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As the days grow shorter and our commutes become darker, it’s important for motorists to keep an eye out for those walking and riding bicycles.
Despite the weather, many residents and students still walk or ride a bike around campus and in the city.
Joshua Myles from the Hancock Bike and Pedestrian Committee says they have to find new routes to travel now that winter is here.
Myles said, “A lot of the places that we’ve been using all summer aren’t really accessible anymore. Some of the sidewalks aren’t quite as accessible, a lot of non-motorized paths are just kind of closed in the winter, so there’s going to be people out walking and biking in new areas.”
That means motorists and non-motorists need to watch out for each other.
Bridget Durocher, also from the committee, says those out biking or running can do a lot to help keep themselves safe, such as keeping an emergency kit on you while traveling, carrying food and some sort of hydration system and making sure motorists can see you.
Durocher said, “I think we see a lot of people out with headlamps and so they’re visible from the front, but we need to remember that we also have a lot of reflectors out there on the roads, people have them on their mailboxes, so it’s not always easy to tell that they are an actual person, so we need to have reflective gear all the way around our bodies so we can tell that that is a person and we can be seen from the front as well as the back.”
Additional resource information and safety tips can be found on the website, http://www.bikeinitiativekeweenaw.org/.
