Bicycle-Pedestrian Safety

I recently filmed a Council Comments on bicycle and pedestrian safety with Scott Thompson, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator for the LFUCG and the Metropolitan Planning Organization.  You can see the Council Comments here.

We met at the Legacy Trail trailhead at the North Lexington YMCA. The Legacy Trail is a dedicated trail which extends eight miles from the YMCA to the Kentucky Horse Park.  Plans are about to be made for that will begin in the spring to complete the trail through town to the Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden on Third Street.  Most of the trail through town will be on existing roadways, with either special markings or dedicated lanes.

LFUCG currently has more than seventy miles of bicycle facilities.  Twenty-eight miles of trails are on roads, with either bike lanes or “sharos”.    “Sharos” are lane markings that indicate to motorists that bicyclists will be present.  The markings also lets the cyclist know where in the lane to be.   The rest are dedicated trails which are completely off road.

As cycling increases, it is important that we respect each other’s space.  There are classes and public safety campaigns to encourage cars and bikes to be aware of each other.   Hopefully these and other efforts will lead to increased understanding of how to share the road, and increased safety for everyone.