Well-earned credibility plus persistence, laser-focused purpose and effective delivery make a jet-fueled combination driven to inspire positive change!
That powerful combination is exactly what BikeWalk North Carolina (BWNC) director and hammer-elite cyclist, Terry Lansdell, and Western Piedmont Council of Governments (WPCOG) Transportation Planning Manager, Averi Ritchie, brought to a group of 25 avid Hickory Velo Club cyclists last week at Hickory's Romeo & Brewliet's.
Terry led off summarizing BWNC’s Friendly Driver Program designed to make drivers more aware of “vulnerable road users”, meaning those on the road, like pedestrians and bicyclists, not using cars, trucks or motorcycles for transportation. That program is both much needed and is actively growing across North Carolina through BWNC leadership.
Then, to flip the story from a driver to a cyclist's responsibility angle, Terry, who is a richly accomplished elite cyclist – 4 time solo Race Across America (RAAM) racer, still Race Across the West fixed gear (Ow!) record holder and much more – passed on practical tips regarding safe cycling in traffic. Those tips included making sure to use a rear red light even during daylight with an emphasis on not blocking others using rear mounted red lights from being seen by cars, staying tight in a group and breaking large groups into smaller groups of relatively equal ability to make it easier and safer for cars to pass, and using a helmet or handlebar-end mounted mirror to see rear approaching traffic.
Averi Ritchie: young, smart, and great at pivoting around bureaucratic obstacles to get projects done (love it!), followed Terry to inform us about progress the WPCOG, Greater Hickory Metropolitan Planning Organization (GHMPO) and North Carolina Department of Transportation are making to develop a comprehensive 4-county Western Piedmont Transportation Safety Plan (TSP) with the contracted help of outstanding community and traffic planning consultants, VHB. The purpose of the TSP is to identify “high incident intersections”, meaning traffic intersections that have a high rate of crashes. and find solutions to make those intersections safer for all road users.
As shown in the infographic below put together by Averi and her team, there is an urgent need for both a solid plan and follow-up work to remediate our locally high traffic crash rate.
Yes, the traffic problems we face are significant and making positive changes is a steep climb. On the bright side – there’s always a bright side - we are extraordinarily fortunate to have such fantastically proven, persistent and well-positioned experts, like Terry and Averi, leading positive change regarding a problem that is only getting worse and affects every one of us using our roads for any purpose today.
Thanks very much Terry and Averi. I greatly appreciate you both as highly skilled, accomplished professionals and darn good friends!