After two accidents involving University students colliding with vehicles while biking occurred in less than 24 hours, many community members are raising concerns about bicycle and pedestrian safety in the local Charlottesville community.
Second-year College student Sherwood Richers was struck by a vehicle while riding his bicycle Monday night, less than 24 hours after Graduate Arts & Sciences student Matthew Steven King was killed by his collision with a Charlottesville utility truck. Richers was struck by a taxi cab while riding his bike near the corner of Emmet Street and University Avenue. The accident was not fatal, and he has been released from the University Medical Center.
Cycling Club President David Morris said he and other cyclists have been shaken badly by news of the accidents.
"I hear people rethinking cycling and if it's safe to do ... It's sad," Morris said. "There's an element of anger, like why this kind of thing should happen at all."
Nevertheless, Morris said the accidents, which both happened off Grounds, may shed light on how bicycle safety can differ between the two environments.
"Grounds is different kettle of fish than riding around the city," he said.
Politics Prof. Len Schoppa - who serves as president of Charlottesville's Alliance for Community Choice in Transportation - agreed that the real problem areas for bicycle safety are located just outside of University territory. Sections of Jefferson Park Avenue and the Corner, for example, are often too narrow to accommodate both bikes and vehicles, he said.
Improving off-Grounds streets may prove difficult, though, because the University's jurisdiction includes only streets on Grounds, Schoppa said. Nevertheless, he has witnessed a number of improvements during his 20 years at the University, including the creation of bike lanes near the art museum and the addition of countdown signals at crosswalks, he said.
Morris said safety also could be improved by enforcing speed limits better. He added, however, that the best way to prevent future accidents is for everyone on the roads to be more attentive.
"Most [accidents] on Grounds are due to human error, [which is] the thing you can do the most to fix and the least about," Morris said.
Accidents such as the ones that occurred Monday are extremely rare, Schoppa said. The last fatal bike accident on Grounds occurred in 1998, he said. The circumstances were similar to those of Monday's accident, as a vehicle collided with a bicyclist when it was making a right-hand turn.
A group of bikers met for a group ride in honor of King in front of the Amphitheater yesterday at 5 p.m. The ride was part of a larger movement called Critical Mass, a monthly bike ride to promote awareness of alternative transportation that takes place throughout the world but that occurred at the University as part of Earth Week's transportation day. The bikers wore white armbands out of respect for all those who have lost their lives in bicycle accidents. They also stopped for a moment of silence at the site of King's accident.
"I decided to dedicate this ride [to King]," second-year College student Luis Oyola said. "It's a way to say we're here and a presence to automobiles,"
Riding as a group brings a sense of connection, as well as safety, to cyclists, Oyola said. Even with these benefits, however, every rider must remain aware and responsible for his own safety, Charlottesville Community Bikes representative Matteo Favero said.
"We are a group, but you are an individual on the road," Favero said. He encouraged bikers to remain visible, stay on the right side of their lanes and try not to obstruct traffic.
ACCT executive director Vince Caristo also said it is important to educate bikers at the University and spread awareness of road safety rules.
"You have a lot of people who are riding for transportation for the first time in their lives [here at the University]," Caristo said. "My organization will be working with the city, thinking about ways to spread awareness and education. I think it would be a good idea to engage the University in those efforts."
To help reach some solutions, the City of Charlottesville plans to organize a new bicycle and pedestrian safety committee during the coming months, he said.
"Its going to take a long term commitment to identify problem areas on our streets and work with competing interests," Caristo said. "It's not just between bikes and cars - there are pedestrians to think about, as well. We need to make sure were accommodating all road users"
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