The recent tragedy on SE Foster Road has sparked a dialogue in the comments about the need for education about the dangers of riding the wrong way in the bike lane.
Several commenters said they were taught as kids to ride facing traffic,
“Am I the only one here who learned as a kid always to walk and bike on the left side of the street, facing traffic? This is still a common myth in much of the country. It’s not common-sense, but it’s deeply ingrained. There’s a need for serious education and outreach about wrong-way cycling. People just have no idea, they think they’re doing the right thing.”
In a strange coincidence, while at the recent Oregon Bike Summit, I picked up an ODOT safety poster that deals with this exact issue.
I would love to see this message spread across billboards on major streets that have bike lanes (like SE Foster). ODOT has a budget for these and I’ve seen them around town. In the past I’ve wondered why I’ve only see car-related safety messages on ODOT billboards, and never anything about bicycles. Here’s an example:
File photo: 10/19/05
Perhaps now is a good time for someone to work with ODOT to make this happen.