This past weekend a bicyclist died. According to the newspaper a 19 year man was killed when his bicycle veered off the shoulder into traffic. The location was on South Bay Road under the route 81 bridge. It was 8:30 at night.
I am familiar with the intersection. At that location the road is a divided road with 4 lanes in each direction, including on and off ramps for route 81. And it is the only road connection in that area between Mattydale and Syracuse to the south, and North Syracue and suburbs to the north.
I talked with a fellow bicyclist who had recently come thru this area in an effort to find a bike path from his house to work. His experience was that is was very difficult to change lanes, and hard to cross the road. Very difficult in that area to get thru. We wonder if that 19 year old was trying to get across the road.
Earlier this summer another you bicyclist was killed across town, while crossing the street.
I know from my own experience how difficult it is to judge car speed relative to bike speed, especially if you are starting from a standstill.
I think the moral of this is to try to Minimize your road crossings. Certainly we pay the utmost respect to any moving vehicle.
What are the rules?
In New York State see New York Bicycle Laws. This includes riding on the designated bike path or far right by the curb when a bike path is not available.
Perhaps a solution for the tragedy I started this blog with, would be signs directing the bicyclists to a safer route. Though a quick glance at the map doesn't show me an easy route. Or a new route could be manufactured just for pedestrians and bikes. This area is not too far (1/2 mile or less) from the end of the bike path in a recent blog I had in Mattydale along Bear Trap Creek.
