The city of Knoxville celebrated World Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims on Sunday.
Riding a bike in Knoxville can be a dangerous commute. Adrian Del Maestro bikes to work every day. Since Third Creek Greenway, his usual route, has been closed for renovations, the alternate route is Kingston Pike.
"I've been almost hit by a car on Kingston Pike, run off the lane and screamed at to buy a car," Del Maestro said. "Hard to believe people are that upset at 7 a.m. in the morning. All of that as I'm just trying to get to work"
For Knoxville City Councilwoman Lauren Rider, the danger that pedestrians face hits close to home. She's lost two friends to crashes while biking in safe zones.
"In situations that they should have been safe and protected in," Rider said. "In all of those cases, drivers made mistakes, didn't see them and hit them."
Rider supports Vision Zero and said we'll see some added shrubbery for protection and more pedestrian safety education in the short term. But actual physical infrastructure changes will take a little bit of time.
"In the long term, we'll see actual designated bumps and barriers put up to help protect bikers and pedestrians from vehicles," she said. "We'll see that in the next 4 years."
Del Maestro is hopeful that the new Vision Zero plan will make his commute to work a little less dangerous.
"It takes funds to fix things, it takes political will, and understanding that we need to give up some things like extra parking spaces so we can add wider bike and walking lanes," he said. "I think Vision Zero is the kick in the pants that the city needs to create some change."
The city said that the Vision Zero Plan will take a few years to complete but we can start seeing small changes like more bike lanes in the coming months.
