Conflicts between cyclists and drivers are on the rise as the weather improves and the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic approaches, according to La Plata County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Chris Burke.
Burke said Thursday the department is receiving an average of two calls a week to report bicyclists not riding single file and crowding the roads, a discernible uptick in recent weeks.
“It’s becoming a pretty common phone call to dispatch,” Burke said.
The most frequent reports occur on East Animas Road (County Road 250) and County Road 203 north of Durango that parallel U.S. Highway 550, and on La Posta Road (County Road 213) south of Durango, which also parallels Highway 550.
On March 25, for instance, officers received a report that 25 cyclists were riding four abreast on La Posta Road, creating a traffic hazard.
After the group was issued a warning, Burke said officers waited about 3 miles up the road to confirm the cyclists were riding single file, which they were.
In Colorado, the law says cyclists must ride single file, with two exceptions.
They are permitted to ride two-abreast when there’s no motor vehicle within 300 feet (or more simply, when there’s no vehicle within a line of sight approaching the group from the front or rear) or when riding on paths exclusively for bikes.
The law also requires vehicles to allow 3 feet when passing cyclists.
Burke said officers prefer to give warnings rather than write tickets. Burke did not immediately have numbers available for the amount of warnings issued and tickets written to cyclists this year.
Scot Davis, spokesman for the Durango Fire Protection District, said emergency personnel responded to 19 crashes involving cyclists in 2017.
With the weather becoming nicer and more people training for the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic, which will be held the weekend of May 25, officers intend to ramp up educational efforts to curb bicyclist-driver conflicts.
“We care about our citizens, and we don’t want to see anyone hurt or injured,” Burke said.
Tension between cyclists and drivers is not a new issue in La Plata County and can be attributed to a number of factors, including increased traffic and roads that don’t accommodate both uses.
La Plata County spokeswoman Megan Graham said a lot of county roads don’t have adequate shoulders for cycling. The county would like to make improvements, but it doesn’t have the means because of tight budgets the past few years.
“Certainly, we would love it if we could bring county roads up to a better standard that could accommodate both cyclists and motorists more safely,” she said. “We’re doing that as we can, but a comprehensive overhaul is huge undertaking.”
Representatives with the city of Durango, as well as Durango Police Department, did not immediately return calls seeking comment Thursday afternoon.
Ed Zink, a longtime La Plata County resident who is an avid cyclist and co-founder of the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic, said: “The bottom line is cyclists should be respectful and considerate and safe, and so should motorists.”
Zink said it’s common on rides to not see a car for 20 minutes so cyclists ride side by side. Then when a car shows up, it takes some time to get back to single file.
“It’s not instantaneous,” Zink said. “But the person in the car thinks, ‘This is what I need to happen right now.’”
Of course, there are inconsiderate riders who don’t move over or schedule large group rides during times of heavy traffic, said Gaige Sippy, director of the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic.
But at the same time, Sippy said, there are also drivers who are impatient and even some who intentionally drive close to cyclists to scare them.
“What tends to make it better is when everyone tries to be respectful of each other’s situations,” he said. “And I think both cyclists and motorists have a ways to go on that.”
jromeo@durangoherald.com
