Bicycling in the street, having vehicular cycling training, acting as a driver and obeying traffic laws reduces the likelihood of a crash by more than 90% (actual fact)

A man died (unfortunately) while bicycling Eastbound along Shoreline drive. He was traveling at an estimated 20 mph on the sidewalk and tried to cross an intersection in a crosswalk – the truck had started to make a turn and was not expecting (with good reason) somebody to be trying to pass on the right. The cyclist ran into the side of the truck and was subsequently killed. Bicycling on the sidewalk is dangerous and illegal in many parts of the city, and traveling at 20 mph on the sidewalk is just unsafe. A person upon a bicycle in a crosswalk does not have the rights of a pedestrian. A person upon a bicycle is to act and be treated as the driver of a vehicle. (actual fact)

What is truly unfortunate about this incident is that somebody in the city will likely think that putting paint on the street is the answer… that 6 inches of white paint will protect cyclists from future crashes. However, education is the true answer. Teaching motorists that bicyclists belong in a lane of traffic; teaching cyclists to obey the laws as though they were driving a car.

My sincerest condolences go out to the family and I hope that they can find comfort in knowing that Gustavo’s death will provide a teachable-moment to traffic engineers who do not bicycle-test bicycle facilities, to law enforcement who do not ticket speeding vehicles and reckless cyclists along many downtown streets, and to serve as an eye-opener to all of the residents in Long Beach that life is fragile, and that we are all somebody’s son, mother, sister, Uncle – and we are just trying to get somewhere.

Being a bike advocate in Long Beach in very difficult at times. We face many challenges in the areas that you spoke of and are in a constant dialog with city officials who make decisions for us (the community). We communicate to the right city officials, almost daily, our needs as cyclists and peds. and insist that change be made in the areas of safety, education and awareness, not to mention proper engineering of our roadways to accommodate cyclists better. Please know that the proper steps are being made by real cyclists, cycling road engineers, and advocates to advance change for the better in LB!!

I too have been a long term member of this city’s community (20 years) and have my negative thoughts about how the city manages certain things. However, we (cycling advocates) are making progress in our particular field. As you know, change is slow, especially here in LB, where things can be done the good ol’ boy way, the same way they’ve always done things, or my favorite.. not at all.