Sharing the road with cyclists
EAST END — Andrew Gast was pedaling along the edge of Wilmer Avenue near Lunken Airport – not the biking and walking trail alongside it – when he was fatally struck by a vehicle shortly before dawn Aug. 28.
A quick glance at the path shows why he may have chosen to bike in the street despite its lack of a paved shoulder: the bumpy path is covered with gravel, making pedaling treacherous.
A poor trail system and roads with little room for bicycles are common complaints as bicycling for transportation and exercise explodes in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, an area historically inhospitable to cyclists.
“I used to ride in the road, but not anymore,” Phil Phipps, 69, of Ludlow, said as he biked along the Lunken path one morning this week. “I just try to stay to the side away from traffic.”
Bicyclists are legally entitled to be in the road. In fact, in many cities, including Cincinnati, it’s illegal for riders older than 15 to be on sidewalks.
Some drivers think that invites trouble.
“They shouldn’t be in the road,” said Dennis Griffith, 31, of Newport. “If a motorist didn’t see them, they don’t stand a chance up against a car.”
The hazard is real. Two weeks to the day after Gast was killed, another bicyclist, 59-year-old Ronald Richardson, died when a Metro bus struck him in Bond Hill. He was biking along California Avenue near Oakland Avenue in a residential area when he turned in the path of the bus, according to Cincinnati police.
Another cyclist, Tommy Broderick, was hit and injured in Newport by a suspected drunken driver while biking home the evening of Sept. 4 from a memorial “Ghost Ride” in Cincinnati honoring Gast.
“The catch phrase that night among cyclists was: This could have happened to any one of us,” said Broderick, 54, of Covington, who suffered cuts on his face. “And then it happened to me on the way home. It’s just surreal.”
Broderick, riding with two flashing lights on his bike, was struck at 11th and Isabella streets by motorist Anthony Broughton, 60, of Crittenden. Broughton told Newport police he didn’t see Broderick crossing Isabella in the crosswalk, but was charged with aggravated driving under the influence after he failed a sobriety test.
“Literally two seconds can change your life forever,” said Broderick.
“Since I’ve gotten hit, I am definitely, definitely more conservative on the bike,” said Broderick, an investment adviser. “I
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