In between calls and emails labeling me a tree killer, I’ve had some interesting discussions online and on the phone with folks about today’s column, Sharing the road, and the responsibility.
A gentleman in Mount Pleasant who rides his bike for recreation and exercise through Rivertowne, Park West, Carolina Park and Darrell Creek. He noted a lack of “share the road signs in those areas. He also noted some rude drivers.
I checked with Get Out/Charleston Running blog/all-around fitness fan David Quick and he said there are some Share the Road signs in Mount Pleasant, on Coleman Blvd. The town also just added bike lanes on the frontage road on Johnnie Dodds. So, that’s a start.
Then I spoke with a caller who said that bicyclists should obey traffic laws. That means not running red lights–which certainly increases the chance to get hit by a car–and not riding with multiple riders abreast.
He’s right, the laws are for everybody, and if you want to be taken seriously as a cyclist, that means stopping when and where everybody else does and not darting out at a red light.
A quick few words about the trees on I-26. I don’t think we should cut down all the trees where people drive. I think that the “death zone” on I-26 between Summerville and I-95 is a dangerous and scary stretch of road, and if getting rid of the trees in the median means that someone who’s in an accident (i.e. somebody who’s paying attention gets hit by somebody who’s not) has a better chance of survival, then we should do that.
If DOT wins the Powerball jackpot Wednesday night and wants to change the entire design of the road and can somehow make it safer without cutting down the trees then that would be the first choice. Neither of those things seems particularly likely to happen though. So if the choice is leave the trees and more people die or get rid of the trees so people don’t die, well, that seems like a pretty easy choice.