ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Augustana College and St. Ambrose University students are looking to improve bike safety in the Quad Cities by getting feedback from the people who live here.
Augustana College says it will use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to map the region's growing bike infrastructure network and to identify locations where safety for cyclists can be improved.
Community members are invited to share their thoughts on bike infrastructure and safety by clicking here.
Dr. Chris Strunk, associate professor and chair of Augustana’s geography department, claims that this topic is particularly timely as cycling in the United States has become more popular in recent years while cycling fatalities have also increased sharply.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says, "Each year about 2 percent of motor vehicle crash deaths are bicyclists. Although child bicyclist deaths have declined over the years, deaths among bicyclists age 20 and older have quadrupled since 1975."
The organization noted the following trends:
A total of 961 bicyclists were killed in crashes with motor vehicles in 2021. Although bicyclist deaths have decreased 4 percent since 1975, they have increased 55 percent since reaching their lowest point in 2010.
Carter Thompson, a junior geography major at Augustana who is assisting with the bike safety trends research, said he has always been interested in bike safety, according to Augustana College's website.
“Our goal is to identify dangerous streets and intersections and then develop possible solutions that could make them safer and encourage more people to bike,” he said.
Community members are asked to complete the survey by July 31.
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