More Black Cyclists Die Because of Racial Divide

Bicycling ^ | Aug 20, 2023 | Taneika Duhaney

[where's_the_Outrage?]

Why don’t more people of color ride bikes? There is no singular reason; however, safety is often cited as a primary concern. In communities of color with a high concentration of low to middle-income residents, the lack of cycling infrastructure elements, such as bike trails, bike lanes, or even shoulders, make cycling unsafe and impractical.

“The lower a metro area’s median household income, the more dangerous it’s streets are likely to be for people walking,” according to a Smart Growth America Dangerous by Design 2021 report. “This is unsurprising, given low-income communities are less likely to have sidewalks, marked crosswalks, and street design to support safer, slower speeds.”

Without such infrastructure, Black and Hispanic residents face the greatest risks. According to a Harvard and Boston University study assessing racial disparities and traffic fatalities, for every mile walked, Black people are twice as likely to be killed by cars compared to white pedestrians.

For every mile ridden, Black cyclists are 4.5 times more likely to be killed than white cyclists. At the same time, Hispanic cyclists and pedestrians experience a 1.7 and 1.5-fold risk of being killed compared to white Americans.

Higher death rates among Black and Hispanic cyclists and pedestrians in low-income communities can be partially attributed to historical neighborhood designs. In areas where the government-sponsored Home Owners’ Loan Corporation rated neighborhoods a grade of D, pedestrian fatality was twice as high as in neighborhoods with an A grade. Communities with lower ratings have wider roads designed for higher speeds, more traffic volume, and are close to highways and freeways.

In Los Angeles, the Harbor Freeway goes through the heart of a residential community of South L.A. which has a 60 to 80 percent Black and Hispanic occupancy rate.

[sauropod]

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[Paal Gulli]

JAMBOG

More Black Cyclists Die Because of Racial Divide

04/28/2023 2:28:08 PM PDT
^^^^^^^^^^
by where's_the_Outrage? · 39 replies
Bicycling ^ | Apr 27, 2023 | TANEIKA DUHANEY

https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4149202/posts

[Trailerpark Badass]

When I lived in an urban area, the crack distributors all rode bikes.

[where's_the_Outrage?]

Thanks, senior moment. I thought I had posted something like this before but couldn’t find it using search. Looks like the “M” for More messed up the search.

[fireman15]

Many kudos, much respect

Thank you for that, but my last race was more than 40 years ago. Family obligations and work made it impossible to keep up my training regimen. I do have a lot of interesting and funny memories from that time period.

I traveled to a lot of races with some interesting characters in an old VW campervan. Some had hair down to their butts. We went to Canada a lot for races and never got hassled, which seemed kind of amazing at the time. When traveling on airlines I used to bring along about 50 pounds of tools and spare parts carry-on that would never be allowed these days.

I always thought that young ladies would be impressed by my success, but for the most part they could not have cared less even those who were cyclists... But to be fair, when I met my wife, she was the Northwest Regional Aerobics Dance Instructor Champion. I had no idea there was such a competition or title and I couldn't have cared less about that. She of course got plenty of attention from men, not because of her title but because she was very fit and attractive.