Proper pedaling - Program teaches cyclists, pedestrians, motorists how to share the road
By KEILA SZPALLER of the Missoulian
He was one bad biker. Not bad as in cool - bad as in misbehaving.
Eric Mundt, a Missoula bicycle ambassador, spotted the rider on Higgins Avenue, pedaling north in the southbound lane, crossing traffic illegally, dashing in front of a car, and hopping onto a curb, elated at his near-death escape and bound for Charlie B's.
Bicycle ambassadors cruise around town in the summer and explain the rules of the road to bikers, walkers and drivers. So Mundt, who works with bike ambassador Brynne Parker, chatted with Mr. Nine Lives and explained how to be a good biker. If you want more bike racks and things for cyclists - especially if you want public money to pay for that stuff - you can't bike on the wrong side of the road and make people angry.
“One crazy biker can give a lot of bikers a bad name,” Parker said.
Missoula bicycle ambassadors Brynne Parker and Eric Mundt chat with a cyclist during the morning commute Tuesday in downtown Missoula. The two talk with bikers, pedestrians and drivers explaining the rules of the road. “One crazy biker can give a lot of bikers a bad name,” says Parker. Photo by KURT WILSON/Missoulian
And Mundt said the guy got it. The next day, the man waved to the ambassadors when he rode down the street. And the now-good biker was riding on the correct side, too.
“Once you're on your two wheels, you're a vehicle, so you need to maneuver like a vehicle,” Parker said.
On Tuesday morning, Mundt and Parker talked with cyclists and pedestrians at the corner of Main Street and Higgins. They're spending some 35 hours a week this summer teaching people how to share the road - and the sidewalk, too.
City Bicycle Pedestrian program Manager Phil Smith said more bikers are on the road, and both cyclists and drivers have some learning to do.
While Smith said people are seeing more cyclists, he can't quantify the anecdotal evidence because the city does not collect data. However, a fall 2008 AARP magazine story puts Missoula ninth in the nation for “greenest commuters,” with 8.91 percent walking or biking.
And the newbies on bikes need to know a few things, according to Smith and the ambassadors. Mainly, Smith said, cyclists need to be predictable.
That means riding in a straight line instead of weaving in and out of traffic, he said. It means signaling turns, too. Parker and Mundt, who spend most of their time in the field, said they see bicyclists breaking the rules all the time.
“Running red lights and stop signs is huge,” Parker said.
At the same time, Mundt said a court ruled in favor of a cyclist who argued he didn't have to make a complete stop because it was safer for him to be in partial motion at an intersection.
According to the ambassadors, the other thing bikers do wrong is pull all the way to the head of the line at an intersection. That puts them in danger of being hit by traffic turning right.
“That's really dangerous,” Mundt said.
On the other hand, Smith said bikers may use the sidewalks in Missoula as long as they yield to pedestrians. And it's perfectly legal.
The duo said motorists need a few words of advice, too. Mainly, they need to move over.
“Give bicyclists space. It's very stressful when they're moving right next to you,” Mundt said.
On Tuesday morning, one woman told the ambassadors she didn't like how the bikers rode in the middle of the road along a portion of Van Buren Street. She said she just drove slowly behind them, and Mundt thanked her for her patience.
Ambassadors said in general, drivers shouldn't stop for cyclists unless the biker is dismounted and standing in a crosswalk. That's because traffic may stop on one side of the road but not the other, so it's best to let the biker wait until it's safe on both ends, according to ambassadors.
Drivers also need to acknowledge that bicyclists have a right to the road, and also that it's often more difficult for bikers to navigate over garbage and potholes, Smith said. So they need room.
“That means don't drive in a bike lane,” Smith said.
On Tuesday morning, the ambassadors had intended to talk with drivers pulling into the downtown parking garage at Main and Ryman Street, but said many drivers were hurrying to work and didn't want to visit. So the pair moved to the street corner.
In the course of the summer, they'll go all over town - downtown, the bridges, the University of Montana campus and on the Clark Fork River trails, too. They'll talk with people congregating in Caras Park for Out to Lunch, and they'll visit with many children at day camps.
According to the ambassadors, riding well is about being part of a community, not just about protecting a noggin.
“Half of it is safety for yourself, and the other half is being polite to all your other city dwellers,” Mundt said.
People who want more and detailed information can get brochures on sharing Missoula's roads and bicycle laws by calling the Bike-Ped office at 552-6352, or by picking up pamphlets at City Hall.
As for the lack of statistics on bicycle ridership here, Smith said Missoula used to collect data. However, a statistician questioned the method and the city stopped gathering the information. And Smith said the city will plan for bike infrastructure regardless of the number of cyclists.
“We see the trend. And to measure the trend doesn't help us know if there's a trend or not. The trend is really apparent,” Smith said.
The city of Portland, Ore., does do counts, though, and Greg Raisman, with the Community and School Traffic Safety Partnership in the Portland Office of Transportation, said they're important.
“If you don't count - you don't count,” Raisman said.
And they're counting more and more cyclists in Portland. He said from 2001 to 2007, the number of bicycle trips over the city's bridges nearly doubled. Last year, 18 percent of the vehicles crossing the bridges were bicycles.
“Our winter counts last year were higher than our summer counts in 2002,” he said.
Raisman said it's valuable to track the data for a number of reasons. It's important to measure how well investments in infrastructure are working, first of all. And it's also good to know how people are using a transportation system - and also who is using it.
For Raisman, one major highlight of the data is that over time, more bikers and walkers on the road has meant fewer wrecks.
“Over time, the likelihood of having a crash during any trip has gone down precipitously,” he said.
Rules of the road
To receive a brochure on sharing Missoula's roads and bicycle laws, call the Bike-Ped office at 552-6352, or pick up pamphlets at City Hall, 435 Ryman St.
Reporter Keila Szpaller can be reached at 523-5262 or at keila.szpaller@missoulian.com.
