Power to pedalers: Save gas, save climate, save health

Maine bicyclists say their numbers are growing, and legislation to make their ride easier is in the works.

By JOHN RICHARDSON,
Staff Writer

Rising gas prices don't concern Deb Moulton.

Moulton, an emergency room nurse from South Portland, pedals her bicycle almost everywhere she needs to go. She commutes by bike year-round across the Casco Bay Bridge. She doesn't even own a car.

"Once you start doing it, it's just not as bad as you thought it would be," she said. "It kind of feels good."

Bicycle commuters seem to be a growing presence on Greater Portland's roads as rising gas prices, global warming and other issues force people to reconsider their driving habits and fuel use. The bicyclists also appear to be a growing political force. Lawmakers are considering a bill to make Maine's roads safer for those who pedal to work, in part by requiring motorists to make a little room.

No one knows how many people are now commuting by bicycle, but cyclists say their numbers are definitely growing.

John Brooking, who pedals between his home in Westbrook and his office in South Portland every day, started the Portland Maine Bicycle Commuters Meetup last year and has nearly 70 members. "I've gotten a dozen or so in the last couple weeks," he said.

May 18 is National Bike to Work Day and the final day of Commute Another Way Week in Maine, annual events intended to get people thinking outside the driver's seat.

There's always an increase in bicycle commuting around this time of year, but now the financial, environmental and political motivators are "all kind of coalescing," Brooking said.

Some bike commuters pedal year-round, regardless of weather. Others ride their bicycles some days and drive the others. Taking a bicycle to work even one day a week cuts some commuting costs by 20 percent.

Justin Hall rides a couple of miles from his home in Deering to the Old Port, where he works for a photography company. Only when it's really stormy will he take the car or catch a ride.

"To be honest, I find it easier and more relaxing" to travel by bicycle, he said.

Hall and others said riding to work is generally safe for those who are careful and know the rules. But they also say it does seem to be getting more dangerous because of increasing traffic, more stressed-out drivers, and roads and intersections that aren't designed for bicyclists or pedestrians.

"There's been a couple of close calls," Hall said. "It's definitely a defensive ride at rush hour."

The bill before the Legislature's Transportation Committee would require car and truck drivers to stay at least three feet from bicyclists and would allow motorists to cross the center line to pass bicyclists. The law also sets clearer rules for bicyclists and would make drunk bicycling a crime.

Police officials in Portland and South Portland said there hasn't been any recent rise in car-bicycle collisions, although there are periodic complaints about both motorists and bicyclists hogging roads.

The overall number of reported accidents involving bicycles has remained at about 200 a year for the past five years, according to the Maine Department of Transportation. Between 20 and 25 people are seriously injured each year. Nine bicyclists have been killed in accidents in the past five years, state records show.

Many of the accidents involve bicyclists who are young, inexperienced or not obeying safety rules, said Jeff Miller, executive director of the Bicycle Coalition of Maine. Bicycle commuters are the least likely group to be involved in crashes, he said.

"The health benefits of bicycling far outweigh the risks," he said. But "there have been enough bicyclists who have close enough calls that certainly this legislation will be hugely important."

Christian McNeil of Portland commutes by bicycle to Yarmouth and encourages friends and co-workers to bicycle, too.