HomeMy WebLinkAbout9/4/2018 Item 15, Englert (2)
Purrington, Teresa
From:Jesse Englert <jenglert@gmail.com>
Sent:Saturday, September 1, 2018 8:05 PM
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Anholm Bikeway, September 4, 2018 Agenda Item 15
Dear Mayor Harmon & Council Members,
Re: Anholm Bikeway, September 4, 2018 Agenda Item 15
I’m writing to support adopting alternative C. Protected Bike Lanes with Parking Removal (Active
Transportation Committee Recommendation).
I am a resident of the Anholm neighborhood and live on Chorro St along with my wife and two children. As
daily bicycle commuters of this corridor we believe that protected lanes are the best option for both the
neighborhood and cyclists. We are committed to replacing the majority of our in town trips by bicycle and are
counting on you to direct staff to create the appropriate infrastructure to make that possible.
Allow me to provide an all too common experience that makes us question whether to continue to commute by
bicycle. Last Friday my family rode our bikes to concerts in the plaza by taking Chorro St south. I was in the
lead on one bike followed by my wife and two children on a cargo bike. A driver on Lincoln at the Chorro
intersection pulled up to the stop sign looking at her cell phone while we were going through the intersection
and continued to roll through the stop sign causing us to swerve out of the way to avoid a collision. We then
enter the Class II bike lane going under the overpass. The same driver makes a right turn onto Chorro and
proceeds to drive in the bike lane approaching my wife and two children, clearly still distracted by her cell
phone. At this point there is nothing to be done other than to hope the driver corrects her position in the lane
and doesn’t run my family over.
Thankfully we make it to concerts in the plaza unscathed yet rattled from the near miss and questioning our
choice to use a bicycle as our mode of transportation. In this case we believe that protected bike lanes would
have prevented the driver from entering the bike lane by creating a physical barrier. At my previous job I was
taught that OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) estimates for every 3,000 near misses
there will be 1 fatality (or major disability). Unfortunately I experience near misses such as this one more often
than not during my bicycle commutes.
The city is asking its residents to make a substantial mode shift to 20% bicycle mode share. We need
infrastructure such as protected bike lanes to make that happen. You have the power to set a precedence with
the Anholm Bikeway. Please use this opportunity to its fullest potential to make a significant and meaningful
change.
Sincerely,
Jesse Englert
Chorro St (Anholm)
1