A $158,000 grant by the Alabama Department of Transportation will fund an educational and awareness campaign in Huntsville starting in 2010. The planned campaign comes on the heels of three cyclist fatalities since 2008.
From the news article on AL.com:
Rolling billboards attached to city buses will try to hammer home the point “that bicycles are vehicles, they’re allowed on the road,” Miernik said Wednesday.
“There’s a percentage of drivers out there,” she said, “that really think bikes are not safe to be on the road with them.”
James Moore, a senior planner with the city, said the ads need to be compelling enough that drivers can’t ignore them.
“I’m hoping to make the buses loud, so to speak, so that it generates some interest,” he said Wednesday. “It’s trying to bring awareness and wake the drivers up.”
Both Moore and Miernik are working to make the city a more bike friendly place and have made efforts to widen streets and include bike lanes in future development. In addition to the awareness campaign, Huntsville police are undergoing training regarding cycling laws and rights.
Hopefully, some of those funds will also go toward getting cycling laws and awareness included on their Drivers Licenses test like they’re starting to do in Colorado.
