I am writing to strongly request that we do better to create safe bicycle and pedestrian detours around construction zones. We have alluded to this at Active Transportation Committee (ATC) meetings. At the last meeting, Vince Buck and I (Anjali Tapadia) mentioned the closure at Acacia near Valencia and how there was no safe way around the blockade.
This weekend, my good friend Joel Maus, who himself previously sat on the ATC, suffered injuries because of this exact closure on Acacia. He gave me permission to share his story and photos. Because there is no way around the Acacia closure, which is the only north-south route in the area that has a demarcated bike lane, Joel detoured to Raymond. A pickup truck driver sideswiped Joel’s handlebars, then brake-checked Joel as Joel tried to turn left. Joel then braked hard and flew over his handlebars, suffering injuries, including a broken clavicle. The driver then yelled at Joel, telling him that he deserved it. (Below, please find Joel’s social media post).
It is unacceptable that members of our community continue to die, get injured, and bring road safety concerns to the City’s attention. Yet, we don’t take significant measures to prevent further conflicts.
I have said at Council meetings before that traffic deaths are particularly horrible because of their sudden, violent, senseless nature. Joel’s injury, while fortunately non-life-threatening, has really struck me. I could have lost a friend today, and a family could have lost their father. This is unacceptable. I do not understand why we do not do more to prevent these incidents. Joel’s story underscores that traffic safety is a real and imminent problem, regardless of how hard we try to ignore it.
Given that advocates have raised the issue of road safety numerous times to the City Council and other City officials, and we are still not providing proper detours around construction sites, including the very site that led to Joel’s incident, how is the city not partly to blame for resulting injuries and deaths?
We need to unequivocally require construction contractors in Fullerton, during ALL projects, to provide a safe detour for bicycles and pedestrians without exception. “Share the road” signs are not sufficient. This needs to be a priority. We can add it to the inspection list for construction sites, and inspectors can enforce it. I would be more than glad to be part of this process to make sure detours are provided meaningfully and usable.
We also need a grander road safety vision for the city. I advocate for Vision Zero, but Safe Streets for All works, too. Please note that this was discussed briefly at the last City Council meeting on 11/21/23. We have had an unacceptable number of road deaths in recent years with minimal efforts toward traffic calming and other safety measures. City Council shot down the Associated Road road safety/traffic calming project without clear reason. The council also closed down Hart Place instead of making the safety improvements advocated for years. And recently, Fullerton had two pedestrian deaths on Brookhurst on a single weekend last month and three ped/bike deaths on Chapman/Malvern last year. A woman standing in front of her house on Magnolia and Flower was killed in front of her spouse on Easter Sunday this year by a speeding car driver, and a bicyclist was injured as well. Community meetings are ongoing regarding Lemon and Valencia. However, slowing car traffic is still considered anathema because car driver convenience apparently takes precedence over the safety of human beings, even children. There have been many more recent incidents. We can and MUST do better.
We are constantly told that we have to wait for people to die so we can rack up actionable numbers to implement safety measures. This kind of thinking is flawed in and of itself. But then, people die, and we STILL do nothing.
Even if the City chooses to ignore the safety risks and the emotional toll our community’s families suffer from road deaths and injuries, consider the financial ramifications of the liability the City assumes from ignoring concrete safety concerns raised by the community.
I beg you to please do better. Require safe detours for bikes & peds at all construction sites as part of inspection checklists. Make sure those detours are accessible to the mobility-impaired. Make road safety a priority and seriously explore and implement traffic calming measures throughout our City.
Let’s not let a single other person die or be injured on our streets. I implore you to ensure every one of our residents gets home safely to their families daily.
Thank you all for your kind consideration of this very important topic. As always, I invite anyone in the City of Fullerton to join me on a bike ride so you can see firsthand what it feels like to bike on our streets. Such an experience can be eye-opening.
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Categories: Community Voices, Health, Local Government, Local News
Give it a rest! We live in car country. Most of us just want the beat up streets and roads fixed so we can drive without offroading.
While I understand wanting the roads fixed, I think road safety for all is important and your compassion for your fellow human is despicable. I sure hope that you are never in need of compassion. For most of the past few decades motor vehicle crashes were the most common cause of death in general.
Thanks for modelling the attitude requiring adjustment. Totally unacceptable.
Actually Karissa (again, as SOMEONE WHO CAN’T EVEN SIT ON A BIKE ANYMORE), “We live in a…country” where “most of us just want” to NOT BE KILLED WHEN WALKING/BIKING. We NEED better bicycle infrastructure, ESPECIALLY in the “City of Education.”
We can do both.
This isn’t “car country.” This is a world where we are supposed to care about keeping each other safe.