@billybob : There is nothing safe about riding a bike in Peoria. There need to be far more protected lanes. There are not enough to make riding a bicycle practical for anything but pleasure riding.That said... the distances between things are too great for most potential riders. Sprawl hurts bicycle riding too. There is the matter of the hillside bluff that no one wants to ride up. It is a real barrier for many folks. There are only six months out of the year any sane (average) person would ride in. In the heat of summer no one is going to want you showing up to work all sweaty unless you got a shower and a change of clothes at work.

When I am sitting at a red light, and the car in front of me doesn't go on green, I will give a slight tap on the horn to alert them that the light is green and they should move along. Not a long loud horn, just a wake up call.

@PeoriaChronicle: we were also taught to look both ways before crossing the street to ensure no traffic was coming. Now the attitude is "I'm the pedestrian and if they hit me it's their fault"... even if I wander off in to traffic because I'm not paying attention as I'm being distracted by my phone. There are distracted driving laws maybe we need distracted pedestrian laws.

@AntiRanchDrssng : I'm in favor of that!

@PeoriaChronicle @AntiRanchDrssng : Remember a few years back they were ticketing jaywalkers downtown and the backlash was so great they were forced to stop.

@AntiRanchDrssng : If that is too much of a burden for you as a driver... perhaps you should reconsider your need to drive.

@Mahkno :
You think pedestrians bear no responsibility for their own safety? The motorist is always at fault? Even if roughhousing college students tumble into traffic and the motorist doesn't have time to stop? Even if they are distracted by their phone and they walk right into the path of a car? Even when they are jaywalking and dart out from between parked cars? That's a pretty hard line position. I think both motorists and pedestrians need to act responsibly.

Sorry, I'm not going to retrofit the Tracker with the braking system from a Bugatti Chiron because some fool decides to step out into traffic whenever they damned well please. If their own life isn't worth a second or two of their time, I can't help that mindset.

Interesting read. Peoria gets its own breakout analysis on VRUs (Vulnerable Road Users). I know, crazy talk for some in these here parts. Curious if the City has stats on the reduction in pedestrian deaths at Main and University since the tabletop went in?idot.illinois.gov/co ntent/dam/soi/en/web /idot/documents/tran sportation-systThe Safe System Approach (SSA) (FHWA 2007) is the guiding philosophy used by the IL SHSP to address transportation safety and provides the foundation for the VRU Safety Assessment. The SSA recognizes death and serious injuries are unacceptable, humans make mistakes, humans are vulnerable, responsibility is shared, safety is proactive, and redundancy is crucial.

 

We envision a future where no one loses their life or is seriously injured while biking, walking, and rolling so that IDOT can achieve the goal of zero fatalities and serious injuries on public roadways in Illinois.

Was the law only in cross walks pedestrian are to cross the street. Was the law J walking to be enforced.