Jul 2, 2009 10:45 pm US/Central
Can Cars And Cyclists Co-Exist In Chicago?
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
With the weather expected to be ideal this holiday weekend, you can be sure that lots of people will be out riding bikes. Some of you may think that more bicycles mean more accidents. But as CBS 2's Anne State reports a local group says the opposite is true.
The Active Transportation Alliance says the more bikes on the road, the better. We have not seen a car versus bike fatality this year in the city, but some people are surprised we haven't.
If you go to the intersection of Milwaukee, Damen and North Avenue, you'll see bikes galore. And not just there, but all over the city.
The Active Transportation Alliance says more Chicagoans are riding bikes, so drivers are getting used to sharing the road with them.
"As the numbers go up, it becomes safer, because cars see bicyclists more often," said Rob Sadowsky, Executive Director of Active Transportation Alliance.
Fair to say, not everyone agrees.
"I saw three accidents last year right in front of me of cars hitting bicyclists or bicycles hitting a car," said driver Ray Rubio.
Virtually every cyclist we talked to had a horror story. They say three-way intersections are particularly dangerous.
"I've had a couple doors pop open on me," said cyclist Yiannis Leventopoulos.
"I got hit by a CTA bus. That kinda sucked," said cyclist Alex Hoxie.
"This intersection in particular is tricky because you have to pay close attention, because of six corners, you never know which way the cars are coming from," Leventopoulos said.
The cyclists blame distracted drivers. The drivers blame cyclists.
"They're too many of them. They drive like maniacs. Not all of them, but most of them," said driver Sam Talarico.
"I think they should obey the law just like most drivers obey the law," Rubio said.
Sadowsky says cyclists should stop, but drivers should too.
We talked to cyclists who absolutely agree that there are more bikes on the road, so drivers are noticing them, and they do feel a little safer.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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