Making Roads Safe for Cyclists

* Re “Make Room for Bikes on Road,” April 23 editorial:

I was pleased to read your editorial on bicycle safety. However, it ignores the principal roadblock to achieving safer bicycling: failure to act on the part of local governments.

Most of the close calls that I have had in bicycle riding can be attributed, at least in part, to the actions or inactions of local governments.

I first became involved in bicycle safety when, riding down a steep hill, I encountered pavement that had been grooved for resurfacing. This construction project was unsigned, and only my experience, skill and a lot of luck saved me from disaster. That was more than 15 years ago. Since then I have asked city officials countless times to make bicycle safety--including proper signage--a prime concern on all street construction sites. I have had little success.

This is not the result of ill will or incompetence. Most local government employees are dedicated, competent and hard-working.

It is simply that no one in the city automatically puts bicycle safety first whenever street projects are undertaken. Bicycle safety is not a priority with most local administrators and engineers, and there are few consequences for ignoring the concerns of bicycle riders.

Anaheim is probably the least bicycle-friendly city in the county. Fullerton has historically spent more on horse riders than on bicycle riders.

Bicycle riders need to become organized not just to ride but also to influence local politics. They need to continually call problems to the attention of local officials. They need to develop political alliances.

VINCE BUCK

Fullerton

* My approach toward bicycling safety is based upon the belief that it takes two to have a bicycling traffic accident.

The bicyclist should assume that it will take an error by the bicyclist as well as the automobile driver to have an accident. That way, bicycling safety is at least partially in the hands of the bicyclist.

If I perceive a route to be not safe for bicycling, I take my car. Bike lanes add to bicycling safety because they allow the rider space to maneuver around debris and puddles.

Bicycle lanes also alert the cyclist to aggressive and inattentive drivers who drive across the solid lines of a bicycle lane.

Having accumulated more than 20,000 miles between Orange County stop lights, I believe in “defensive” bicycle riding and believe that bicycle riders should be allowed to ride on sidewalks where there are no bike lanes.

B. WONG

Westminster