Cyclist questions comments in safety article | Letter

Published 1:28 pm Friday, April 24, 2015

Regarding last issue’s article, “How cyclists and drivers can safely share Redmond roads, trails,” Peter Dane and Carolyn Hope made the statement that there have been no issues with the Redmond Central Connector (RCC) since 2013 is misleading. The current RCC is a small piece that winds through residential streets near Redmond Town Center. There are stop signs, roundabouts, etc. There are no major crossings. The RCC goes under Redmond Way.

Willows Road is a very different story. It is 45 mph and the trail will be hidden from motorists. There are main crossings at Northeast 90th and 95th streets (near the Black Raven Brewing Company), Arena Sports and Northeast 100th Court (Overlake Christian Church).

They both admitted in the article that right turns is the major cause of accidents between bikes and cars yet they insist there will be on issues. This design contradicts all the findings of Target Zero (http://www.targetzero.com ).

If the proposed solution of having “sweeping curves” to slow down and alert riders who are commuting to work makes such great sense why aren’t roads designed that way through school zones?

Why is the burden on the cyclist, commuting to work and taking a car off the road, to “be safe” and not on the engineering team to “make it safe”?

I understand we want a solution to get cyclists to the DigiPen area. Another solution might be to improve the trail along side the river and improve the Puget Power Trail, which intersects with Willows Road.

In addition, how will Willows Road ever be widened if that trail is put in?

Brent Schmaltz, Redmond