[dropcap]E[/dropcap]very morning, the San Luis Obispo High School bike racks are lined with bicycles. For many students, biking is their main mode of transportation; often biking to and from school, home or other destinations like downtown. Since October 2007, San Luis Obispo has been awarded the League of American Bicyclists’ “Silver” ranking for bicycle-friendly communities. However, the city remains the seventh most dangerous California city for cyclists. So, where should you be wary? A recent collisions map, printed by The Tribune, reveals most SLO bicycle accidents occur at the intersections of Olive at Santa Rosa, California at Monterey, Santa Rosa at Walnut, Chorro at Monterey, and Chorro at Higuera. All these intersections are well-traveled by SLOHS students. “You have to be careful on Higuera, because there is really no room for a bike on that street. I try to avoid really busy streets like Broad, Foothill, and Higuera,” said Latin teacher Tom Weinschenk, an avid biker. Weinschenk also cautions students to be vigilant when riding near parked cars. “One of the most dangerous places for cyclists are parking lots, because for some reason, when you are in a parking lot, people just don’t notice that you’re there,” said Weinschenk. Other dangerous areas include the intersections of Monterey at California and Olive at Santa Rosa, which are close to freeway on-ramps and off-ramps, resulting in increased speeds and distracted cross-traffic. SLOHS junior AnnaSara Bridgeford has personally encountered many of these cycling hazards yet has managed to stay safe. “There is definitely a lot more distracted driving downtown,” said Bridgeford Be sure to keep a cautious eye when peddling SLO.
Dangerous places to bike in SLO
October 22, 2014
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Vanessa Amerson • Nov 10, 2014 at 9:46 am
The SLO County Bicycle Coalition would be thrilled to come teach a bike confidence class to students at SLOHS. The upcoming week off (Nov. 24th or 25th) might be a good opportunity for students who aren’t traveling for the holiday. The city of SLO would be happy to sponsor the class so it will be free to all students and it would be a great way to prepare for bicycling to college. Please let me know if there is interest and possibly the use of a room on campus.
I hope to see you soon!
Vanessa Amerson
[email protected]
805.547.2055
slobikelane.org
Here’s a link to our classes.
http://slobikelane.org/programs/education/#tab-id-5
Alex Ehlers • Nov 5, 2014 at 1:27 pm
Yesterday, my stepmom almost ran a man on a bike over. I think it was my fault, because he was on the right side of the car, and I was sitting up front. I probably should’ve told my stepmom about him before she turned that corner. We were lucky we didn’t hit him.
After we missed him, he yelled, “ARE YOU SERIOUS?!”, rode up to us, and started to yell at us. I wonder if he was crabby because he was almost hit by a car, or because he’s like that 24/7.
If you think this comment has little to do with the article, it either shows that cars are a major cause of bike accidents, or that if you avoid a bike accident, yell at people!