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Get off and walk

The Edwardsville Intelligencer reports that a design flaw in the construction of the Governors Parkway is preventing some effective use of the bicycle trails that intersect it.

Ann Schonlau of Edwardsville, a member of the League of Illinois Bicyclists board of directors, considers it something of an aggravation that she can't get off at Governors' Parkway and ride her bike on to Troy Road.

Schonlau, a retired recreation professor at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, suspects the reason a connector linking the trail to the roadway is absent is because government officials have had a misplaced fear that building one would expose them to liability when the inevitable accident happens.

She may be onto something.

Edwardsville Township Supervisor Mike Campbell told the Intelligencer that township trustees are united against the bill that would have given bicyclists the same rights on Illinois roads. Bicyclists on public roads, he said, "are an absolute hazard to vehicular traffic and bystander traffic. I don't think anyone can argue that we have some of the greatest bicycle paths that provide a safe outlet for bikers. If you give them the same rights as drivers, does it give them the same responsibility?"

Sadly, a lot of officials -- and much of the public -- share the same thinking as Campbell.

First of all, cyclists are not "an absolute hazard to vehicular traffic and bystander traffic." Cyclists who follow the rules of the road are no more so a hazard than someone in a motor vehicle who follows the rules of the road. And they are clearly less of a hazard than a drunken driver or someone speeding or driving in a reckless manner.

Campbell also doesn't seem to understand that not everyone drives a car to a trailhead and starts riding. People who live in Edwardsville Township probably have to ride on a street to get to the trails.

Campbell asks, "If you give them the same rights as drivers, does it give them the same responsibility?" Yes, of course, it does. Under the current state of Illinois law, bicycles are permitted, but not intended, users of Illinois streets and highways. Illinois law also makes it very clear that bicyclists must follow the same traffic laws as motorists as well as laws specifically made for bicyclists.

If you agree with me that Campbell is wrong, perhaps you should contact him at:

Mike Campbell
300 West Park Street
Edwardsville, IL 62025
(618) 656-0292

Roger 0 comments 3:19 AM