In 2017, I became a statistic.

I was hit by a driver while crossing the street on my way to work. I blamed the incident on a bad driver and tried to move on with my life, but I began witnessing more and more close calls while walking and biking in Adrian.

Over the past seven years, I have experienced the following while walking and cycling: being threatened verbally by drivers, being honked at for no reason, being passed too close, being tailgated, having things thrown at me, being called derogatory names, being run off the road, being hit or almost hit in a crosswalk when I had the right of way, having drivers pull out directly in front of me, and having drivers use their vehicle as a weapon to intimidate me. These things have happened while I’ve been by myself, when I’ve been with my child, when I’ve been wearing high-visibility clothing, when I’ve been following the law. Ask any person who regularly rides their bike or walks around town, and they will share similar stories.

One thing that almost every incident has in common? They happened in a place where pedestrian and cycling infrastructure was an afterthought and vehicles were prioritized. The design of our streets not only allows, but encourages dangerous behavior.

It doesn’t have to be like this.

Complete Streets is a transportation policy and design approach first enacted in Oregon in 1971. It aims to enable safe, convenient, and comfortable travel for users of all ages and abilities regardless of their mode of transportation. Its principles include:

• Curb extensions at intersections, which shorten the crossing distance for pedestrians, increase visibility of pedestrians, and slow turning drivers.
• Leading pedestrian intervals, which change the timing of stop lights to give crossing pedestrians a five- to 10-second head start before the light turns green for car traffic. This simple change can reduce car collisions with pedestrians by nearly 60%.
• Protected bike lanes, especially on busy roads. If you wouldn’t feel comfortable letting your child ride in the bike lane, it’s not safe enough. Protected bike lanes also add an extra layer of protection for pedestrians, making walking safer and more comfortable.
• A cohesive network of bicycle infrastructure, or at least a plan that is in the works, consisting of protected bike lanes and mixed use paths. 

When Adrian’s infrastructure is built solely around the car, we are underserving the majority of our population. Roughly 20% of our population is under 18, 18% is over 65, 12% is living with a disability, and 26% lives below the poverty line. With our limited public transportation, many people are forced to walk, bike, ride a scooter, or use a mobility aid to get around the city. 

Adrian currently has a perfect opportunity to start implementing Complete Streets with the Downtown Bike Loop. This project consists of a repaving and redesign of East Maumee Street, Winter Street, and Maple Avenue. 

The project’s listed objectives include connecting bike infrastructure to downtown, slowing traffic speeds, and improving walkability. Unfortunately, the proposed redesign fails to put the safety of our most vulnerable road users first. It implements a 20-year outdated two-way bike lane that is unintuitive, dangerous, cannot be easily expanded, does not connect users to downtown, is not accessible for people with disabilities, and maximizes the potential for conflict with drivers by making people bike against the flow of traffic.

By putting the two-way bike lane on one side of the street, the designers simply shifted the traffic lanes over, removing the shoulder that previously created a small buffer zone between traffic and the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street. Without that buffer, walkability will be worse and the sidewalks will be far more dangerous as motor vehicles pass within inches of the sidewalk instead of feet.

The design also maintains the current traffic lane design, which will result in no reduction in speeding. You must change the design of the street to force drivers to slow down.

A better design would feature raised, protected bike lanes on both sides of the street that follow the flow of traffic, making it safer for both cyclists and drivers. It would also be easily expandable into a usable bike network that could help provide access into downtown from all areas of the city.

It would reduce speeding by altering the design of the street instead of continuing to rely on a sign.

A better design would improve walkability by providing a buffer between car traffic and pedestrians on both sides of the street.

It would also be more cost effective than the proposed design.

The Downtown Bike Loop is our new city commission’s opportunity to end the cycle of inaction by commissions of the past and push for a better, stronger, and more resilient Adrian.

As a survivor of a preventable crash, I refuse to accept that my community’s streets will continue to be unsafe. It’s time for change — for meaningful, actionable change that prioritizes the lives and well-being of all residents. It’s time for our leaders to not just listen, but to act, and to finally deliver on the promise of safer streets for everyone.

Jerick Timm lives in Adrian.