This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.

Finding Safer Solutions

I was shocked and saddened to learn that an experienced Guilford bicyclist was hit by a car and severely injured at the intersection of Route One and Boston Street on Sept. 22, and in the 10 weeks since, to my knowledge, there has been no news about it at all—not a single article, report, or listing in the local papers, nor Zip06, nor even in the Police Incident Report for Sept. 19 to 25 published in the Courier in mid-November.

It is imperative that the public is informed about all bicycle and pedestrian accidents in our town for two important reasons: to help all people become more aware of the risks of traveling along our heavily trafficked roads and intersections, whether a biker, pedestrian, driver, student, shopper, or visitor. The incredible irony is that this accident occurred at a dangerous intersection, exactly where the off-road safe bike trail proposed three years ago would have been completed, and the injured cyclist wouldn’t have had to cross Route One.

And second, public awareness about such accidents will lead to public support for finding safer solutions such as are now being explored by the Guilford Safe Streets Task Force, which will hopefully create a healthier, safer bike-friendly community to be enjoyed by all—our kids, our grandparents, our grandchildren, and ourselves.

Pam Bisbee Simonds

Guilford

Editor’s note: The above referenced accident was not part of the incident report released to the Courier by the Guilford Police Department.