CNN reports a biking accident that killed a wife and a mother of two just weeks after she and her husband returned from Ukraine.
The couple worked as diplomats in Ukraine for a year and a half and were part of a small group of US government employees who stayed behind after Russia invaded Ukraine. But eventually, they decided to go home and be with their two sons, aged 10 and 8, who stayed with their grandparents in California when the war in Ukraine broke out.
The family moved to Bethesda to start their life there, but after just a few weeks, on 25 August 2022, Sarah Debbink Langenkamp was hit by a driver of a flatbed truck while travelling on a biker’s lane on her way home on that fateful night, killing the 42-year-old wife and mother. The fatal accident pushed for safer cycling conditions.
According to the article, her wife’s death due to the accident has driven her husband, Dan, to campaign for safer roads for cyclists through fundraising and organizing a huge cycling event participated by hundreds of bikers.
The group then called on lawmakers to use funding, including the Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program to invest in bike lane infrastructure and better training for truck drivers, requiring large trucks to have side and front guards to prevent fatalities.
The Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program is a new program authorized under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law with a budget of $200 million per year. The website says, “The program establishes competitive connectivity grants that strategically invest in projects that connect active transportation networks, accelerating local and regional plans to create safe and convenient routes to everyday destinations.
This program is not yet funded; advocates will be encouraged to engage in efforts to fully fund the program at $500 million in the FY23 appropriations process and beyond.”
The article reports that the country’s number of bicycle and pedestrian accidents is rising yearly and is made worse by increased driver recklessness during the Covid-pandemic.
Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reveals that in 2020, 930 cyclists were killed – 9% more than in the past year, and injured more than 38,800 cyclists. Nearly 80% of these fatal bicycle crashes this year occur in cities. In 2021, at least 985 cyclists were killed, a 5% increase from last year. And since 1975, data shows that death among cyclists aged 20 or older has increased four times.
Colin Browne, a spokesperson for the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, says that the increase in cyclist and pedestrian accidents in the US has become a public health crisis. Yet, tools and engineering solutions to make streets safe are available.
Making roads safer for bikers and pedestrians and regulating large vehicles can also be a politically unpopular move that leads to slow actions. Infrastructure in the country was also designed and built in favor of motor vehicles.
Benefits of cities when they invest in cycling infrastructure
An article in Streets Blog USA shares the benefits that cities and residents gain when local governments invest in cycling infrastructure.
Cities traditionally build bike or shared lanes, but these sometimes offer less protection where motorists can encroach on these lanes, endangering cyclists’ lives. Protected infrastructure, one that provides a separate right of way to cyclists, such as off-street trails, buffered bike lanes, and cycle tracks, ensure that cyclists do not have to worry about motorists invading their lanes, thus making the space safer for cyclist.
Evidence shows that when cities invest in protected lanes, these infrastructures not only improve cyclists’ safety and increase the number of people riding their bikes, it also boosts economic activity in the area. For example, in Salt Lake City, stores along the protected bike lane increased their sales by 8.8% compared with a 7% increase for the rest of the city in 2013.
Cities across the United States are building safer bike infrastructure
The data in the last five years on cities’ investment in cycling infrastructure reveals that new protected cycling infrastructure rose from 57% in 2016 to 78% in 2020. The number of cities across the US investing in safer roads for cyclists has also grown steadily.
Research shows that a well-connected bike network encourages more people, especially women in low-income households, to ride their bikes. More people on the bike can also improve health and increase residents’ access to health and social services and goods such as public libraries, community-building resources, sites where the internet is available, and events.
Despite the growing investment in bicycle infrastructure, there is still more room for improvement. However, converting car lanes or spaces to create bike lanes still faces pushback, and more work needs to be done to improve the cycling networks in cities. For example, fewer than a fifth of its libraries are within a quarter mile of protected cycling infrastructure in Los Angeles.
Cities should promote equity of access in planning projects and prioritize infrastructure investments to ensure that cycling infrastructure benefits everyone, including the low-income and colored communities, providing them with opportunities to improve their quality of life and well-being.
Sources:
Maxouris, C. (2022, November 19). She left the dangers of Ukraine only to be killed riding a bike close to home. Hundreds rode in her honor to demand change. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2022/11/19/us/sarah-langenkamp-ride-for-your-life-bike-safety/index.html
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. (2023). Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program. Railstotrails.org. https://www.railstotrails.org/policy/funding/active-transportation-infrastructure-investment-program/
[…] results highlight that from an equity perspective, transport infrastructure investments, such as the building of new roads, are more desired in low-income country networks in Central […]