PaTHs Committee and town roll out bike/pedestrian safety campaign
With the arrival of spring, many Bethlehemites are shedding sweaters, flinging open windows and venturing into the outdoors. And town officials and the Bethlehem Pathways to Homes, Hamlets and Healthy Hearts Advisory (PaTHs) Committee are reminding pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists to be aware of one another this season.
The committee is launching an educational campaign aimed at driving safe practices home among these groups. Palm cards are to be distributed throughout the community and tips will also run on Channel 18.
This is a new approach for the PaTHs Committee, which has contributed to planning how to expand bicycle and pedestrian access throughout town.
I think in the past we concentrated more on the engineering side of bike/ped, said Bethlehem Senior Planner Robert Leslie, who serves as town liaison to the committee.
The palm card is to highlight rules that most everyone knows but far too few follow. Though most feel the community is behind a walkable, bikeable community and that goal is part of the town’s comprehensive plan, planning and outreach go hand in hand, said PaTHs Committee member Anne Benware.
`That safety education and potentially enforcement of different aspect of pedestrian safety and bike safety is also important. The whole thing has to work together,` she said.
Common rules to remember: bicyclists should ride to the right of the road with traffics, walkers should stick to the left; motorists should slow down when approaching bicyclists and make sure to pass with a minimum of a three-foot distance; cars must yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk; and bicyclists and pedestrians should always make an effort to be visible to motorists.
But the most important rule is to simply remember to share the road and be conscious of ones surroundings. Though motorists can sometimes draw the ire of walkers and bike riders for hogging the road, it’s everyone’s responsibility to keep things safe and orderly out there.
That goes doubly for areas with high pedestrian traffic. The town’s Highway Department recently installed pedestrian bollards in several major crosswalks in town, such as in front of Town Hall and outside the Delmar Post Office. These are to serve as reminders to motorists that they law requires traffic yield to pedestrians in crosswalks.
Bethlehem Police Deputy Chief Timothy Beebe said police officers will be keeping an eye out for motorists violating this law as well as others who are acting unsafely. Walking facing traffic is one rule he sought to emphasize.
`I see this on a daily basis, and people are busy, speeding, taking on their cell phone, whatever,` he said. `At least if you’re facing traffic and a car is coming close to you, you may have an opportunity to jump out of the way.`
Beebe also suggested bicyclists and pedestrians wear bright or reflective clothing, especially at night or in the twilight hours.
The PaTHs Committee has also spoken about getting the educational campaign into the schools. The warm weather means more children will forsake the bus or a car for their commute.
`I’m just always amazed at the number of bikes that are ridden to the high school and the middle school by students,` she said.
The cost of printing the palm cards will be assumed by the now-inactive Bethlehem Citizens for Pedestrian Safety group, which was also behind the `walk left, ride right` signs posted around town.“
