Bike track accident necessitates improvements

By Staff Editorial     3/12/09 7:00pm

We all care about Beer Bike. Of this, there is no doubt. But when it comes to the safety of our bikers, we must grip the brakes and call for an end to dangerous practices.This danger came in full force before spring break, when a Will Rice College freshman collided with a car stopped on the bike track on the west side of Rice Stadium (see story, page 1). While it was clearly an accident, this collision was also clearly preventable, and we hope to cajole those responsible into implementing a few safety measures.

There should be absolutely zero confusion when the bike track is open and when it is closed. The track is open to parking daily until 4 p.m., and while it may not always be full, there are rarely days on which the track is completely empty. Typically, the closure of the track is denoted with a thin ring of flags, raised following that 4 p.m. deadline. However, the flags are occasionally used to demarcate other areas cordoned off from the track, creating a sense of confusion among both drivers and bikers. If the flags remained up for the entire day, they could be used to funnel cars in and out of the track's parking spaces. Since there would be only one way for the cars to cross the track, bikers would be able to focus on their workouts without worrying about cars at every turn.

Also, signs should be placed near the starting line alerting bikers that the track itself will be closed for biking until 4 p.m. While we know that there are certain diehards who may not follow this rule, Rice should attempt every possible method of alerting bikers to the dangers presented by the track. E-mails are simply not sufficient. Likewise, additional signage could alert drivers when they need to depart.

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We hope that these measures will prevent further accidents, as the last thing we want is for Beer Bike to be anything but the absolute greatest day of the year.

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