LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — As more people opt to bike and walk, studies show an increase in people being hit and killed on the road.
Lexington native Blake Hall has never enjoyed driving.
“It was always hectic and stressful",” said Hall.
Living in San Francisco for work made not dealing with driving easy.
“I walked and took the train and it was something I enjoyed,” said Hall.
That became a challenge when he moved back to Lexington. But he decided to pick up a box bike.
“The more I learned about things like walkability, bikeability, I was like I wanna get a bike," he explained.
He went from biking with his young kids around his neighborhood during the pandemic to now driving to meetings and events downtown.
"Anywhere inside of New Circle, I try to bike to," said Hall.
But he also recognizes the dangers that can come along with sharing the road.
“I've had some close calls. Luckily, in this [the box bike], I have like, I'm even more of an oddity, and so I have more presence. People are just, I stick out more so people are more aware of me,” said Hall.
He says most of the danger has been from speeding, inattention, and distracted drivers.
The Numbers:
There has been a rise in bicyclists and pedestrians hit and killed by drivers.
According to the Governor’s Highway Safety Association’s 2022 data, more people on foot were killed by motor vehicle collisions last year since 1981. About 9,508 pedestrians were killed in 2022 (GHSA).
Numbers were on the decline until 2010 and increased since. So have bicyclist deaths.
The number of deaths from bicycle incidents increased 16% in 2020 and 44% in the last ten years.
Each year, approximately 2% of fatalities resulting from motor vehicle crashes are people on bicycles according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Association (NHTSA).
In 2021, 985 bicyclists were killed on U.S. roadways.
Kentucky (2022):
344 BIKE CRASHES
13 BIKE DEATHS
874 PEDESTRIAN CRASHES
76 PEDESTRIAN DEATHS
Why?
GHTSA says a long time focusing on cars in planning, high traffic volume, wide multi-lane roads, intersections, and aggressive or distracted driving behavior are all to blame.
“That's how we end up with whole neighborhoods that have no sidewalks,” said Hall.
He says the Town Branch Commons was a good piece of infrastructure improvement.
"Pick and choose routes and just, you know, head on a swivel. You just have to be aware. Don't trust any driver," said Hall. "I'll take the neighborhood streets before I'll ever take an arterior."
What’s Being Done in Lexington?
Infrastructure and safety planning for cyclists and pedestrians have been more prevalent in city planning nationwide.
The city of Lexington is a part of several different projects across the area.
The country is one of a small number of cities that have created a formal bicycle and pedestrian plan to take safety to account through a dedicated Bike and Pedestrian Master Plan.
Here’s a copy of that plan created by the Lexington Area Metropolitan Planning Organization: BPMP-Master-Plan-Reduced.pdf (lexareampo.org)
Federal law all urbanized areas to designate a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO).
The Lexington Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is the intergovernmental planning agency for Fayette and Jessamine Counties.
Collectively, the MPO sets policies and allocates federal transportation dollars to local municipalities and counties.
In 1999, the MPO established the Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) to provide guidance on bicycle and pedestrian needs and projects in the MPO region.
The Town Branch Commons is a 22-mile trail that took ten years to officially open and partially complete.
It’s seen as a hub of the city’s growing trail system.
In the area, the mileage of bike lanes and shared use trails has continued to grow over the last 5-year period, increasing to more than 100 miles, or about 10 miles per year.
Some current pedestrian projects:
- New Circle Rd - Pending grant funding would create a shared use path for pedestrians and bikers on both sides of the road from New Circle Rd from Boardwalk to Bryan Station, as well as a connection to the Legacy Trail.
- North Broadway - Improving North Broadway from New Circle Rd to Broadview Dr to include bike/pedestrian facilities under RJ Corman Railroad bridge.
- N Limestone – In the design process of adding sidewalks and bike lanes from Withers Ave to New Circle Rd.
- Versailles Rd – Pending grant funding would improve sidewalks.
- Armstrong Mill – Will complete gaps between Appian Way & Squires Rd.
- Wilson Downing – Construction beginning this summer to close gaps between Nicholasville Rd & Tates Creek Rd.
- Squires Rd – Construction beginning this summer to complete gaps from Cove Lake to Richmond Rd .
- Richmond Rd. Construction starting in 2024 or 2025 to create a shared use trail from Squires Rd to Hayes Blvd.
- Rosemont Garden – Will complete gaps between railroad and Southland Dr.
- North Limestone – short term improvements were implemented through a restriping project
- Town Branch Commons – primary route finished but completion is waiting on a study.
- Alumni Drive – In the design process of creating a shared use trail is funded from Tates Creek Rd to New Circle Rd
- Liberty Rd – Bike and pedestrian improvements are in the design process for New Circle to Winchester Rd. The Legacy Trail will be extended from Liberty Rd to the Legacy/Town Branch trailhead at 3rd Street and Midland.
- KYTC is building a shared use path on Liberty Rd from New Circle to Liberty Elementary. LFUCG is building a connection from the KYTC project to the trail behind Liberty Elementary, which connects to the Brighton Trail.
- Harrodsburg Rd – Design work to begin soon.
How is Kentucky doing?
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and Kentucky Bicycle and Bikeway Commission is currently serving in an advisory role, advocating for bicycle safety; however, there is no coalition or statewide group of advocates and stakeholders representing pedestrian and bicycle safety combined.
The state does not currently have a Pedestrian and Bicycle Strategic Safety Plan.
After a request from the state to assess its state pedestrian and bicyclist safety program, NHTSA recommended things like better communicating the availability of grant funding to local partners and allocating the appropriate level of funding.
NHTSA recommended more “countermeasures that comprehensively integrated education, enforcement, engineering and emergency medical services strategies to enhance the safety of people who walk and bike Kentucky (NHTSA 2022)." Read more here.
