Sharing the road with cyclists

Will recent deaths prompt change to bike paths/trails in Greater
Cincinnati?

EAST END — Andrew Gast was pedaling along the edge of Wilmer Avenue near
Lunken Airport – not the biking and walking trail alongside it – when he
was fatally struck by a vehicle shortly before dawn Aug. 28.

A quick glance at the path shows why he may have chosen to bike in the
street despite its lack of a paved shoulder: the bumpy path is covered
with gravel, making pedaling treacherous.

A poor trail system and roads with little room for bicycles are common
complaints as bicycling for transportation and exercise explodes in
Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, an area historically
inhospitable to cyclists.

“I used to ride in the road, but not anymore,” Phil Phipps, 69, of Ludlow,
said as he biked along the Lunken path one morning this week. “I just try
to stay to the side away from traffic.”

Bicyclists are legally entitled to be in the road. In fact, in many
cities, including Cincinnati, it’s illegal for riders older than 15 to be
on sidewalks.

Some drivers think that invites trouble.

“They shouldn’t be in the road,” said Dennis Griffith, 31, of Newport. “If
a motorist didn’t see them, they don’t stand a chance up against a car.”

The hazard is real. Two weeks to the day after Gast was killed, another
bicyclist, 59-year-old Ronald Richardson, died when a Metro bus struck him
in Bond Hill. He was biking along California Avenue near Oakland Avenue in
a residential area when he turned in the path of the bus, according to
Cincinnati police.

Another cyclist, Tommy Broderick, was hit and injured in Newport by a
suspected drunken driver while biking home the evening of Sept. 4 from a
memorial “Ghost Ride” in Cincinnati honoring Gast.

“The catch phrase that night among cyclists was: This could have happened
to any one of us,” said Broderick, 54, of Covington, who suffered cuts on
his face. “And then it happened to me on the way home. It’s just surreal.”

Broderick, riding with two flashing lights on his bike, was struck at 11th
and Isabella streets by motorist Anthony Broughton, 60, of Crittenden.
Broughton told Newport police he didn’t see Broderick crossing Isabella in
the crosswalk, but was charged with aggravated driving under the influence
after he failed a sobriety test.

“Literally two seconds can change your life forever,” said Broderick.

“Since I’ve gotten hit, I am definitely, definitely more conservative on
the bike,” said Broderick, an investment adviser. “I am riding a little
bit slower and definitely spending a lot more time looking around,
particularly at intersections. A lot of the roads have narrow lanes. Even
though you are doing something legal on a bike, it’s not necessary safe.”

Motorists have a responsibility, too, he said.

“We are in this together.”

Infrastructure is critical to promoting bicycling

Cincinnati lags behind other cities in miles of trails.

The city has just 20 miles of bike trails and less than 10 miles of bike
lanes, well below most cities of similar population.

Even Dayton, with 142,000 residents, has 30 miles of paths and was
recently ranked 45th on a list of the top 50 bike-friendly cities in
America by Bicycling magazine.

Minneapolis ranked second. Chicago was fifth. Louisville ranked 21st.
Pittsburgh was 35th. Cleveland made the list of five up-and-coming bike
cities.

Cincinnati has never cracked the annual list. City officials acknowledge
the problem and say they are working to catch up.

Before 2009, the city only had 5 miles of bike lanes, said Melissa McVay,
senior city planner.

Topography is one of the biggest challenges. Cincinnati is an older, hilly
city with narrow, winding streets. Building a path is not easy.

“Infrastructure is critical to getting more Cincinnatians on bicycles,”
McVay said. “I think more people would choose to ride a bicycle versus
driving to their neighborhood business district if they felt that they
could get there safely on a bicycle. And research shows that the average
person needs a separated bike lane in order to feel safe riding in the
street.”

Scott Goodfellow, 40, of Anderson Township belongs to the 1,000-plus
member Cincinnati Cycle Club. “I can't say that Cincinnati roads were
built with limitations. I would simply say that other cities have put
efforts to removing limitations.

