Bicyclists and pedestrians on sidewalks at SJSU

Just as a follow up to let you know I am still concerned about the use of bikes and other human powered vehicles on campus. This is from an e-mail from Bob, a friend who is a retired faculty member at SJSU. Bob is a serious cyclist. He follows the rules of the road. He operates his bike in a safe manner on the road. Yes, Bob even wears a helmet.

Bob wrote:

Saturday morning January 2 I was riding my bike along Capitol expressway to get to the eastern hills. It was a flat section and I was riding at 25 mph. Could have been operator error, the handlebars just snapped out of my hands and I went down hard. There are some undulations in the pavement of the breakdown lane where I was riding, caused by tree roots growing under the pavement. I have ridden over them without incident hundreds of times, but not this time. My pelvis is broken in two places, but there is only a millimeter of displacement in one of the fractures and the other break was not displaced, the Orthopod did not think that it required surgery, which I guess is major if they have to do it. No bracing internal or external. He said I should be fine if I keep weight off of the leg for six weeks.”

The point is, even when we manage risk and do everything right; the consequences of a bicycle crash are severe. There is no metal shield around bicyclists or pedestrians to dent. You do not have a fender bender on a bicycle, instead you get bruises and possibly broken bones or worse.

Yet, in general, the benefits of cycling to campus far outweigh the risks. We cannot forget; even sedentary lifestyles have risks, as does our dependence on foreign oil. In my opinion we need to take sensible, managed risks, to get the most gain from that risk. That is why, despite the risk, I am a strong advocate of the proper and safe use of human powered transportation vehicles to get to campus and safely designed streets and other facilities for their operation getting to campus. I support having showers for employees and safe parking facilities for bicycles at SJSU.

At the same time I do not support bike riding on campus sidewalks because I do not feel the benefit exceeds the well documented additional risks of riding on campus sidewalks shared with pedestrians. Bicycles can be ridden to campus and walked on campus.

Even if you are the unusual SJSU cyclist who rides slowly and rings a bell at pedestrians as you approach you have no way of knowing if the pedestrian has a disability, if the pedestrian can hear or see you or if the pedestrian has the ability to get out of the way.

Bob is just one of two cyclist friends I know who are safe cyclists and are recovering from pelvises broken in recent cycling accidents. Another friend, Sandy, is also in a similar predicament. I expect both to return to cycling after they mend. Cyclists at least choose to bear the risks of cycling, pedestrians who may be hit by cyclists do not get to choose.

Cycling has risks that need to be managed to be done as safely as possible. I am not convinced the folks I see riding on campus, in the way they are riding; typically are even aware of the risks they are putting themselves or pedestrians at.

Is it safe to ride bikes on campus sidewalks without helmets?
The issue is one the university has to decide. I am doing my best to be sure the decision is made in full awareness of the related facts I have found.

According to a study by William E. Moritz, Ph.D. of the University of Washington entitled Adult Bicyclists in the U.S. presented at the Transportation Research Board’s 77th Annual Meeting, January 11-15, 1998 in Washington D.C., “A RELATIVE DANGER INDEX is calculated which shows that streets with bike lanes have a significantly lower crash rate then either major or minor streets without any bicycle facilities (38 and 56% respectively). Multi-use trails have a crash rate about 40% greater than would be expected based on the miles cycled on them while cycling on the sidewalk is extremely dangerous.”

Here are related links I hope will be helpful for this discussion:

Ken Kifer’s Pages on Bicycle Safety

Ken has a lot of useful information here about risks and how bicycles can be operated in as safe and efficient manner as possible. Ken Kifer has a huge page with lots of stats and analysis. His conclusion is that cycling is not dangerous. Ironically, he was later killed while riding his bike.

FARS statistics

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics on fatalities and risks involving various forms of transportation, including cycling.

Cyclist and Pedestrian Accident Awareness Blog

A blog with links to many videos and other resources on the topic of cyclist and pedestrian accident awareness

John Forester Articles

John Forester is one of the leading experts on bicycle safety. Here are some of the related articles he has linked to.

