Bike & Pedestrian Safety

Most of us appreciate the summer rituals of biking or walking to Willey’s, or biking around the lake at least once during our time in Greensboro, and we are all familiar with the stretches of road that demand more caution and awareness of traffic.   In 2015, cyclists and pedestrians in Vermont were involved in 223 crashes. Four of these crashes were cyclist fatalities, which prompted our legislature to take action to improve biker safety. On July 1, new safety laws to help protect “vulnerable users”, such as bikers and pedestrians, go into effect. The new law recommends at least four feet of clearance from bikes when passing, and will also increase the penalty for riding more than two abreast or impeding traffic while riding two abreast from $25 to $100.

This summer, remember to give cyclists and pedestrians a wide berth. It may require slowing down and waiting for a safe opportunity to pass a cyclist to do so. In addition, please honor the speed limits, particularly along Craftsbury Road and Lakeshore Road, as these two thoroughfares see a lot of bike and pedestrian traffic.