Elysha Krupp, The Examiner
2008-07-14 07:00:00.0
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BALTIMORE -

As people are trying to find alternative modes of transportation to get to work and school, safety on the road is a growing concern.

“With the numbers of people returning to cycling with the

gas crisis, we’re finding it’s a bigger issue that cyclists know how to safely drive their bikes and follow all the rules of the road,” said Elizabeth Kiker, spokeswoman for the American League of Cyclists.

“Baltimore is not in our list of bicycle-friendly communities,” Kiker said, noting the lack of on-the-ground resources for cyclists.

The number of cyclists killed in traffic collisions nationally has increased by 22 percent from 2003 to 2006, according to the Fatality Analysis Reporting System.

In Maryland, 99 of 593 fatal traffic collisions involved nonmotorists — almost 17 percent — ranking Maryland 17th for nonmotorist fatalities.

Mayor Sheila Dixon has made a big push to encourage biking in Baltimore with the Bicycle Master Plan, developed by the Department of Planning to make the city more bike-friendly.

“There’s plenty of places to ride and to do so safely,” said Ben Winstead, former member of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee of Maryland, “as long as you learn how to do it first.”

But Montgomery and Prince George’s counties are lagging behind in resources on the ground for cyclists, and neighborhood opposition to bike lanes is the largest factor, said Eric Gilliland, director of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association.

Some critics say even the improved infrastructure on the ground wouldn’t be enough.

“There’s very little being done to educate drivers on how to share the road properly with cyclists,” Gilliland said.

In 2006, 773 cyclists were killed in traffic collisions across the nation, representing 13.47 percent of all nonmotorist traffic fatalities — an increase of almost 2.5 percent since 2003, when 629 cyclists were killed.

“If we build a facility [transportation paths, sidewalks and multiuse paths] and don’t educate people on how to use the facility, that’s negligence,” Winstead said. “What if you came home, tossed your teenager the car keys and said, ‘Drive around until you get used to it’? That’s what we do with bicycles.”

In 2007 the statewide Safe Routes to School program was launched to encourage children in kindergarten to eighth grade to walk and bike to school. Making sure that children who are biking and walking to school are safe is a priority of the program, said a spokeswoman for the Maryland State Highway Administration.

Bicycle safety is all about education and making motorists aware that they need to share the road, Winstead said.

“For those [cyclists] who run traffic lights or go the wrong way in traffic — you’re hurting the rest of us.”