Bicycle Almanac: Statistics on Safety, Fatalities, & Injuries

All information and statistics refer to the United States unless otherwise noted.

A couple of related comments I have collected from other cyclists:
I am reassured of the value of my helmet In June ’06 a mechanical problem caused my chain to come off the rear derailer, a quick spin of my clipped in feet, and going only about 4 mph, I fell into a ditch on the side of the road – I couldn’t get my feet out quick enough, obviously. My head/helmet hit a large rock in the ditch and cracked my helmet. Yes, I saw stars!

~Pam

I can tell you about an incident that happened downtown. I was walking north on 4th Street (which is one way heading south) and a guy on a bike (traveling against traffic and on the sidewalk) came up behind me. He swerved around me and hit a woman who was coming out of the parking garage. He hit her hard enough to knock her over. She was dazed, but OK. The whole thing could have been avoided had he been riding properly, but that’s just my opinion.

~Mary

The following comment is from a bicycle safety instructor who has been certified by the League of American Bicyclists as an expert in bicycle safety:

Steve,
I ride my bike to EVC (sometimes), using a road around the edge of campus to get to my office. I am opposed to cycling through the core of the EVC campus. When I was a student at UCSB, I road a bike and objected to not being allowed to ride through the campus. (UCSB actually allowed this, in bike lanes, at low speeds, with stop signs where the lanes crossed walking paths. I was objecting to the speed and stop signs. Hey, I was “younger” then.) In researching police accident records for a Public Speaking course assignment, trying to gather evidence for my position, I learned of the many bike/pedestrian collisions and changed my mind. Bikes are vehicles and belong with other vehicles, not pedestrians! This is what we teach in the ACTC Academy. Stay off sidewalks, off walkways, out of crosswalks, unless you are walking your bike!

Feel free to use this where you think appropriate, along with my LCI #.

Harry Lichtbach LCI #1047
Almaden Cycle Touring Club
San Jose, CA. USA

What is current practice at SJSU:
[Click here to see related pictures on Flickr]

Despite being a bicyclist and a former bike commuter I am still not convinced bicycles belong on the San Jose State University Campus. Many of the people who ride bicycles on the sidewalks at SJSU do so in ways that risk serious injury to themselves and others.

The Spartan Daily has ran stories lately showing bicyclists riding dangerously without helmets on campus. This is so unsafe California has a helmet law regarding this issue. Why has the SJSU campus newspaper not looked at the other side of the issue of bikes on campus? Why has the SJSU campus newspaper not considered the dangers posed by bicycles on campus sidewalks? Is this the Spartan Daily’s idea of fair and balanced reporting?

It is good that SJSU President Jon Whitmore rides his bike to SJSU. But it is bad, I think, that he is riding his bike on the sidewalks of campus. The risks of riding bicycles on sidewalks are well documented. Sidewalks are generally unsuitable to be used as bikeways for the following reasons:

• Sidewalks are generally not designed for cycling speeds. Cyclists must either reduce their speed or travel too fast for conditions.
• There is generally insufficient width for shared bicycle and pedestrian travel, particularly due to obstacles such as utility poles, signs, and street furniture that narrows the effective width of the sidewalk.
• Bicyclists face conflicts with motor vehicles at driveways and intersections. Motorists are generally not expecting a cyclist to cross their path from the sidewalk, and may not be looking for them.
• Traffic rules, such as obligations to yield, are unclear when cyclists ride on sidewalks, creating confusion and risk between pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists.

In my opinion we are one mis-step, one inattentive moment away from a serious injury; or worse. Bikes belong on the road, not on the sidewalks of our campus.

The problem with HPV’s at SJSU
I am not against bicyclists, or bicycling, but I am seriously against the very dangerous use of them. I am an avid cyclist. I know that cycling, even done carefully, can result in serious injury or death. Life is full of risk. I am not against anything that involves a risk, but I am against unnecessary needless risk. Risk needs to be taken carefully, that is why we have “Risk Management” at SJSU.

