Sharing The Road

On the back page of this week's edition of the Times, we're carrying an update on the legal challenges facing Melvin Bohleen, the elderly Dayton man who will be on trial in December for his involvement in a collision that killed Westside cyclist Sara Eustis this spring.

Last week, Bohleen was sued by Eustis' surviving family for unspecified damages, adding to his woes as a suspect.

It's a very sad story to cover. Losing a loved one in a bicycle accident - or any accident for that matter -- is a personal tragedy beyond words. Eustis was a daughter, a wife and a mother.

Being accused of vehicular homicide is a terrible thing for Bohleen to live with. Many people who know the Dayton driver say he wouldn't hurt a fly and that they can't imagine he did anything intentional.

The focus of this editorial is not to sort out exactly what happened. Court proceedings will shed more light on that.

The point of this column is to explore bicycle safety on back country roads at a time when more and more cyclists are drawn to this area because of its natural beauty, cycling events and media coverage that touts the Touchet Valley as an ideal place to enjoy the great outdoors on two wheels, motorized or not.

Some local residents have suggested cycling should be banned altogether on Middle Waitsburg Road, a favorite cycling route between Waitsburg and Walla Walla, from where many bicycle tourists leave to explore the northern part of Walla Walla County.

We strongly disagree with this for several reasons.

For one, we believe that all roads except freeways should be open to fast or slow traffic of all kinds. By law, cyclists are allowed to ride two abreast on certain roads, including the kind of two-lane roads like Middle Waitsburg.

Just as Middle Waitsburg Road is open to slow-moving tractors, combines and other farm equipment that can reduce motorists' speeds to a crawl, it should be open to bicycles. The idea that Middle Waitsburg is unsafe for cyclists may stem from the mistaken notion that cyclists are supposed to use the shoulder, which that and other area roads don't have.

It may not even be in a driver's interest for cyclists to ride single file, as it increases the distance motorists have to cover to pass them, particularly if it involves a large group of bike riders.

Sadly, cyclists using Middle Waitsburg Road have gotten more flak from drivers sharing that road since this spring's fatality. But if drivers observe the proper speed limits and common-sense safety precautions when passing cyclists instead of being impatient, there shouldn't be a conflict.

Give the cyclists the same space and respect you would a large slow-moving piece of farm equipment.

Economics is the other reason why banning cyclists from our back roads is a bad idea. Just as our region is becoming more and more popular among cyclists, even floating such restrictions could prompt two-wheeling tourists to avoid our towns and that would be bad for business and for jobs.

Touring cyclists represent a clean and friendly source of income for Touchet Valley businesses and lodging establishments. If anything, our communities could use more interest and spending from them.

In our view, cycling safety comes down to education and awareness. Already, a number of yellow bicycle warning signs put motorists on Middle Waitsburg Road on notice that they should be on the lookout for the slow-moving road sharers and wait to pass them only when it is absolutely safe to do so.

As mentioned above, motorists should treat cyclists as "vehicles" using an entire lane just like tractors or RVs. Meanwhile, cyclists can be proactive in giving motorists hand signals when it's safe to, say, pass a groups of bike riders creating a hill.

Trying to be exclusive about such common goods as roads is never a good. Trying to get along and being patient with other users of that good is the answer.