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Recent bicyclist deaths are part of an upward trend

The 11th Street bridge in Newport where Gloria San Miguel was killed while biking.
Courtesy
/
Steve Magas
The 11th Street bridge in Newport where Gloria San Miguel was killed while biking.

Advocates say recent deaths show the need for better infrastructure to protect bicyclists in Greater Cincinnati. Last weekend, 71-year-old Jefferey Robbins was killed while cycling in Indian Hill. In a separate crash, Gloria San Miguel was killed while biking on the 11th street bridge in Newport.

As recently as Wednesday morning, a child in Edgewood, Ky., was hit by a car while riding a bike to school, suffering non-life-threatening injuries.

“I think we have to back away from the microscope and looking at the particular factors of a crash,” said Steve Magas, a personal injury lawyer specializing in bike and pedestrian crashes.

He says streets are designed to get drivers in vehicles through an area as quickly as possible, without consideration for pedestrians or bicyclists.

“And so if that's your goal … you're gonna have a lot of fatalities, you're gonna have a lot of wrecks.”

Magas says protected bike lanes are a good place to start, but traffic calming measures like speed bumps are also necessary.

The number of bicyclist fatalities has gone up over recent years, both federally and locally. On the federal level, crashes increased 5% between 2017-2019, the last year data was available. Last year in Hamilton County, four bicyclists died in crashes with vehicles, more than the previous four years combined.

“We have to recognize that, A; not everybody wants to get around in cars,” Magas said. “B; you'll improve the livability of your space if you have pedestrian traffic, bike traffic, people pulling their kids in a wagon or whatever, rather than having 10,000 parking spaces for 10,000 cars.”

Local Government Reporter with a particular focus on Cincinnati; experienced journalist in public radio and television throughout the Midwest. Enthusiastic about: civic engagement, public libraries, and urban planning.