Bike-only roads

August 26, 2006|By Beau Golwitzer

Chicago — The editorial on fostering a safe riding and driving environment in Chicago is full of reasonable suggestions. As a frequent bicyclist in the city, though, I have a few observations. My first may seem obvious, but bears repeating: Riding a bike is infinitely more dangerous than driving a car.

The fact is that any collision between bike and car will more likely result in injuries (perhaps serious or even deadly) to the bicyclist than the driver. I ride with this awareness every day, so if my anger at being ignored by car drivers seems disproportionate, it is always with this thought in mind.

Second, the physical energy used to ride a bicycle versus that used to drive a car hardly compare at all, which is why you see a lot of bicyclists run stop signs and the such. In other words, it takes a lot more energy for us to start pedaling and get going again, so the inclination is to not stop.

Now I'm not trying to make an excuse for bicyclists, but I think this problem is an argument for designating certain roads in Chicago bike-only in the future. Converting one major thoroughfare in Chicago to bike-only would, I think, solve many of the problems that you pinpointed in your piece.