Listen
Cyclist John Andrew Williams says he felt confident riding around Houston, until one night two years ago when he was rear-ended by a truck. The accident left him with head and spinal injuries.
As for the driver who hit him, Williams said he didn’t get cited until three months later.
“The fact that I was on a bike and the guy could just say, ‘Well, I didn’t see him.’ I felt like that’s a get out of jail free card,” Williams said.
Houston City Council approved a Safe Passing Ordinance in 2013, but Bike Houston’s Regina Garcia says cyclists remain apprehensive, considering there were four bikes fatalities during a recent three-week period.
Appearing on Houston Matters, Garcia says the city’s aging infrastructure is also a problem.
“You know if there are a lot of potholes and gravel, that can kind of throw you off balance,” said Garcia. “And just the aggressive driving more than anything. I think its what kind of gets under your skin and puts the fear into you.”
Garcia says Houston has a good bike trail system that can get riders lots of places. But there are other areas you simply can’t get to on a bike, like the Galleria.
The city says it’s addressing those issues as it works to update Houston’s Comprehensive Bikeway Plan, which was first adopted in 1993.
Subscribe to Today in Houston
Fill out the form below to subscribe our new daily editorial newsletter from the HPM Newsroom.
