Group wants to address dangerous pedestrian spots

Molly Gable, of the Iowa Bicycle Coalition, gives community members ideas on how to make Le Mars safer and more friendly to bicyclists and walkers. [Click to enlarge]

She likes cycling to work or heading to the recreation trail for a ride.

But one place she doesn't like to bike is 12th Street Southwest in Le Mars.

"I think it's very hazardous, not only for students walking or biking to school, but also adults," Bortscheller said.

That's why she, the president of the Plymouth County Cyclists, joined with other locals for a meeting this week to talk about how to make Le Mars friendlier to bicyclists and walkers.

Two representatives of the Iowa Bicycle Coalition led the meeting with a group of nearly 20 local parents, school and city officials, workers and bike club members to give them some ideas how to use a program called Safe Routes to School to accomplish that goal.

The local group plans to meet next Wednesday, Oct. 1, to start sketching out which Safe Routes to Schools ideas would work for Le Mars.

Bortscheller said the group may have two focuses.

One of those would be to make walkers and bicyclists more visible by adding School Crossing signs and by adding bolder paint markings to intersection crossings.

A second, more in-depth focus, would be to seek out Safe Routes to School grant money to address some of the bigger issues, like a walkway along 12th Street Southwest and a safer crossing of Business 75 near Hy-Vee or Dairy Queen.

"Parents aren't going to let their children walk to school if they have to cross the road in the condition it is," Bortscheller said of Business 75.

Other ideas including having schools set up something like "Walking Wednesdays" where they encouraged students and parents to walk to schools every Wednesday.

The Iowa Bike Coalition representatives also suggested the idea of "walking schoolbuses." For these, an adult or two walks to school, picking up kids to walk with them along the way at pre-designated "stops."

A recent survey showed that in Le Mars about 14 percent of students walk to school and less than 4 percent bike.

Mark Wyatt, executive director of the Iowa Bike Coalition, said there are many barriers keeping kids from using feet or bikes to get around, including distance, traffic danger and adverse weather.

"We need to get more kids walking where it's safe," Wyatt said. "And where it's not safe, we need to make it safe."

Le Mars Mayor Dick Kirchoff, who also met with the group, agreed that 12th Street is one of those places more dangerous to pedestrians.

"I would like to push for safety along 12th Street," he said. "And Business 75 off of Eighth Street, that's a very dangerous intersection."

Safe Routes to School might be a good avenue to work on those, he said.

"If we get nothing done other than safety at those places, I'm 100 percent for it," he said.

Nick Massuen, of Le Mars, who uses his bike as a main form of transportation, said making safe routes for bikers and walkers is important especially for those people that don't have access to driving a car.

Wyatt agreed.

"One-third of Americans don't have a driver's license," he said. "Maybe they're too young, too old, or restricted for some reason. It's important they have safe options, too."

Along with safety reasons, parents face other issues that make it difficult to have their kids walk or bike to school, parent Theresa Nordstrom pointed out. In homes where both parents work, for example, kids might go to daycare before school and not have their bikes there.

And making sure kids get to school on foot or bike does take time, she added.

"Cars are convenient," she said.

Wyatt agreed that shifting a community to have more bikers and walkers does involve a change in mindset.

In 1969, 42 percent of students walked or biked to school, Wyatt said. A generation later, in 2001, only 16 percent do.

At the same time, the percentage of youth that are overweight quadrupled since 1963, he said.

"We have kids that are just out of touch with walking or biking," Wyatt said. "They're spending a lot of time in the back of the car or bus."

But that can change, he said.

"There are a lot of simple things we can do," said Nordstrom, also a cyclist club.

The group's next meeting is set for 7-8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 1 at the Le Mars Family YMCA's boardroom.

The public is invited to attend.

Nordstrom said she joined the discussions because the ideas of Safe Routes to School jive well with the mission of the Plymouth County Cyclists.

"We want to look at how to get our community more bike-friendly, and we want to get more people out there exercising for health and wellness," she said. "Our community needs it."