Matthew Harker, 39, father of three. Larry Hurst, 65, father of four.
These are two of the cyclists killed in 2014 in bicycle on vehicle accidents. This series of high profile cases involving bicyclists being hit by drivers in careening hunks of metal are one factor that led the League of American Bicyclists to drop Wyoming’s bike friendliness rating three places to 36th in the nation. Statistics for non-lethal bike on car encounters are unavailable in the state, because unless a fatality occurs, officers are not required to file a report.
Students around Laramie are feeling the pressures of narrow bike lanes and busy roads.
“The lanes are so narrow, you’re riding up next to the curve,” Aaron Derner, a UW senior studying international studies said. “You’re in a pretty dangerous position.”
For Laramie cyclists, the busiest and most accessible roads present the most problems.
“I definitely wouldn’t ride my bike on Grand and 3rd,” Laurel Thornhill, a UW junior, said.
These concerns and deaths have not gone unnoticed by legislators in the 2015 legislative session.
“Drivers today are often distracted by cell phones and other things,” Wyoming Representative Charles Pelkey (D-HD45) said. “We’ve had fatalities in the state.”
Pelkey, an avid and lifelong cyclist, is one of the sponsors of SF0103. The bicycle pathway and highway separation bill, introduced by State Senator Charlie Scott (R-Natrona County), seeks to drastically reduce the opportunity for bicycle on vehicle collision to occur by establishing separate bicycle paths. Yesterday the bill passed the senate on a vote of 23-6.
With the formation of a task force, the bill would fund an investigation into where and how safer bike paths can be implemented throughout the state. Upon completion of its analysis, construction of the paths would begin. The bill also enables the Department of Transportation to immediately take steps and measures to reduce bicycle accidents such as partitioning bicycle sections on roadways, install traffic control devices or changing traffic laws as necessary.
“There should be reasonable roads all the way across the state,” Pelkey said. “I feel safer riding my cyclecross bike on a dirt road than on our highways.”
For UW students that regularly cycle, the changes are welcome. Limited parking around the university makes cycling an attractive alternative despite dangerous roads.
“Unless you want to take the bus, cycling is the best way,” Derner said. ”Cycling paths would be a huge boon to the campus and the college.”
