Something interesting that I noticed when I arrived in Boulder: sidewalks have lanes!

There are two lanes for bicyclists on the side of the sidewalk closer to the street and a separate lane for pedestrians on the side further away from the street along Broadway on the perimeter of campus. These lanes were made for the convenience and safety of both the pedestrian and the cyclist, but are they really as convenient and as safe as they were meant to be?

Since cyclists and pedestrians barely avoid collisions at almost every corner, it does not seem so. Bikers are always getting in the ways of pedestrians, and pedestrians are always getting in the ways of bikers.

What can possibly be done?

It is possible that both bikers and pedestrians could be more careful. Bikers don't always have to travel at mach speeds, pedestrians could be more aware of their surroundings, and both groups could definitely do a better job at staying in their appropriate lanes.

But even if all that were done, the sidewalk still wouldn't be the safe place we'd like it to be. Because the pedestrian lane is further from the street than the bicycle lanes, pedestrians have to cross over the bicycle lanes in order to get to a bus stop, risking getting hit by a speeding bike.

Other than getting to bus stops safely, crossing streets safely is also a hassle because the buttons for crosswalks are also on the street side of the sidewalk.

It could be that bicycle lanes were put closer to the street so pedestrians would be safer, and so they'd be further away from cars.

Then again, on regular sidewalks, pedestrians are next to the street anyway. It wouldn't be such a bad idea if Boulder switched the bike lanes with the pedestrian lane, so pedestrians would have an easier time getting to bus stops and crossing streets.

All this would take would be some paint and a little bit of drying time. With cyclists and pedestrians looking out for each other and the pedestrian lane closer to streets, many bike/pedestrian accidents would be avoided and everyone would be able to get around easier.

Christian Hee

CU student