America’s cities increasingly are acting to protect bicyclists as more of them are killed or injured in crashes with motorists.
The number of bicyclists killed or hurt hit a peak in 2021, when 966 died and another 42,000 were injured, according to the latest data available.
In light of such statistics, cities certainly should try to keep cyclists safe. But city officials harm cyclists when they approve bike lanes for unsafe areas, such as on truck routes or those regularly used by emergency vehicles.
Case in point: beautiful Petaluma, California, founded in 1858, where one might not expect a dangerous bike lane. Situated north of San Francisco in Sonoma County, the city boasts picturesque buildings that survived the 1906 earthquake and line the Petaluma River.
But the Petaluma City Council is considering building bike lanes along D Street, a designated…
