By Mary Hladky
Two days after Mayor Scott Singer proclaimed March as “bicycle month” in the city, a crash claimed a bicyclist’s life and highlighted residents’ concerns about pedestrian and bicyclist safety on East Palmetto Park Road.
Bicyclist Mark Rudow, 66, of Boca Raton, was killed around 8 a.m. March 3 when a northbound 2015 Dodge pickup truck, turning from North Federal Highway onto East Palmetto Park Road, struck him as he was crossing the intersection while riding northbound in the bicycle lane.
The driver, who was not identified by the Boca Raton Police Services Department, was issued a citation for making an unlawful right turn.
Speaking about Rudow’s death, avid cyclist Jim Wood, a contributor to the BocaFirst blog, said, “When something like that happens, it raises awareness of the risks of cycling. It’s a concern.”
Beachside residents have long sought a revamp of the stretch of Palmetto Park Road from the Intracoastal Waterway to State Road A1A to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety as well as the road’s appearance.
On March 28, the City Council approved hiring Alta Planning + Design consultants to draw up plans for making improvements along the span from Federal Highway to the Intracoastal.
That project was spearheaded by former Deputy Mayor Andrea O’Rourke and land use attorney Ele Zachariades.
“We are very concerned” about the fatal crash, said Katie Barr MacDougall, president of the Riviera Civic Association, shortly after meeting with County Commissioner Marci Woodward about the changes she feels are needed on the eastern portion of the roadway.
From 2020 through 2022, crashes involving three pedestrians and three bicyclists, one of whom was seriously injured, took place along Palmetto Park Road from Federal Highway to A1A, according to the Palm Beach Transportation Planning Agency.
Lifelong cyclist Les Wilson, also a BocaFirst contributor, thinks he knows how the fatal crash occurred. The truck driver probably was looking left to see any oncoming traffic and may not have been aware of the cyclist moving on his right side. The cyclist wouldn’t have known the driver intended to turn right unless he used the turn signal, he said.
The City Council unanimously approved a resolution on Oct. 25 to designate Boca as a “Vision Zero city” as part of a national program to reach a goal of no severe traffic injuries or deaths. They also directed staff to create a plan to achieve that goal.
The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded the city a $300,000 grant on Feb. 1 to pay for that plan.
“Vision Zero, that is a game changer in the city,” Wilson said.
In an effort to help the city reach the goal, BocaFirst launched a Vision Zero Project page on its blog.
It includes a detailed map of city bike lanes that Wilson compiled after riding 300 miles of them and a link that allows residents to report bicycle infrastructure problems.
Wilson sees Vision Zero as an answer to making the streets safer for bicyclists.
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