A driver hit a 14-year-old e-bike rider on Thursday, Oct. 30, at the intersection of Marlin Avenue and Swordfish Street, marking at least the seventh collision in Foster City involving an e-bike this year.
A resident who lives in the area — and preferred to remain anonymous — said the bicyclist had initially reported no injuries immediately after the incident. She said it seemed as if the cyclist stopped, as well as the car, albeit briefly, at the three-way stop sign before they both started moving around the same time.
The neighbor said she has been “complaining about this intersection for well over a year,” adding that it was a matter of time before someone was hit.
“I could sit here in the evening and count on more than one hand in an hour of people running the stop sign. It’s an ongoing issue on both sides,” the resident said.
According to the police report, the car didn’t come to a complete stop and struck the rear tire of the e-bike.
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Foster City Councilmember Patrick Sullivan lives close to the intersection and said the need to drive cautiously is especially heightened in that area, given the proximity to Bowditch Middle School.
“I try to get out extra early or late because kids are out riding their scooters and bikes, so it is kind of treacherous,” he said. “It is really easy for someone to hit a kid if you’re not careful.”
Earlier in October, a student was hit on Foster City Boulevard riding an e-bike. The Oct. 30 collision comes less than two weeks after the City Council signed a letter urging the San Mateo-Foster City School district to partner with the city for enhanced e-bike education, however, some residents were opposed to the letter, stating the city should focus on better bike infrastructure and safer driving practices.
Sullivan added he hopes there can be more enforcement at stop sign intersections.
“We need police officers patrolling all the streets. They don’t do that anymore, and that’s when people can get caught,” he said. “We need to get the community together on this … it’s a really serious problem that we have.”
SEVEN reasons we know the driver and council members are absolutely at fault for this crash:
1. No child should ever be harmed on a Safe-Routes-To-School street. When that happens we MUST blame city staff and council.
2. This is a "Bike Boulevard" (class III) where - by legal definition - bicycles have priority over cars.
3. The child's legal duty is to look out for its own safety, the driver MUST lookout for the safety of EVERYONE.
4. Is San Mateo/Foster City School district offering traffic safety education? Probably not. Blame staff.
5. On streets without bike lanes, the driver MUST keep 3 foot distance. Hitting the child means the driver obviously failed.
6. There are no bike lanes here, which is the fault of city staff and council
7. EVERYONE runs stops signs here - that's why they call it the "California Stop". But when your failure to do so ends up with hitting a child, it should be treated like attempted manslaughter.
... I could easily go to ten and more, but seven is fine for now.
Thank you, Councilman Sullivan, for speaking out in favor of more enforcement and infrastructure to keep kids safe on our dangerous roads. I hope that FC ramps up efforts in both these areas.
“I try to get out extra early or late because kids are out riding their scooters and bikes, so it is kind of treacherous,” he said. “It is really easy for someone to hit a kid if you’re not careful.”
That is basically a confession that the city and its council members have been doing a horrible job for these children so far.
And the biggest example is why did city staff turn Beach Park blvd back into a 4 lane racetrack when it was traffic calmed for many months already.
There would be plenty of space for these kids to ride e-bikes all they long and fairly safe.
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(3) comments
SEVEN reasons we know the driver and council members are absolutely at fault for this crash:
1. No child should ever be harmed on a Safe-Routes-To-School street. When that happens we MUST blame city staff and council.
2. This is a "Bike Boulevard" (class III) where - by legal definition - bicycles have priority over cars.
3. The child's legal duty is to look out for its own safety, the driver MUST lookout for the safety of EVERYONE.
4. Is San Mateo/Foster City School district offering traffic safety education? Probably not. Blame staff.
5. On streets without bike lanes, the driver MUST keep 3 foot distance. Hitting the child means the driver obviously failed.
6. There are no bike lanes here, which is the fault of city staff and council
7. EVERYONE runs stops signs here - that's why they call it the "California Stop". But when your failure to do so ends up with hitting a child, it should be treated like attempted manslaughter.
... I could easily go to ten and more, but seven is fine for now.
Thank you, Councilman Sullivan, for speaking out in favor of more enforcement and infrastructure to keep kids safe on our dangerous roads. I hope that FC ramps up efforts in both these areas.
If a council members says
“I try to get out extra early or late because kids are out riding their scooters and bikes, so it is kind of treacherous,” he said. “It is really easy for someone to hit a kid if you’re not careful.”
That is basically a confession that the city and its council members have been doing a horrible job for these children so far.
And the biggest example is why did city staff turn Beach Park blvd back into a 4 lane racetrack when it was traffic calmed for many months already.
There would be plenty of space for these kids to ride e-bikes all they long and fairly safe.
This was a completely wasted opportunity.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.