[Bikies] Letter to Isthmus

[Marjorie Ward]

7-31-03

Marc Eisen
Editor
Isthmus
101 King St.
Madison, WI 53703

I was glad to see Bill Lueders recent article in the August 1^st Isthmus drawing attention to the recent pedestrian fatality in Madison and the larger problem of pedestrian safety and motorist inattention and law-breaking.  However, I was troubled by the last few paragraphs of the story, which implied that
#1 further motorist educational efforts will not improve the safety of pedestrians
and that
#2 pedestrians and bicyclists need to just �watch out�.

I realize that both of these quotes are likely taken slightly out of context, which is why I direct this letter to Isthmus rather than to the parties that were quoted.

I hope that the Madison Police Department and the community in general will not give up on the concept of education as a means towards improving the safety and quality of our community.  I do not think that all educational avenues for improving motorist awareness of bicyclists and pedestrians�or for improving the safe behavior of the bicyclists and pedestrians themselves�have been exhausted.  To the contrary, I believe that much more work can be done.  It is only too bad that it takes a tragedy to raise the issue.

Secondly, I hope that the community will not adopt the attitude that bicyclists and pedestrians just need to �watch out�.  While we at the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin always encourage bicyclists to be aware of their surroundings and to always be ready to react to the mistakes of others, I do not think that it is reasonable to shift blame for a traffic fatality from the person who broke the law in a two ton vehicle to the person who was following the law.  A little over a year ago a national bicycle/pedestrian advocate was killed by a bus while walking across the street.  This incident brought home to me that no pedestrian (or bicyclist) is ever completely safe from the mistakes of motorists.  Even so, the �watch out� mantra should run both ways�and I for one believe that the heavier burden of �watching out� should fall on the person who is driving a potentially deadly weapon.  And pedestrians and bicyclists have as much right to the lawful use of the public roadways as do motorists.

One of the things that makes Madison a great place to live is its diversity of travel modes.  In the future we will become even more diverse in this respect.  And as we do, we all have to learn to follow the law and to respect one another.  The question we all have to ask ourselves is: Is it worth killing someone just to get to the coffee shop thirty seconds sooner?

Sincerely,
Marjorie S. Ward
Executive Director
Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin

Cc:
Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, City of Madison
Arthur Ross, Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator, City of Madison Traffic Engineering
Lt. Stephanie Bradley Wilson, Madison Police
JoAnn Pruitt-Thunder, WisDOT Bureau of Transportation Safety