Danger from motorists a problem for cyclists

McClatchy Newspapers

Public health experts increasingly are teaming up with transportation planners to examine the health implications of transit choices.

Two of the four authors of the “Walking and Cycling” study are transportation planners, one is an obesity researcher and the other is a public-health specialist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is to be published in October in the American Journal of Public Health.

The key to promoting cycling and walking as a daily part of the routine is to make it safe, convenient and attractive, the study concluded.

The rate of pedestrian and cyclist death and injury in the United States is many times higher than it is in European countries, with 33.5 cyclists and 13.7 pedestrians injured per 100 million kilometers traveled in the United States, compared with 1.6 and 1.3 in the Netherlands.

Women are especially concerned about safety, Pucher said, and their reluctance to bike to work reflects that. More than 85 percent of the bike commutes in one state are by male bikers. Reducing car speeds and using street design to calm traffic, as well as additional restrictions on car use and parking, would encourage more active travel, the study said.

Portland, Ore., is the American city with the highest portion of trips made by bike, Pucher found. The city quadrupled the miles of public bikeways between 1990 and 2008, and saw a fivefold increase in bike trips, to 6.2 percent of the total. Using a bike to get around is trendy there, a sign of belonging to a certain culture.

Portland’s transformation makes him optimistic, Pucher says: “Even in cities that are very car-oriented and have absolutely no history of biking, you can — through changes of public policy — produce a big increase in cycling.”