In light of recent crashes, Durham advocates call for improved bike safety measures.

Durham advocates call for improved bike safety in light of recent crashes. (Sept 23, 2022)

In an article published to CBS17 this past week, Crystal Price writes about the increased advocacy for biking infrastructure in Durham, NC. Many accidents involving cyclists have occured within the recent months, resulting in many harmful injuries and, in some cases, even death. “On September 9, a man riding a bike near West Main and West Chapel Hill streets at the 5-points intersection downtown was struck by a truck about 10:30 at night, according to a Durham Police traffic report.” “On July 10, 40-year-old Matthew Simpson was riding his bike with his family when he was hit by a vehicle while crossing Guess Road in Durham. He died four days later from his injuries.”

Incidents such as these have caused the citizens of Durham to reflect on the safety measures that have been put in place for cyclists. They are no longer willing to settle for such harm coming to the cyclists of their city. It is not safe for cyclists to be sharing travel space with motor vehicles. These accidents prove this to be true. One board member of Bike Durham states “We need to provide separated, protected spaces for everyone who is walking, biking or using transit.” He continues to demand “We need the city to design the streets so they are more people-centric, whereas most of the streets are designed for vehicles. It squeezes the space and makes things dangerous for people walking, biking, and using transit.”

Durham advocates are pushing for improved safety measures. What are some possible solutions? As we have discussed in class, cycle tracks are really the key solution in this situation. The addition of bike lanes will not solve the issue of cyclists being in harm’s way of automobile traffic. Local streets make up a very small portion of the total traffic system in Durham so, proposing that cyclists try to use local streets is not a viable solution. The only solution that will genuinely increase safety for cyclists seeking a safe and viable travel route is to begin development of cycle track infrastructure in Durham, NC. However, the issue of funding is always present in regards to public transportation. Although the City of Durham does “not have the funding to redo transportation the way [they] want to do it,” Durham City Councilman Leonardo Williams consoles his people by stating “I want our Durhamites to know that we are listening and we do care. When someone is hurting here at the local level, it hurts us too. But it’s going to take our county, it’s going to take our state, and our region to rethink how we do transportation.”

Will Durham be able to draw up enough comradery and group buy-in to make these changes they hope to see?