{"id":545059,"date":"2010-04-27T14:57:16","date_gmt":"2010-04-27T18:57:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/seattletimes.nwsource.com\/html\/northwestvoices\/2011714422_woman83diesfromcollisionwithbicyclist.html?syndication=rss"},"modified":"2010-04-27T14:57:16","modified_gmt":"2010-04-27T18:57:16","slug":"woman-83-dies-from-collision-with-bicyclist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/545059","title":{"rendered":"Woman, 83, dies from collision with bicyclist"},"content":{"rendered":"

Respectful reminder for riders<\/strong><\/p>\n

The story of Velda Mapelli\u2019s death by bike collision was saddening, especially because it did not have to happen. [\u201cWoman, 83, was vital, an athlete,\u201d NWFriday, April 23.]<\/p>\n

I have seen the potential for this kind of accident many times as I have walked, biked and run on the Burke-Gilman Trail and around Green Lake.<\/p>\n

I feel lucky I have not been hit when passed by bikers individually or in groups of two or more. If I am lucky, I would hear an \u201con your left\u201d from a biker, alerting me of an intention to pass and giving me enough time to move. But I know at times that I am less than 6 inches away from collision with more than 180 pounds of biker and bike moving 25 miles an hour (or more) straight into me.<\/p>\n

This is especially the case if I get distracted and move to my left without seeing or hearing who may be coming from behind. Distraction could easily happen with the noise from nearby traffic next to the trail, listening to my iPod, being in a runner\u2019s reverie or being in a foggy exhaustion during a long-distance run.<\/p>\n

There is also the silence of road bikes with small tires. They move relatively silently until they are upon me, suddenly zooming passed. Each time is a shocking and frustrating experience.<\/p>\n

Not all bikers are in such a hurry. The most polite bikers are usually a husband and wife with kids in tow, who move relatively slowly past me, saying \u201con your left.\u201d They give me time to adjust and I usually wave my hand and at times to say thanks.<\/p>\n

I know bikers just want to enjoy themselves, get a good workout or get to where they need to as fast as they can. They do not mean any harm, but at times, I think some bikers are absolutely clueless to the potential for an accident or injuries, much less death.<\/p>\n

Bikers need to be educated about the potential dangers and damages they could be liable for. Perhaps their bikes need to be licensed \u2014so one can write down a number for a report \u2014or there needs to be increased penalties or fines. Perhaps walkers and runners need to be reminded about their movements across a busy multiuse trail with bikers moving by swiftly.<\/p>\n

In the end it gets down to walkers, runners and bikers being more thoughtful and courteous in sharing the road.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Ron Greeley, Seattle<\/em><\/p>\n

Surprised accidents hadn\u2019t happened sooner<\/strong><\/p>\n

I would like to thank Janalee Roy [\u201cKeep a watchful eye,\u201d Northwest Voices, April 23] for writing in about the fatal accident which occurred on April 20 on the Cedar River Bike Trail. To be very honest, I am surprised that it hadn\u2019t happened sooner.<\/p>\n

My husband and I own a condo right across the street from the trail and I have walked it going on my sixth year almost every day with my dog or with a friend who walks the trail twice a day. The bicyclists who frequent that path have absolutely no regard for the walkers. If you are walking and they are in front of you, it is typically OK. But if they come up from behind, watch out.<\/p>\n

They would get as close as they could to you and then at the last minute, they cut around you. Never a \u201con your left, biker coming\u201d \u2014 not a word. Then they have the nerve to shake their heads at you for being on their side, which is untrue.<\/p>\n

It is very dangerous and I wish the police would just come once and observe their behavior. We all need to respect each other on the path; I just do not think the bikers do. The question is not if an accident like this will happen again, it is when.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Cindy Kraayeveld, Renton<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Respectful reminder for riders The story of Velda Mapelli\u2019s death by bike collision was saddening, especially because it did not have to happen. [\u201cWoman, 83, was vital, an athlete,\u201d NWFriday, April 23.] I have seen the potential for this kind of accident many times as I have walked, biked and run on the Burke-Gilman Trail […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2861,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-545059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2861"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=545059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545059\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=545059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=545059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=545059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}