CATALINA FOOTHILLS, Ariz. (KGUN) — Barry Weiss is an avid biker, and when he used to bike near Alvernon Circle and Skyline Drive along his neighborhood, he was used to cars whipping by right next to him.
Those cars were inches away from him, the wind they created, a constant feeling on his back as he biked. Looking down, he had to be careful not to swerve into the road because there is no bike lane or shoulder.
“We now put our bike in the car and drive somewhere else,” Weiss said.
He’s now chosen to bike in various other places of Tucson because people in his neighborhood speed while driving. He especially noticed it after they repaved the road a few years back.
He’s also worried about a dip in the road not too far away from his neighborhood. The top part of it is so high, he can’t see oncoming traffic in the lane next to him.
“They can’t see what’s coming so they don’t move over,” he said about the drivers reacting to bicyclists.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department says from 2022 to so far in 2023, the total amount of traffic related deaths went down from 44 to 38. They say so far pedestrian deaths went from 11 to six and bicyclist deaths went from two to one.
Bicycle-related deaths is one reason Weiss hopes the County puts a shoulder or bike lane on Alvernon and Skyline.
“If there was more space on the road, people could spread out and not have to take chances,” Weiss said.
The County says some areas of Skyline do have a shoulder but they aren’t making any improvements because it has a good safety service rating. They also say they are putting together a plan to address roads and bike and pedestrian projects. In order to fund those projects, they say they are looking into the money for them.
However, Weiss and his friend Rubin Landau are also worried about the intersection of Sunrise and Skyline where there’s a bike path that also allows cars to merge into.
“It wasn’t at all clear that the cars knew even they were supposed to yield to the bikes,” Landau said.
Landau, a fellow bicyclist, contacted Pima County and told them about the intersection, requesting signs. He said the next day they put up a sign letting cars knows that bicyclists share the same stretch of road.
“Some fraction now, certainly do slow down,” Landau said.
With a “ghost bike” not too far away from the intersection, a bike dedicated to someone who died while riding, Weiss and Landau are hoping the County “shifts gears” to more solutions.
“Especially for someone that’s not familiar with it, not really a good situation,” Weiss said.
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Andrew Christiansen is a reporter for KGUN 9. Before joining the team, Andrew reported in Corpus Christi, Texas for KRIS6 News, Action 10 News and guest reported in Spanish for Telemundo Corpus Christi. Share your story ideas with Andrew by emailing andrew.christiansen@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, or Twitter.
