HOLLAND (WHTC-AM/FM) — The death of a 42-year-old man bicycling on Waverly Avenue Tuesday, Fe. 16, 2021, is sad and dismaying, but “entirely predictable,” according to Holland resident Meika Weiss. (Listen to the full interview.)
“This is the second fatality on Waverly that would be similar to this, I think, in the last three years,” she said. “The side path doesn’t get plowed. Or it gets plowed but it’s not salted. This happens both in the township and in the city. So it’s not passable any more for people who are on bikes, so they’re forced into the street, in the dark. It’s a high-speed roadway where people aren’t looking for bicycles. So, this is not the first fatality we’ve seen like this, unfortunately.”
Weiss is the founding president of Pedal Holland, which promote bicycling as an every day occupation in and around Holland for transportation and recreation. The group hosts a website featuring safety tips; suggested routes; how to report potholes; how people can join the bike-friendly movement; or create bike-friendly events. The volunteers raise money for bike lights for people who need, but cannot afford, them.
In 2014, the year volunteers created Pedal Holland, a U.S. Census Bureau report indicated a 60 percent rise in the number of Americans regularly biking to work.
Holland has followed a national trend of creating and expanding bike lanes. Weiss said drivers should bear in mind that people are use bicycles for traveling all year, at all times of day, all around the community. She said avid bicyclists often take multiple measures to increase their visibility, such as reflectors on the bike, lights, bright clothing and other reflective gear. But many people who are struggling to make ends meet aren’t aware of the need for such equipment, or able to afford it.
Creating safe bike routes and public awareness is complicated, requiring both advocacy and policy, she said, which also requires navigating local governments’ spending priorities.
“These are not easy problems to solve. Solving them always takes money,” she said. “There’s not an easy or obvious funding stream, like there is for vehicular infrastructure. But it’s still a choice and it’s a choice that we’re making as a community on a regular basis and we know that people die as a result of it, every single year.”
She said this year, Pedal Holland will be developing new initiatives.
Learn more at pedalholland.org.
The 42 year old man the was killed was my brother Jeffery Glen Green.
We are so very sorry, Pamela.
This story about my brother Jeff who was hot and killed. For my own sanity I will probably never know the 2 drivers that hit him, at night a lay in bed and see him laying on the road asking for help, we don’t know if he suffered until we get the autopsy in about 2 months…but I want the drivers of both vehicles to know I forgive them.