Let’s move on bike safety

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To the Editor:

I am very upset by the death of bicyclist Dina Dececca.

For decades we have known about unsafe biking-conditions on Martha’s Vineyard, but have left them uncorrected. (Six bicyclists have died since 1987.)

In 2008, MTV (channel 13) aired an eye-opening video called “Let’s Make Biking Safe on MV”. The video showed hundreds of unsafe conditions, including the sidewalk that Dina fell from. (That sidewalk appears at the video’s 40-minute mark.)

Another warning was given in a 2009 MVC report. It states, “Missing links [between bicycle paths] create safety hazards for users”.

I urge selectmen and other decision-makers to quickly correct the Island’s dangerous conditions. For a video introduction to them, go to channel 13 and watch the 2008 video. (Go to mvtv.org and watch it on demand.)

In addition to building safe bike facilities, bicyclists and motorists need an educational program that teaches how to safely use our roads and paths. (Sometime next week MVTV will begin airing a four-minute video called “Roll Together Concord”. Although produced in New Hampshire, it should be required viewing for everyone on Martha’s Vineyard.)

Let’s not delay making corrections to the Island’s bicycle facilities and learning to drive safely. We owe it to Dina’s family and our own.

Chris Fried

Vineyard Haven

Member

MV Pedestrian and Bicycle Committee