Out of the Blue: Why does Laguna tolerate bike, pedestrian deaths?

The death last week of Laguna resident John Greg Colvin is another grave reminder of how dangerous our streets are to anyone venturing onto them without a car.

Laguna is a terrifying place to cross a street or ride a bike. The Laguna Beach Independent reported last week that the state’s Office of Traffic Safety’s 2011 report (the most recent available) ranked Laguna highest in pedestrian injuries among 107 small cities.

In fact, in a five-year period since 2009, Laguna police reported 76 accidents involving cyclists, according to Capt. Jason Kravetz.

Let’s compare that to Stockholm, Sweden, with a population roughly 36 times greater than Laguna. It had six traffic deaths last year, and that includes automobiles, according to the New York Times.

Portland, Ore., rated America’s No. 1 bike-friendly city by bicycling.com, with 180 miles of dedicated bike lanes, had no bike-related deaths in 2013, according to bikeportland.org. And none in 1999, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2008 or 2010.

How’d the city do it? By recognizing bicycling as a viable alternative transportation and making safe passage a priority.

Los Angeles gets it. Mayor Eric Garcetti just named Seleta Reynolds to head the city’s Department of Transportation because she ran the Livable Streets division of San Francisco’s Transportation Agency. She played a major role in carrying out that city’s Vision Zero project, which seeks to cut traffic fatalities to zero by 2024, according to a story in the L.A. Times. She also introduced 35 bike rental stations, with an additional 15 on the way (this in a city far hillier and congested than Laguna).

Imagine if we had a council member with the same vision and commitment.

Instead we seem somehow apathetic about these deaths and more focused on trying to discourage bicycling. Pedestrian or cyclists killed on Coast Highway? Meh, they probably shouldn’t have been out in those mean streets in the first place.

A murder, on the other hand, is big news in Laguna. Gets lots of copy (think naked gun-brandishing woman at Montage or Hotel Laguna employee bludgeoned after gay tryst). We obsess over the details and reassess the safety of our neighborhoods, usually resulting in more police officers.

We can debate endlessly about the merits of having a parking garage, beautifying our village entrance or building an artist live-work community or permanent housing for the homeless, but deaths of bikers and pedestrians can’t even get on the agenda for some meaningful remedies.

Do we really think we can stay frozen in a 1950s car culture and stay competitive with other beach destinations? Newport Beach, Dana Point and even Long Beach have embraced the bike culture and are reaping the dollar rewards from savvy tourists. More important, a bike culture would serve as a way for locals to beat our summer congestion blues.

Bicycle advocates have been crying for equal protections under the law. And it is the law. The state ratified The Complete Streets Act in 2008, mandating that cities amend their circulation plans to allow for “a balanced, multimodal transportation network that meets the needs of all users of streets, roads and highways, defined to include motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists, children, persons with disabilities, seniors, movers of commercial goods and users of public transportation.”

In the six years since, Laguna has painted a few sharrows on Hillcrest and Monterrey drives and Glenneyre Street, and put up some bike route signs.

I’m betting most people don’t know what sharrows are. They are those washed-out stencils of bicycles with arrows, to remind you that you are sharing the road with brave souls who choose to burn calories instead of cash and carbon. It’s a start, but they hardly ensure bikers safe passage.

So what can we do? First, we need to complete the north-south bike route through town (from Crescent Bay to Nye’s Place) to give cyclists a safer option than Coast Highway, which everyone agrees is too dangerous for bikes. Put up prominent signs to divert riders off the highway and onto this scenic route. And we need to slow cars down by any means necessary — lower speed limits, signage, roundabouts, pedestrian crossings, narrower lanes.

Then we need bike (and perhaps electric scooter) rental stations at Act V, downtown and in north and South Laguna (Pavilions, Aliso Beach parking lot). The more people are riding, the better.

When bicycles are ubiquitous, we will decrease fatalities, because drivers will be far more alert and aware that this is a multimodal town. Just like Portland, Stockholm and more recently L.A., San Francisco and New York.

But here’s what really needs to happen: Pacific Coast Highway and Laguna Canyon Road need to be redesigned for our changing times. These are where the fatalities are. Take over both from CalTrans.

It’s a daunting task, and we know the city moves at a glacial pace. But Corona del Mar has taken similar actions. So has Dana Point.

Once we have these roadways under control, we will have much more flexibility to make them slower, safer and better able to serve Laguna’s needs.

We owe it to our community and the families of the deceased to set a goal of zero bike and pedestrian fatalities.

For those of you who are adamant about change, join me on the lawn of City Hall at 5:30 p.m. July 15 for a peaceful demonstration to demand more bike and pedestrian safety from the City Council. Bring your bike, stroller or any other impediments to safe travel.

BILLY FRIED is the chief paddling officer of La Vida Laguna and member of the board of Transition Laguna. He can be reached at billy@lavidalaguna.com.