Derek Fincham poses with his bicycle in the spot where he was struck by a car while bicycling at Pierce and Austin Streets in downtown Houston, TX.
“What is the logic behind taking a four-lane busy street and reducing it to 2 lanes and a turn lane plus a bicycle lane in a city with a population of 2.3 million?” asks Robert M., a commenter on NextDoor.
A new round of social media flame wars has erupted as Houston installs islands and crosswalks for pedestrians, and protected lanes for bicyclists alongThe angry residents ask a fair question. It seems counterintuitive for the city to deliberately slow traffic down on a street that serves so many businesses.
The new approach makes perfect sense, though, if you hear the story of Derek Fincham. It was late October 2021.left the school on his bicycle. It was chilly that evening. Wearing a navy jacket and his bicycle helmet with a light mounted on top, he headed one downtown block over to the bicycle lane on Austin Street. When he reached Pierce Street, a Tesla turned the corner and drove into the bike lane.
In 2021, 332 people died in traffic fatalities in the city, according to data from the Texas Department of Transportation’s Crash Record Information System. The toll includes those on bicycles, in wheelchairs and walking, although more than half died in cars. The preliminary number for 2022 shows a slight decrease to 317 deaths, but still represents a roughly 60 percent increase over the past five years. The trends for Harris County and the state are just as bleak and troubling.
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