Memorial Ghost Bike on Park Avenue
A memorial ghost bike was erected on Park Avenue near Tahiti for Mark Leones, 28 of Costa Mesa who fatally crashed his bicycle while descending Park Avenue Sunday morning 16 October. Mark was riding with a group of cyclists when he lost control and crashed. According to police Mark was wearing a helmet. Mark Leones is the eighth cyclist to die in Orange County this year.
Bike counts on weekends at PCH show a peak of 70 riders per hour, Laguna Canyon road 100 riders per hour, yet there are no provisions in all of Laguna Beach for cyclists. Not a shelter, not a route sign, not a bike lane a Sharrow or a descent warning anywhere. Laguna’s hills are a magnet to cyclists just as they are for skateboarders but Speedboarders are now banned from skating on six hilly residential roads by city ordinance because the City feared a Speedboarder would be killed if “nothing be done”. Will the City now ban cycling for the same reason or will “nothing be done”? Local bike riders are aware of dangers descending Laguna’s hills and where to use extra caution on Nyes Place, Summit Drive, Bluebird, Temple Hills and Park Avenue. Riders from out-of-town are unaware of these hot-spots, Mark Leones of Costa Mesa was killed when descending Park Avenue on 16 October this year . Simple painted road markings cost very little (25 cents per foot in Long Beach), are easy to apply, are quick to identify, and serve as tools to teach drivers and cyclists awareness of one another, and the imminent dangers on our hilly streets. A simple road grade stencil might have spared Mark Leones his life.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you.
ReplyDeleteHAVING BIKE SIGNS POSTED THROUGH OUT THE CITY WOULD CREATE MORE POSTIVE BIKE AWARENESS.
Thank you for spreading the word.
BIKE-ON!