By Judi Lee, MCBC Policy Intern
In the past 27 years, too many cyclists’ lives have been lost on Marin County roads. MCBC shares the deep grief of the families, friends, and communities of each of the twenty riders known to have lost their lives in Marin since 1999. Among them were beloved community members, neighbors, parents, coaches, and advocates. Among the victims, there were many experienced riders, highlighting that skill alone is not enough to keep cyclists safe on the roads. From older adults staying active, to daily bike commuters, to folks just getting around their neighborhood, every person deserves to return home safely from a bike ride.
In order to commemorate the members of the bicycling community who have been killed while riding, we have created the Marin County Bicycling Memorial Map, linked here and embedded below. This map catalogs the names and stories of those killed riding a bicycling, including their name, age, location of crash, and news coverage if available (some of the less recent crashes are harder to find details on). We are committed to keeping this record updated as needed. Although we hope every entry will be the last, Marin is still far away from a transportation network that is safe for people of all ages and abilities.
According to our map, cycling fatalities are spread across Marin, but there are recurring patterns of crashes concentrated on major corridors and high-speed roads such as Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, Lucas Valley Road, San Antonio Road, Freitas Parkway, and Redwood Highway frontage routes. Riders are frequently hit by cars from behind while riding on roads where they are separated from motor vehicle traffic by only paint. The gaps between Marin’s safe cycling routes often cause abrupt ends to protected paths, forcing riders out onto dangerous roads with fast-moving vehicles and little to no physical protection for riders. With certain corridors repeatedly appearing as the sites of fatal crashes, there is a clear link between cycling infrastructure and cyclist safety. The geography of risk to cyclists shapes who feels safe riding a bike, illuminating the critical need for a more connected bike route network in Marin.
In the bigger picture, these cycling fatalities represent not isolated tragedies alone, but a pattern of incomplete, disconnected bicycle infrastructure. For example, there is excessive reliance on paint where physical protection is needed for the perceived and actual safety of bikers. Safety improvements are often reactive instead of proactive, being implemented after severe crashes, while other known hotspots for incidents are left unchanged for years. Due to the inconsistent and often arbitrary nature of bicycle infrastructure improvements, Marin’s network is not yet fit for all ages and abilities. With a more interconnected bike path system, we could begin to realize the future of a safer Marin. This plan would include protected routes between communities rather than fragments, safer crossings and intersection redesigns, physical separation on high-speed roads, earlier intervention at known crash hotspots, and continuous routes for riders of all ages and abilities.
It is essential to honor lives through action, not just remembrance alone. No family should endure the preventable loss of a cycling fatality, and the entirety of Marin should be entitled to a sustainable form of transportation, exercise, and connection to Marin’s beauty without fear of an accident. These twenty tragedies represent an urgent need for interconnected bike infrastructure in Marin, and necessitate a commitment to ensuring that these occurrences ultimately cease altogether, rather than continue to be a heartbreaking routine.