Advocates around the city of St. Louis are calling for roads to be safer for cyclists and pedestrians. St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones even pledged $40 million in ARPA funds to calm traffic in the city. But right now, people who rely on bikes — or even just those who enjoy it — are struggling.
Karl Mitchell estimates that he puts about 5,000 miles on his bike every year. Recently, he wrote in the Riverfront Times about how a reckless driver hit him and his son while they were biking.
"Recently, on Olive, my son and I were riding home from the grocery store, a gentleman was pulling out of the parking lot and didn't see us and hit our bike," Mitchell said. "Thankfully, again, it was low speed, but it did hit us and it totaled our bike. And thankfully, there are no injuries."
The driver apologized, and said he didn't see them. Mitchell explained that he had decided to bike on the sidewalk to be safer — it was 2 p.m. on a Saturday, and there was a lot of traffic — but even that ended up being too dangerous.
Mitchell said that because there aren't many cyclists in the St. Louis area, lots of drivers aren't expecting to see them in the streets. "It's kind of a blindness. But that doesn't make any excuse. Unfortunately, we do need to be more aware, whether we are on the bike or in the car."
In creating changes, Mitchell is hoping to see things like protected bike lanes — paint on the road or "share the road" signs aren't enough.
"It's not something that's going to protect us," he said. "I get yelled at in those zones where there's a sign that says 'share the road,' and I even got a ticket for riding on the right side of a road right near a share the road sign. So whether it's drivers or even those enforcing the laws, a big part of it is education, as well as enforcement — proper enforcement of laws to make sure that all road users are safe and able to get around, regardless of their abilities."
Hear more from Debbie Monterrey's interview with Karl Mitchell on Total Information AM:
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