By Juan Montoya
Among one of the benefits of her pushing for the city to spend millions on bike trials and cyclobias, City of Brownsville Commissioner Rose Gowen has said it was to provide a safer environment for cyclists in the city.
Yet, a cursory review of accidents involving bike riders the past five years shows instead that there has been an increase of such accidents even with the trails.
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The city has launched costly effort to provide protected lanes to cyclists on city streets including FM 802 and other high-density traffic thoroughfares such as Sixth Street among others.
Yet, as the chart shows at right, in 2011, before the hike-and-bike trails had been completed, there was one accident involving cyclists. In 2012, there were none reported. But after 2013, when the city launched its pro-cyclist efforts in earnest, the number of accidents involving cyclists began to soar.
It's only logical, said a Gowen critic, that when you increase the number of cyclists in the thoroughfares used by other traffic such as cars and trucks, it also increases the number of potential accidents that could happen.
FM 802, in particular, has implemented restricted bike lanes to accommodate cyclists. Yet, it is the area where more accidents have occurred. Why?
"The more bikes on the road, the more accidents you are going to have," said a motorist interviewed on that thoroughfare. "Many people use the bike lanes as turning lanes and that increases the likelihood of an accident involving cars and bikes. I've even caught myself doing it. It's just not safe."
Among one of the benefits of her pushing for the city to spend millions on bike trials and cyclobias, City of Brownsville Commissioner Rose Gowen has said it was to provide a safer environment for cyclists in the city.
Yet, a cursory review of accidents involving bike riders the past five years shows instead that there has been an increase of such accidents even with the trails.
The city has launched costly effort to provide protected lanes to cyclists on city streets including FM 802 and other high-density traffic thoroughfares such as Sixth Street among others.
Yet, as the chart shows at right, in 2011, before the hike-and-bike trails had been completed, there was one accident involving cyclists. In 2012, there were none reported. But after 2013, when the city launched its pro-cyclist efforts in earnest, the number of accidents involving cyclists began to soar.
It's only logical, said a Gowen critic, that when you increase the number of cyclists in the thoroughfares used by other traffic such as cars and trucks, it also increases the number of potential accidents that could happen.
FM 802, in particular, has implemented restricted bike lanes to accommodate cyclists. Yet, it is the area where more accidents have occurred. Why?
"The more bikes on the road, the more accidents you are going to have," said a motorist interviewed on that thoroughfare. "Many people use the bike lanes as turning lanes and that increases the likelihood of an accident involving cars and bikes. I've even caught myself doing it. It's just not safe."