FOLEY, Ala. - Concern regarding the safety of bicycle riders has amped up throughout Baldwin County after Daphne teenager Daniel DiNardi died after being hit by a waste management truck while riding his bicycle June 23.

The incident occurred at the intersection of Baldwin County Highway 13 and Baldwin County Highway 64 in Daphne, and 14-year-old boy died four days later at U.S.A. Women and Children's Hospital.

"It's a tragedy and obviously not something anyone wanted to happen," Foley Mayor John Koniar said.

The city of Foley has few bicycle paths; but the possibility of a large-scale bike path project in the city, a city-wide sidewalk project connecting parks and schools and additional safety signs could be the beginning of a movement to make the roads a bit safer for bike riders.

Bicycling fatalities not new for county

Incidents in Baldwin County resulting in the death of a bicyclist is not unchartered territory. There have been a number of deaths throughout the county in recent years:

• In 2009, Clifford Williams, 47, of Daphne, was killed after being hit by a motorist along County Road 64 in Belforest.

• John Brandell, 52, was killed in 2008 by a pickup truck while riding his bike along U.S. Highway 98 in Elberta.

• Ann and Larry McDuff died in separate accidents in 2003 and 2005. The two were spouses and bicycle enthusiasts.

• William Frederick Imle, 48, and Archie Leroy Clemons Jr., 46, were killed on Bromley Road north of Spanish Fort in 2007.

One man's idea

Bicycle lanes and paths are scarce in Foley, but one local activist has come before the Foley City Council asking for funds to be put towards a large-scale bike path project.

David Voslow envisions three phases to the potential project, and he told the council he would be willing to pay $15,000 per phase if the city covers the rest.

"He was offering to pay $15,000 over three years, or if we do it all right away he would pay $45,000," Koniar said. "We're following up on that offer with him.

"It's refreshing to have a private citizen offer help."

Phase one would involve extending the Glen Lakes bike path along County Road 20. The council approved a resolution at the July 5 meeting to accept costs from Volkert to survey the land and begin the process. All council members approved the motion except for Councilman Wayne Trawick, who abstained, and Councilwoman Vera Quaites, who was not in attendance at the meeting.

The second phase would be a 1-mile bike path connecting County Road 20 to County Road 12, and phase three would be a bike path from County Road 12 to Graham Creek Preserve Road.

"We're just trying to be a catalyst to get this thing going," Voslow said at a previous council work session. "There's a lot of neat things that can happen on this."

The hope for the future is to connect the cities of Foley, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach with bike paths.

"Gulf Shores and Orange Beach have extensive bike paths which they built from grants they received and such," Koniar said, noting the Baldwin County Trailblazers, a local organization who is pushing for bicycle paths throughout the county, could help the city.

"They have not made it to Foley yet, but they are close."

However, Koniar believes a slew of bike paths will not erase the possibility of an accident happening.

"It could still happen if the city was covered with bike trails," he said.

Sidewalks for the schools

The city began the next phase of the long-term sidewalk initiative, with approval of a bid award for sidewalks along Cedar Street at the May 16 council meeting.

The sidewalks will connect three public schools in the city. The project will begin on South Cedar Street near Foley Intermediate School and continue around a mile before ending about a block or two past Foley Middle School and Foley Elementary School, city engineer Butch Stokes said. The sidewalks will cross Cedar Street a couple times before ending on the school side of the road.

The city moved forward with the project due to receiving a $400,000 grant from the Alabama Department of Transportation to help cover costs. The city will pay 20 percent of the project cost with the grant paying 80 percent, Stokes said.

"It's real close. I anticipate they will be finished before school starts," Stokes said about the project's progress, also noting the city hopes to place signs along U.S. 98 to make the area safer for kids crossing the highway.

"What we'll be doing is installing some sidewalks, but we do anticipate some school crossing signs on U.S. 98 that hopefully will be solar powered with flashing lights during school and also gives the speed the car is going. We've submitted plans to the state on that project but haven't heard back yet."

The hope is to connect all city parks and schools with sidewalks, Koniar said.

"It's not on the backburner," he said.

Safety signs popping up

Some cities and towns have "Share the Road" signage along streets and highways.

It was reported in The Fairhope Courier that ALDOT recently placed several of these signs in Barnwell along U.S. 98. The signs are intended to warn motorists of the possibility of a bicyclist nearby in hopes that drivers are more aware of other types of transportation using the roadways.

ALDOT Division Engineer Vince Calametti said placing similar signs in Foley is a possibility depending on the route.

"There are some routes that I would feel uncomfortable with," ALDOT Division Engineer Vince Calametti said. "Bikers have a right to every route, but there are some routes that don't seem to be as good as others. Alabama 59 from Foley into Gulf Shores, I would be very cautious about that route if I were a biker."

All additional signs placed in the city would go through city engineer Butch Stokes, Koniar said.

"We don't now to my knowledge," Stokes said when asked if there were any "Share the Road" markers in Foley.

"Complete the Streets" program absent in Foley

Smart Coast’s "Complete the Street" initiatives — which hope to draw attention to the need for roadways and paths designed to protect pedestrians, bikers, cars, public transit and all user groups — also could help the city of Foley make the area safer for bicyclists.

"The policy basically says (the city) wants to make the streets safe for all user groups. There are many groups that use the streets besides the car," Charlene Lee, Smart Coast program director, said.

The city has not adopted a "Complete the Street" policy yet, but Lee said she does not think Smart Coast has presented the policy to the city. The cities of Fairhope and Daphne have adopted the initiative.

"I think we would be interested. Again, it would be a council decision," Koniar said. "From what I recall, it would involve lowering speed limits and things of that nature. For the most part, that doesn't cost a great deal."

Reducing speed limit is just one option to make roads safer, and narrowing lanes to allow more space for bicyclers is another.

“When cities resurface the streets, they may narrow traffic lanes to give space to sidewalks or add a bicycle path. They can do that fairly inexpensively," Lee said.

"When you narrow lanes, cars slow down, accidents and fatalities reduce and people feel safer."

Safety program may come to schools

The Daphne Bulletin reported potential bicycle safety programs for area children in Daphne, with the Daphne Police Department possibly heading it up through its D.A.R.E. program.

Foley Police Chief David Wilson said the Foley PD does not have a D.A.R.E. program or a bicycle safety program to offer tips and lessons to kids about safely riding their bicycles in the city. However, he said he is interested in the idea.

"I haven't thought of that, but that is a great idea," he said. "In my career, I have participated in (a bicycle safety program) before."

Koniar said having a bicycle safety course for local kids would be a good idea "regardless of any accident that did or did not happen.

"It could be brought up in work session, floated out to the (council)."

One rider's opinion

Justin Shanks, a resident of Daphne and employee at The Bike Shop Foley located on Alabama Highway 59, is a bicycling enthusiast who believes the city of Foley has made strides in making the area more bicycle-friendly.

According to Shanks, more work could be done, but an obstacle is members of area city councils only looking out for big businesses.

"Now, I understand there's been turnovers in a lot of city councils. And you have a lot of city councils, even on the Eastern Shore where they are very bike-friendly over there, where you still got opposing numbers on the city councils who are worried about big business and industries. They don't care about bike paths, parks, dog parks and things like that. They're not worried about city resources. They're worried about, you know, revenue."

Shanks also believes cities should designate part of the budget, if they don't already, towards cleaning and maintaining the existing paths.

"That's a huge issue, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach especially," Shanks said.

"The more cyclists there are, the better off we are, and the better off the community is."