DAPHNE, Ala. — Almost two months ago, as the school year was drawing to a close, the city was celebrating the completion of a sidewalk along County Road 13 that connected Daphne East Elementary School and Daphne Middle School and ended at the intersection of Baldwin County Road 13 and Baldwin County Road 64. At the time, city and county officials encouraged students to walk or ride their bikes to school if they lived close enough.

The sidewalk — funded through a “Safe Routes to School” grant from the Alabama Department of Transportation — was part of the city’s long-term goal to create more “smart streets” in the city and connect parts of the city with means other than vehicles. The sidewalk was the first phase of three planned to connect all of the schools in the city, and the city plans to apply for more “Safe Routes to School” grants to fund future projects.

Despite the completion of the sidewalk, a middle-school student died while riding his bike on his way home from a summer-school program.

An accident

The 14-year-old student was struck by a Waste Management truck near the intersection of Baldwin County Road 13 and Baldwin County Road 64, according to Daphne police. The truck was traveling south on 13 waiting to turn west onto 64 and the boy was trying to cross 64. Police said the boy approached the passenger’s side of the truck and was struck and run over by the rear tires when the truck began turning.

“When they got to the intersection, the truck attempted to turn right and the boy attempted to go straight across … the back tires ran over him. The truck kind of cut in front of him and he continued on underneath the truck,” Lt. Jud Beedy with the Daphne Police Department said.

Police said the boy was not wearing a helmet during the incident. According to Alabama law, all cyclists under age 16 must wear a helmet. The teenager was taken to U.S.A. Women and Children’s Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition. He died four days after the incident. Police believe the driver did not see the boy before the incident occurred. No charges have been filed against the truck driver, Beedy said.

“It is hard to expect 14-year-olds to know the rules of the road. Yes, it was a dangerous maneuver because he got run over, but I don’t know that crossing over County Road 64 at 13 when there is no traffic is a dangerous maneuver,” Beedy said.

In recent years, the city has made efforts to make streets safer for cyclists, but Councilman John Lake said there’s room to improve.

In November 2009, the city passed a resolution that supported the construction of streets that would enable all motorists, cyclists, walkers and public transportation.

The resolution was prompted by a national movement to create “Complete Streets,” by the National Complete Streets Coalition. Complete Streets are described by the coalition as “streets for everyone…designed and operated to enable safe access for all users.” These streets are designed to make it easy to cross the street and ride a bike or walk to close destinations. Complete streets are designed depending on the community’s needs. These streets could include bike lanes, sidewalks, frequent and safe crossing opportunities, median islands, pedestrian signals and roundabouts. Daphne was the second city in Alabama to adopt the “Complete Streets” plan.

In late October 2008, Councilman John Lake became a verbal advocate for increased cyclist safety after his wife, Emiko, was struck by a motorist while riding her bike on the sidewalk. At the time, Lake in The Bulletin declared it his mission to make the streets safer.

After the incident, he proposed more sidewalks be placed throughout the city, an organized, biweekly bicyclist group ride from City Hall to Jubilee Square Shopping Center, that “Share the Road” signs be placed on major thoroughfares, and bike enthusiasts wear proper reflectors.

One place the city could improve, Lake said, would be to implement a safety curriculum.

No bike safety program

The city’s police department currently does not go to all the schools to give a presentation on bike safety.

“No, we don’t currently have a bicycle safety program. We have gone into the schools and we do go into the schools if the school requests it. That goes through our D.A.R.E. program, but it is not an ongoing, scheduled event,” Beedy said.

In light of the recent accident, Beedy said bike safety will likely be added to the programming.

“I am sure they will amp up the programs. Sgt. (Robin) Snider, who runs our D.A.R.E. program, is working on next year’s schedule and programming and I have mentioned it to him that we probably need to get that included in it,” Beedy said.

Lake said there is room for improvement in education since it wasn’t implemented years ago.

“It hasn’t happened and the city has room to improve if someone got hit. Alabama is one of the leaders in the nation when it comes to accidents,” Lake said. “I think it could be implemented not only in the schools, but in driving school. Individuals who get tickets for reckless driving and speeding should be required to take a biking safety course."

Safe Routes

The city has been adding more sidewalks to the city and applying for grants to connect schools, Lake said. The city placed a roundabout and sidewalks on Whispering Pines Road recently to make the YMCA more accessible. The city is also pursuing grants for sidewalks, including some Safe Routes to School grants from the Alabama Department of Transportation.

“When you look at bicycles and also motorcycle accidents, what we need to do is improve the visibility for people to realize that there are these people on the road besides cars. It is going to have to be something that the state and the municipalities are going to have to get onto,” Lake said.

The city supports placing more sidewalks, but it has encountered financial hurdles.

“The city is having difficulties economically and we haven’t had the funds to do as much as we’d like to with sidewalks. That is something that is sad and underscores the importance that it is not an issue of economics, it is an issue of safety. This needs to be something we turn the heat up ourselves on,” Lake said.

Lake was disappointed when the roadwork for the Lake Forest subdivision did not include sidewalks.

“The reason why it wasn’t done is because people didn’t step up to the plate and speak in favor of it,” Lake said.

When the issue was raised, people spoke against it because they thought it was a poor expenditure of money putting in walking trails in Lake Forest medians.

Improving visibility

One possible solution, Lake said, is to work toward improving the visibility of cyclists, which he has seen other states do while traveling.

“I noticed while I was driving, I saw billboard ads on all the highways to “Share the Road” with motorcycles and also bikes. I think it is something the state and city needs to look at to increase the visibility of bikers and bikes,” Lake said.

“Personally, I think when you put bike trails in conjunction with the roadways, you improve the visibility because when people see that symbol on the road or beside the road it draws attention to the citizens. It lets them know they have to keep an eye out for bikers,” Lake said.

He also said he has not been able to start the biking group.

The accident last week shocked Lake, and proved to him that something needs to be done.

“What I would hope is the residents of Lake Forest … call their council members and the mayor and get back on them to push for sidewalks in Lake Forest,” Lake said.

Lake said the city has been listening to the needs, but hasn’t been able to implement solutions.

“We haven’t been turning a deaf ear. Nowadays, people have to be afraid to send their kids to the corner. We have got to implement and do better. Perhaps we need to get together as a community, because we need to do something to make it safe for our people to be in the community,” Lake said. “I think the city could improve its bike paths. I think it is feasible. I don’t think it would be a big expense. I think it could actually be an economic draw. We are looking at putting in a walking bridge at Gator Alley, which is part of a bike path.”