Shane Wade
Opinion Editor
Pedestrians hate them. Motorists hate them. Motorcyclists hate them. But VCU’s 14,000 cyclists are a fixture of the streets of Richmond.
No one should be surprised by this. You don’t have to go two blocks before you see some pedestrian giving a passing cyclist a dirty look or a motorist flipping them off.
As a former Richmond cyclist, I understand the frustration that comes from both sides of the street. To motorists and pedestrians, cyclists can come off as entitled roadsters because of their often- flagrant disregard for traffic laws. Cyclists, on the other hand, feel constrained by the current traffic laws that apply to them and responsible for the care and consideration they take while traveling.
But with an ever-growing population of cyclists, we should be more tolerant. After all, judging by numerous local anecdotes, personal experience and alarming statistics, cycling is a dangerous activity.
According to the August 2010 VCU State of Cycling report, of the group surveyed, one in five had been involved in an accident in the VCU-area. 50 percent of those accidents were caused by driver inattentiveness and 7 percent were caused as a result of “dooring,” which occurs when the passenger of a car opens a car door in front of an oncoming bike. Bicycling Life and Bicycling Safety finds dooring to be “the second-most common type of bike-car collision.”
What these numbers tell us is that, although VCU ranks highest in Virginia and within the top 17 in the nation for cyclist-friendly universities, we aren’t safe enough. VCU is undertaking a variety of projects and measures to help ensure cyclist (and pedestrian) safety, including symposiums, training clinics, the RamBikes Stand and efforts to lobby the city of Richmond for increased bicycle-friendly infrastructure.
The report also found that almost a third of cyclists have a bicycle, parts or accessories stolen on or around a VCU campus. Of that percentage, 52 percent had their entire bicycle stolen.
Here’s an area where VCU can and needs to make improvements. Not many students or faculty may realize this, but official university policies ban bicycles from being “parked, stored or lock to any structure or within any building, including campus residence halls.” If VCU’s going to prevent students from bringing their bikes inside, the least they can do is implement measures to decrease and dissuade bicycle theft, including placing more secure bike racks in centralized locations and installing lighting fixtures above bike racks.
The responsibility doesn’t just lie with cyclists. VCU offers free bike registration and students should know to file a police report for any stolen property. Sadly, only 23 percent filed a police report and 20 percent have their bicycle registered with the VCU Police Department.
VCU is doing their part so cyclists need to do their part. Just as with the issue of crime on and around campus, there’s a key element of individual responsibility that needs to be considered.
Unfortunately for cyclists, that means following Richmond’s traffic laws and extending some common sense courtesy to pedestrians. The previously cited report found that collisions with pedestrians accounted for 10 percent of accidents.
Do pedestrians a favor and avoid sidewalks whenever possible or riding through the Compass at peak times. Going the extra mile is what it means to be a responsible cyclist.