Is biking on the roads safe?

     The recent death of a biker in Baltimore has brought the issue of bike safety on our streets to a new level of awareness.  The danger of biking on heavily traveled streets is something that discourages many of us from even considering taking our bikes on local trips.  We are fortunate to have bike paths in Columbia that does give us some alternative routes to use but often we are forced onto local streets that are heavily traveled.

 I have blogged on this before on the situation on Dobbin Lane and other heavily traveled roads like Little Patuxent Parkway.  Biking to the Mall? Not something to be done easily.  Retrofitting our roads to be more friendly to bikers and pedestrians should be the goal for Howard County in the 21st century.  But to do this you have to build the goal into any road or building development. The hiring of a bike and pedestrian coordinator in the County is a good first step in this direction.  The example of how this can be done is in Holland.

   Below is a before and after picture of a busy street in Holland.

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