I am against what I feel is a grossly dangerous unmanaged risk situation. That is why I have been complaining for years about how bicycles and other human powered vehicles (HPVs) are currently being used, and I think abused, on the sidewalks at SJSU.

I am a union steward and have filed grievances. I will continue to file grievances, complain, document and make public what I feel is a danger as long as I am able, or the problem gets fixed!

The ironic thing is I am not only advocating for the pedestrians at SJSU, I feel I am advocating for the safety of the cyclists, skateboarders and other users of HPVs at SJSU.

I have been in a serious bicycle accident. Everyday I suffer pain and discomfort from that accident. I know what that feels like and I know what knowing that the pain will NEVER go away feels like. Judging by the way some people who use HPVs navigate the campus, I doubt many of them do.

In my opinion, so far the university has done nothing to manage the risk on our campus.

[More photos here]

Many of the people who ride bicycles on the sidewalks at SJSU do so in ways that risk serious injury to themselves and others. Cyclists riding with no hands are unable to take evasive action if a pedestrian, cart or disabled person steps into their path. Usually cyclists who ride like this way are not wearing helmets.

This bike position is especially prone to falling. These cyclists, as well as endangering others, risk head injuries that could kill them or leave them permanently disabled.

[More photos of human powered vehicles on and around SJSU]

Here are some of the photos I have made recently of bikes locked to the exterior stairwells of SJSU’s Clark Hall. These stairwells are used routinely as exits from the classrooms in Clark Hall and would serve as emergency exits from Clark Hall in the event of an evacuation. In addition to the obvious safety issues, I am concerned about the barriers these are for people with disabilities.

I have tried to get University Police to act on this. My understanding from conversations I have had on this is they are waiting for more bike lockers. In my opinion; to put the needs of bicyclists before providing accessible facilities is a form of discrimination directed at people with disabilities. I think we should be striving to provide accessible physical facilities just as we are striving to provide accessible technology.

When I addressed the issue to the Disability Resource Center at SJSU, Lucille Surdi the ADA Compliance Specialist wrote me back:

The ADA Compliance Office has spoken with Chief Barnes regarding your notification to us of the bikes being locked to the exterior stairwells of Clark Hall. The Chief and UPD are working over the past several months with AS Transportation and FDO to address this situation throughout the campus for the entire campus community. Proposals are being developed for more bike racks and more bike cages. This situation is being overseen with coordination from other university departments and is diligently being addressed. UPD is currently enforcing the issue of unsafe bike parking and has impounded many bikes that create a hazard. You are correct, safety is always the primary concern and please do report any direct safety issues to UPD as soon as possible.

I had a previously scheduled appointment next week to discuss this issue in person with them. In the same e-mail Surdi said:

My office had scheduled a meeting with you and I for next week but I do believe that this matter is being appropriately handled and prioritized and there is no need for a meeting. We thank you for bringing this to our attention and we will be monitoring this situation in the coming weeks.

Sounds like bureaucratic double-speak to avoid doing anything to me. In my opinion providing safe emergency exiting of buildings as well as accessible facilities is more important than having people be able to park bikes all over campus. I am a cyclist myself, I rode my bike to work this morning. It amazes me how many abandoned bikes there are in the bike lockers and chained to poles on campus. Perhaps these can be removed if we really need more on campus bike parking.

[Click Here to See More Photos]

Both cyclists were riding at excessive speed, in the dark with no lights.

What is it going to take for this university to deal with this safety problem, somebody getting seriously injured or killed?

[More photos here]

If you click on the the word “Photographs” in the title bar above, you will see photos I think illustrate the issue. By my most recent count I have assembled over 350 photos here that illustrate how skateboards, bikes and other human powered vehicles are used and, I think, abused at SJSU. The current use pattern of HPV’s

People riding in buildings a regular occurrence

Just a moment ago I saw a student riding his bike out the front door of Clark Hall. Right after that another rode his skateboard in. This happens all the time and has been going on for awhile as the photo above attests.

We have students, faculty and staff who have visual and mobility disabilities. This is just so dangerous it makes me really angry.