“Municipalities have heavily resisted bike trails out of nebulous fears –
Terrace Park fought the extension of the Loveland Trail for years,”
Goodfellow said. “Residents feared ‘bike hooligans.’ Now that it is
installed, property values have climbed, and people are asking for more.”

Is Cincinnati becoming an 'up-and-comer?'

Cincinnati was given a C grade in its survey of 560 cyclists in 2010, but
they gave the city a B-plus for its effort and progress over the previous
year.

“Cincinnati may not have as many miles of bike lanes or trails yet as some
other large cities, but we are definitely an ‘up-and-comer’ in the world
of bicycle infrastructure and bicycle culture,” McVay said.

Members of cycling clubs around Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky
acknowledge the effort and say it’s easier now to get planners to pay
attention and get projects built.

“It used to be it would take 10, 20 years before any projects got off the
ground,” said Jason Reser, owner of Reser Bicycle Outfitters in Newport
and Over-the-Rhine. “Now it seems like they are coming out with plans for
them and building them in two to three years.”

His business has increased “five times” over the past decade, he said,
showing exploding interest in cycling in the region.

“There are more bikes on the street,” he said. “The demand is there. We
will just see more and more cycling as people experience how free and easy
it is to travel by bike.”

Organized groups ride several nights a week in places like Oakley,
Madisonville, Price Hill, and in Campbell and Kenton counties along the
Ohio River in Northern Kentucky.

Beyond Cincinnati proper, with tens of millions of dollars of mostly
federal and state funding, about 120 miles of bike trails have been built
in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. About 200 miles of trails are
planned but have not been built, according to Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana
Regional Council of Governments.

Since the construction of the first stretch of the Little Miami River
Scenic Bike Trail from Loveland to Morrow in the early 1980s, the region's
bike trail system has expanded piece by piece.

But it still has key missing links, forcing bikers to use busy streets to
get from one trail to another, or from one part of the same trail to
another part.

One of the most glaring missing links is a 1.9-mile gap in a 6-mile
segment of the Ohio River Trail between downtown Cincinnati and Lunken
Airport. The gap extends along Riverside Drive from just east of downtown
to Corbin Street in the East End, forcing cyclists must share lanes with
the heavy truck and auto traffic on Riverside.

Northern Kentucky lags behind

Northern Kentucky lags behind most other parts of the region in bike trail
development.

The lack of public support might be a factor in at least one Northern
Kentucky community. In 2009, trails became a controversial issue in Boone
County. Tea party sympathizers strongly objected to the county building
bike trails and even shredded a copy of a study before a Boone County
Planning Commission meeting. That night, the commission shelved the study.

Nowhere is the need for bike trails more apparent than on the two-lane
Kentucky 8, which lacks bicycle lanes for long stretches.

Speed limits range from 35 mph to 55 mph. The highway has been marked with
yellow “Share The Road” bicycle signs by Kentucky’s Department of
Highways, and is promoted by the Ohio Kentucky Indiana Regional Council of
Governments as a preferred route for cyclists.

Motorists say the mix of bikes and vehicles is dangerous.

“Route 8 is my issue,” said Rebecca Hughes, 55, of Newport. “They need a
bicycle lane. The bicyclists interfere with traffic. You’ve got 15, 20
bicycles going down the road, blocking traffic, and there’s nothing you
can do about it.”

When Gast died, it sparked a debate over bicyclists’ right to be in the
road, something many motorists may not realize is legal.

In Ohio, Kentucky and most states, bicycles are considered vehicles
subject to all traffic laws. Some motorists say those rules don’t make
sense.

“I feel like they should be on the sidewalk,” said Candi Blizzard, 26, of
Newport. “They ride in the middle of the road. I don’t think it’s safe. I
have almost run one down before. They feel like they own the road and
don’t care about their safety or other people.”

She added, “We need more bike lanes. People walk up and down the sidewalks
and it’s hard for people to bike on them.”

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