By Jacob Simmering, Coralville
On Thursday, Oct. 17, I was nearly killed while cycling to work.
I was on 1st Avenue in Coralville, unavoidable for many routes through Coralville, when a minivan came within a foot of hitting and likely killing me.
This is not a hypothetical concern: hours later, the life of Joe Mann was ended outside of Muscatine when a motorist struck him from behind.
In October 2017, Coralville allowed the popular trail connecting IRL [the Iowa River Landing] to Iowa River Power to be torn up for the ease of the developer of the Latitude housing project. Despite that project finishing in late summer, no reconstruction has been started.
This gap forces bicycle riders onto 1st Avenue and the adjoining overwide sidewalks. However, these sidewalks are not safe due to the frequency of commercial driveways and use is discouraged by the City’s draft bike master plan. Sidewalks like these are actually the most dangerous places to ride.
This leaves us with the road. Despite going nearly 20 mph in a 25 mph zone, having a taillight visible from close to a mile away, riding in the right lane and in the right position, a motorist nearly killed me. There is nothing more I can do to increase my safety. My future safety is in the hands of my local government. Despite Coralville having an explicit Complete Streets requirement, at present no safe bicycle infrastructure exists on 1st Avenue.
I wrote my city council with three specific questions:
- When is the IRL/IRP connection going to reopen, avoiding the need to use 1st Ave?
- What is the plan for mitigating the design defects that make 1st Ave less safe for cyclists and pedestrians?
- Until the design can be fixed, what is the plan for enforcement to address issues with aggressive, unsafe driving and speeding?
The only reply I got was from Councilmember Laurie Goodrich, who did not address any of the three questions. Instead, she told me “for your safety and because drivers are idiots, can you accept the inconvenience to use the 10 foot wide side walks where possible?”
Yes, she means the sidewalk that is less safe than the road. If this is the best response we have, we are in serious trouble.
Today, in Coralville, human life comes after property developers’ wants and shaving a second or two off the time it takes to move a car from Iowa City to North Liberty.
The City must reevaluate its priorities. Programs like Vision Zero not only create safer streets for cyclists and pedestrians but also for motorists, with little additional travel time. Plus, by creating livable, lovable places, these programs can bring huge economic returns to local businesses and to cities through increased property values. More broadly, these changes help address the climate emergency (private cars and transportation are a leading source for greenhouse gases) and promoting social equity by making streets safer for children, the elderly and those differently able.
Or the City can carry on as usual: Johnson County did on Old 218 until this May, when 83-year-old retired pastor David Schuldt was killed, forcing a reaction.
I also wrote to the city about this street and specifically about the intersection at 6th street which is very confusing. I started taking pictures, when I safely can, of drivers running the red light after the city said they didn’t think it was much of a problem since construction ended. I’ve also noticed an increase in speeding with the wider lanes.
Jeffrey,
The intersection with 6th Street is a nightmare. The intersection is poorly designed, like most of the road, is a nightmare. I’ve also noticed the issues with redlight running. I run a camera on my bike in case anything happens to me. I routinely capture 2-5 cars running the lights along 1st Ave. The best was last week when 6 cars ran the light at 1st and 9th by IRL – including 2-3 that entered the intersection after cross traffic had a green light!
I am attending the City Council meeting tonight (10/22) at 6:30 pm to raise this issue and the complete lack of a response. If you can join me, that would be great. Many voices speaking together are harder to dismiss than many single voices speaking apart.
YES! THANK YOU! It’s incredibly dangerous there and frustrating. The city council needs to spend a lot more time working on biking and walking infrastructure.
If Coralville truly wants a 25 mph speed limit on First Avenue, they need to start enforcing it. Driving 25 mph causes many drivers to pass you, frequently without regard to other drivers, bicyclists & pedestrians.