Conference noted::bicycle

2351.0. "Colorado Springs, nice place to visit?" by COLRDO::1738233 () Fri Jul 10 1992 13:19

Copied without permission from the Gazette Telegraph, Colorado Springs 
Thursday June 25, 1992.

Motorists, cyclists urged to widen views

Even on a two-way street, motorists and cyclists sometimes can only see one 
way.  Their way.

Conflicts between cyclists and motorists have been increasing as more people
are hopping on two wheels for fitness, recreation and competition.

And some people might have their patience tested Friday and Saturday when more 
than 2,000 cyclists travel through the Colorado Springs area on the last two 
legs of the 430-mile Ride the Rockies bicycle tour.

The welcome mat will be laid out Friday in Manitou Springs, where the cyclists 
will spend the night before heading for Castle Rock on Saturday.  

Police are gearing up to ensure that the influx of riders from the tour that 
started in Durango will proceed smoothly.

On Friday, police will be at the intersection of Colorado Highway 115 and 
Lake Avenue to direct cyclists through a left turn, said Sgt. Don Coleman.

"But after that, when they get up in those narrow streets behind the Broadmoor,
They are on their own," he said.

"We talked to their sponsors," he added.  "They are going to obey the laws."

Laws aren't the problem, Coleman said.  Bicyclists are subject to the same 
traffic regulations as are cars.  That's easy to enforce.

It's attitudes on both sides, that create dangerous situations, he said.  Those
attitudes have caused hard feelings on both sides as they try to share the road.

"Bicyclists are only suppose to ride two abreast and as far to the right as
possible,: he said.  "When they don't do that, the motorists get frustrated
and try to pass them."

Cyclists say one law-breaking bike rider can create a bad image for all 
cyclists, but the blame goes both ways.

"I've had some conflicts before," said Tim Halfpop, a cyclists and bicycle
mechanic for Old Town Bike Shop in Colorado Springs.  "Mainly it comes from 
(motorists) who don't think bicyclists should be on the road.  They still
regard bicycles as something a child should ride."

But, Halfpop said, "There are immature people on both sides.  There are 
cyclists who go through red lights, cut across lanes.  Drivers see this, and
they automatically think that all cyclists are like that."

It has grown past the debating stage.  It's no longer a matter of who's right
and who's wrong.  In some areas it's become war.

Residents in Douglas County have gathered signatures on petitions to ban 
bicyclists from portions of Wolfensberger Road and Colorado Highway 105 - 
the route of Ride the Rockies will take into Castle Rock.

Closer to home, cyclists riding northbound or southbound shoulder of Colorado 
Highway 83 recently met an unexpected trap - in the form of mails, attached 
to a tape and glued to the pavement.

Mike Miller, a Shepard's McGraw Hill employee who rides his bike 19 miles to
and from work almost every day, had two flat tires going to work and then 
two more riding home.

"I just thought I was having horrible luck," Miller said.  "Then, the next 
day, two guys I ride to work with said they saw someone else with flat tires."

When they examined the shoulder area on Highway 83 in front of Loral Corp., 
they found the strip of nails on both sides of the road. Near the strip, 
someone used orange paint to draw a bicycle with a slash through it.

"I don't know who would do that," Miller said.  "Maybe it was just some 
kids, but who knows?"

According to the June issue of Bicycling magazine, a Harris Poll showed 
that 7.5 million more people cycled in 1991 compared to 1990.  Also, the
poll said, about 3 million Americans bicycle to work on a regular basis and
38 million recreational riders said they would bike to work if there were
safer bike lanes.

Some roads are wide and have enough shoulder room.  Others, such as Uintah 
Street, are so narrow that just one bicyclist can create a hazardous 
situation, said Lt. Steve Liebowits, traffic commander.

Last year, there were 111 motorist-cyclist accidents in Colorado Springs.  
So far this year there have been 41.

It might be unfair, but the responsibility to avoid a collision lies more 
with the cyclists, Coleman said.

"The bicyclist has to be a little bit more defensive," he said.  "If he's
in an accident, he's the one who is going to get hurt the most."

    See topic 2322 and subsequent replies...