Cyclists urge council to act on bike safety

This is the article about last night's meeting by John Peck. It was featured on the front page.

City leaders agree to study ways to improve streets

Huntsville leaders set the wheels in motion Thursday night for a comprehensive study on making city streets more bicycle friendly.

The announcement came after a crowd of bicycle enthusiasts - including the boyfriend of a UAH student killed last week when her bike was struck from behind by a car - packed Thursday night's City Council meeting to demand action. Many were clad in bicycling gear from pedaling to the meeting.
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A meeting will be held Monday in the mayor's office with the mayor, representatives from various bicycling groups, police and planning officials and a city council representative.

Department of Public Safety Director Rex Reynolds announced the organizational meeting at the City Council meeting. The police department's bike patrol began communicating with some biking groups about a year ago to produce public service announcements on bike safety. Reynolds said those efforts could be incorporated into the new planning group's initiatives along with additional input from HPD's bike patrol.

Reynolds said the initial meeting Monday will decide objectives, who should serve on the actual committee, how to proceed and, perhaps, short-term safety steps. Reynolds wants the review to identify streets that are popular biking routes and look at what other cities have done to make bicycling safer.

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