Tragedy on El Camino Real-What can we do to make it Safer?
*Guest blog is written by Bruce England SVBC member, Mountain View Team Lead, and Mountain View Coalition for Sustainable Planning manager
Tragedy on El Camino Real-What can we do to make it Safer?
Thursday morning on March 17th George "Andre" Oseida, a 13-year-old Graham Middle School student, left his home and did what he and many of his classmates had done time and time again. He woke up from bed, grabbed his backpack and bike, and began his morning ride to school. He would pedal outside of his mobile park community and turn onto the street directly connected to his neighborhood, El Camino Real. He would never make it to see his fellow classmate because at the intersection of El Camino Real and Grant Road he would be killed in a collision with a dump truck driver. This tragic news is devastating to the family and community, and it’s clear that something needs to be done to help prevent future deaths and injuries at this location and make our streets safer for our children and others. Our best wishes are with the friends and family of the people involved.
First off, let’s not consider what happened as an “accident”. Doing so puts it in the category of “these things happen”, as though there isn’t anything we can do to remedy what we have in place today.
It can be very tempting to point fingers, especially in light of how we all feel about what occurred. However, what I would like to suggest is that we robustly and meaningfully address what can be done to improve bicycle and pedestrian safety at and around the intersection. This said, we need such improvements throughout Mountain View, but I’ll put that discussion aside for another time in order to keep the focus here on this particular location. Keep an eye out for future articles or messages from SVBC for other related communications. Meanwhile, do have a look at SVBC Mountain View member James Kuszmaul’s excellent op-ed to the Mountain View Voice for more.
We in the bicycle community need to identify what can be done and take actions to do our part to make the changes happen. What this means is bringing all stakeholders and decision-makers together, including SVBC members, to collaborate on exploring and implementing the suite of solutions needed to realize what we must accomplish. Luckily, we have multiple avenues to participate. These include the following actions for your consideration:
Joining the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition Mountain View team as an active member. We are very much a working group, with great collective knowledge and resources available to us. But having more voices among us would only improve our standing as it exists today. -
Joining community groups such as Mountain View Coalition for Sustainable Planning (MVCSP). This group covers a wide range of topics relevant to city planning, and transportation is key among those. For further information, see mvcsp.org or contact the group at mvcsp.info@gmail.com.
Attending City of Mountain View Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee (B/PAC) meetings, relevant City Council meetings, and community meetings. You can find information about all City meetings at https://www.mountainview.gov/, about the B/PAC at https://www.mountainview.gov/council/bcc/bikeped.asp, and be notified about upcoming meetings by going to MyMV at https://www.mountainview.gov/mymv/ and checking items in the General list under My Notifications as needed.
Be aware that changes need to be considered that affect both bicyclists and pedestrians (think active transportation), that go beyond the intersection itself, and that take into account transit and vehicles as well, even if with varying priorities. Also, be aware that meaningful change often takes a very long time to happen. A high level of patience and a good memory are mandatory here.
Finally, be aware that you are not alone with your concerns, and that your voice matters. The higher our numbers, the more likely that we will be heard and that our views will receive adequate attention.
