not believed to be a factor in the collision, deputies said.
According to the city's circulation plan, Encinitas Boulevard is designated as a major arterial road, which carries high volumes of traffic.
Officials say where bikes and cars share fast-moving roads, speed and infrastructure are critical factors. The city is now working on a Safety Action Plan that includes vulnerable road users such as bikes and pedestrians and people 65 and older and 19 and younger.
The goal: ending fatal and severe injury crashes by 2028.
At an October meeting of the mobility and traffic safety commission, senior planner Angelica Rocha discussed crash data from 2018-2022 which found that "just 15 percent of the city's roads make up all of the fatal and serious injury crashes."
Among the top crash types, speeding accounts for 24 percent of fatal and serious injury crashes. Generally, hitting an object or veering off the road has to do with speed, she said.
The study looked at crash locations, comparing intersections and mid-block. More crashes, it found, occurred at signalized intersections.
"But when we look at fatal and serious injury crashes, most are occurring at mid-block," Rocha said, which is likely due to kinetic energy, or the force of a vehicle.
"The impact is really significant when traveling at the roadway speed at mid-block.
Last July, new speed limits took effect on several roads the city has targeted for traffic calming, including Encinitas Boulevard. Its 40 mph speed limit saw a 5 mph decrease, as did all roads with speed limits of 30 mph or higher.
As the city tries to address the rash of collisions by changing roadway behavior and infrastructure, they'll be looking at where protected bike lanes, sidewalks and sharrows exist and how well they are working — and where there's a glaring gap, as many pointed out during public outreach.
The main requests by residents were for off-street bike paths, protected bike paths, roundabouts, shorter and more visible crossings, and better traffic enforcement.
Hembree, with the Bike Coalition, sees protected bike lanes as a fitting solution for roads like Encinitas Boulevard.
"These class 2B bike lanes on stretches of road with 40+ mile per hour speed limits and no curb parking are often amazing candidates to be upgraded to protected class 4 lanes by adding some vertical separation."
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