Ryan ChartrandMany Cal Poly students choose to bike to school as their main mode of transportation, but some bikers on campus do not follow the same rules as motorists.
Last week Ashley Tillery, an architecture freshman, was near Alex G. Spanos stadium halfway through the crosswalk when she was hit by a Cal Poly student on a bike.
“I woke to people talking about the biker being behind a car and not being able to see me,” Tillery said.
The bloody Tillery was taken by ambulance to the emergency room and given a CAT scan. She escaped with a mild concussion and three stitches to the laceration on her head.
“I think the problem is that bicyclists think they are pedestrians,” Tillery said.
Although biking may not be the same as driving a car, bicyclists are held to the same standards as motorists.
San Luis Obispo City Council member Christine Mulholland wants students to be safe while riding.
“Bikers must recognize that they must follow state vehicle laws; it is part of being a cyclist.”
According to the California Vehicle Code (CVC 21200), every person riding a bicycle upon a (roadway) has all the rights of and is subject to all the provisions applicable to the driver of a vehicle.
“Most bicycle problems are on Foothill and California streets and Hathaway area because there is a heavier volume of bicycle traffic,” said San Luis Obispo police Sgt. Kurt Hixenbaugh. “A lot of bike riders are supposed to be following the same rules as motorists.”
The Annual Traffic Safety Report of 2006 evaluated collisions in the city. The Santa Rosa Street and Foothill Boulevard intersection is one of the five highest-ranked locations for bicycle collisions along with the Olive Street and Santa Rosa Street intersection, due to the high speed limits along Santa Rosa Street.
“We encourage the students and community to bike and share the safety for all on the road,” said Adam Fukushima, San Luis Obispo County Bicycle Coalition (SLOCBC) executive director.
Mayor Dave Romero believes San Luis Obispo is doing its part to keep the roads safe and continue to encourage biking in the community.
“We have a bike-friendly community with bike lanes and bike boulevards. We have received a silver award for being a bike-friendly city,” Romero said.
The statewide silver award is held by only San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara for those cities’ efforts in bike safety. Davis is the highest-rated city, holding a platinum ranking for efforts in bicycling.
San Luis Obispo has many bike pathways, such as the Bob Jones City-to-Sea trail, which provides a safe bike route to Avila, along with the Morro Street Bicycle Boulevard, which has helped downtown traffic.
Currently, the San Luis Obispo City Council is working to build the rest of the Railroad Safety Trail from Sinsheimer Park to the Amtrak station. The trail will be extended to Alex G. Spanos Stadium.
The city has struggled to get right of easement from the Union and Pacific Railroad to build the trail and also bridge over U.S. Highway 101, parallel to California Street.
“California Street has a high slope – over 10 percent. Huge stages in the Tour de France are (equivalent to) this grade, so (instead) the Railroad Safety Trail will be along the flat ground along the railroad,” Fukushima said.
The Railroad Safety Trail is necessary for the safety of students and community members who bike and walk by the tracks. Currently, the Union Pacific Railroad patrols the land around the tracks for trespassers using its own police car. However, the Railroad Safety Trail will make this well-traveled pathway safer.
“To a large extent it has been delayed because the Railroad thinks us putting it along the tracks makes it less safe. It has taken time with (the Railroad project) to reach conclusions on the right of easements in order for us to build this pathway,” said San Luis Obispo City Council member Andrew Carter.
The city is funding the bridge over U.S. Highway 101and the pathway using state and federal money. It will cost more than $500,000.
Fukushima hopes in the distant future the trail will extend from Orcutt Road to Tank Farm Road and possibly to the ocean one day.
Building of the pathway is set to start this summer. The city hopes to see a decreased number of collissions between motorists and bicyclists along California and Foothill Streets, as it is the most popular path to Cal Poly.
The Automobile Club of Southern California encourages bikers to make sure their headlights and reflectors work at night, wear a helmet at all times, keep bikes in good mechanical condition, obey all traffic rules and signs and use the safest route to their destinations by avoiding busy intersections and streets.
San Luis Obispo also has a Bicycle Advisory Committee, which works on different aspects of bicycling in the city. Bicycle Advisory Committee city staff liaison Peggy Mandeville says there are many projects to improve the quality of San Luis Obispo streets.
“Paving projects such as stripping and widening bike lanes improve the road for vehicles as well as bicyclists,” Mandeville said.
One thing Mandeville would like to see is bikers riding in the same direction as traffic on the right side of the street, not on the sidewalk.
“We encourage people to get involved with the Bike Advisory Committee and we welcome questions or changes that people wish to see happen in our city,” Mandeville said.
The committee, along with SLOCBC, holds licensed six-hour classes that teach riders commuter and street skills every month. Future classes will be held Nov. 6, 13 and 17.