A tragic death of a beloved bicyclist last week on CaƱada Road might have been avoided, and future tragedies also avoided, if the speed limit there was simply reduced by San Mateo County.
On the afternoon of Monday, April 10, bicyclist Lester Legarda was fatally struck by a driver on a CaƱada Road, a rural route popular among walkers, equestrians and bicyclists. Details of the crash scene suggest that the collision speed was high. Though the cause of the collision is still under investigation, visibility along CaƱada Road was excellent. The posted speed limit was 50 mph.
Given the dominance of cars in our culture, I am certain your immediate reaction focuses on blaming the bicyclist: Was he wearing a helmet? Did he wear bright, visible clothing? Was he riding along the shoulder? Was he a good bike handler? Not surprisingly, the answer to all this is āyes.ā You see, Lester was a member of Peninsula Velo, a large club and community of competitive cyclists. Our team uniform and helmet (which Lester wore) are bright orange and yellow. Whatās more, Lester was also riding with a Garmin Varia, a car-detecting radar with a rear-facing bright red light. As a competitive bike racer, Lester was comfortable handling his bike at high speeds among large packs of cyclists. He also abided by our clubās rules of road etiquette ā always ābe niceā and share the road with others. I have no doubt that Lester was as visible, protected and experienced as any cyclist can be, and following the rules of the road.
So then why did more than 500 cyclists, family and close friends gather on the following cloudy Saturday morning to honor the passing of Lester Legarda? Because Lester was struck at a speed that made survival from the collision nearly impossible. It is simple physics that the faster an object moves, the more damage it will cause on impact. Data from the National Transportation Safety Board show the risk of death for a pedestrian struck by a car traveling 40 mph at over 85%. Yet, at 30 mph the risk of death drops to 45%. Clearly, even a 10 mph decrease in collision speed dramatically reduces the risk of death for pedestrians and cyclists.
One solution to prevent future tragedies along CaƱada is tantalizingly simple ā reduce the 50 mph speed limit. Sure, drivers will likely continue to exceed the speed limit. But just like the paint on the road that defines where drivers are supposed to drive, posted speed limits set expectations for acceptable driver behavior. Despite CaƱada Roadās generous lane widths and long sight lines, there is absolutely no need for a speed limit of 50 mph. First, CaƱada runs parallel to the Interstate 280, which posts an even higher limit of 65 mph. While CaƱada Road may have been an essential thoroughfare prior to Interstate 280, today, there is limited need for thru-traffic on CaƱada. Only Filoli and the Pulgas Water Temple park require travel along CaƱada Road. Further, CHP SWITRS collision data confirms that CaƱada Road is one of the most dangerous in the county, no doubt because of its high speed limit. It is no surprise that the portion of CaƱada Road within the town of Woodside now has a speed limit of 35 mph. Sadly, this reduction resulted from residents taking action after an earlier tragedy on CaƱada Road. My guess is that lowering the speed limit along the remainder of CaƱada Road has never been a priority for San Mateo County.
I urge you to write/call/email your county supervisor and demand action to prevent further tragedies along CaƱada Road through the simple act of reducing the speed limit. It is rare that an act so simple can result in a dramatic improvement in road safety with only modest inconvenience to most drivers. Though other measures can and should be done to improve road safety, changing the speed limit is the first step. A simple reduction in the posted speed limit could be done fairly quickly and at modest cost, given enough civic will. Finally, by lowering the limit, we acknowledge the inherent danger of automobiles traveling at high speeds and make a huge stride in lowering the chances of another fatality on CaƱada Road.
County supervisors, in particular Honorable Ray Mueller (District 3; covering CaƱada road), the bicycle community will be forever grateful to you for helping lower the speed limit on CaƱada Road in honor of Lesterās untimely passing.
Andrew Hsu is the director of Advocacy for Peninsula Velo and on the Board of Directors for the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition.
bicycles and cars don't mix well. All these "Share The Road" experiments around here ("bike routes", "bicycle boulevards", "slow streets") are more about discrimination than about providing safe bicycle infrastructure. We need more separation not less.
People in cars are becoming increasingly more dangerous in America. And law enforcement is often looking the other way. Here are just a few recent examples:
2021/03/22: Former 49ers and Raiderscoach Greg Knapp gets killed in San Ramon by a 22 year old - the primary cause of the collision was "inattention", but the prosecutors determined the "actions did not rise to a criminal level under the law".
2022/09/28: Vincent Qualls kills Harald Herrmann, 55, riding his bicycle in a bike lane along Hwy 1. His puppy jumped of his lap so he had to kill the cyclist and a tree.
2022/06/25: Samantha Mei Hartwell kills 60-year old Thomas Hampe riding his bicycle in a bike lane along Hwy 1.
2023/02/02: In Dana Point (SoCal) just for good measure Vanroy Evan Smith (39) didn't just run emergency doctor Michael John Mammone (58) over in the bike lane - he also stabbed him just to make sure he is dead. Then he calls himself Jesus Christ.
2023/02/10: Half Moon Bay, Hwy 1 - Unlicensed driver Miguel Jose Juarez Perez (18) in his GMC Yukon struck and killed Wang Jiuxiang (75) while riding his bicycle.
2023/03/31: Redwood City - in a hit-and-run crash "Richard" - a homeless resident gets killed while riding his bike on Veterans Blvd.
2023/04/04: Reigning US track cycling champion Ethan Boyes is killed in SF's Presidio along Arguello Boulevard by a speeding ans possibly drunk driver
2023/04/10: CaƱada Road near Fioli Garden, Lester Legarda (37) gets killed by a 22 year old speeding driver.
All these crashes happened because the drivers were too fast, too drunk, too distracted. In a lot of the cases the murderers have never been charged or will eventually walk free, because of very biased anti-bicycle law enforcement.
We need more separation - not less. Children and Seniors on bicycles deserve protected bike lanes. I have seen more and better bicycle infrastructure in many red states than in the Bay Area. Why do we have the worst possible politicians and transportation engineers in the midst of Silicon Valley?
easygerd, near the end of your well researched comment, it sounds like in some cases law enforcement is doing their job, but itās district attorneys that are not charging murderers or are allowing these perpetrators to eventually walk free. Similar to how law enforcement is likely attempting to do their job, but district attorneys (especially in Democrat-controlled areas) are allowing those arrested to walk free from all crimes, not just bicycle enforcement. If DAās arenāt going to enforce other violent crimes, why would they target bicycle crimes? Voters get the government they deserve so for a change, vote red and stop defunding and demonizing the police.
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(3) comments
Such a tragedy for all. I'm not a biker but support reducing the speed limit on Canada Rd. and painting bike lanes on the road.
bicycles and cars don't mix well. All these "Share The Road" experiments around here ("bike routes", "bicycle boulevards", "slow streets") are more about discrimination than about providing safe bicycle infrastructure. We need more separation not less.
People in cars are becoming increasingly more dangerous in America. And law enforcement is often looking the other way. Here are just a few recent examples:
2021/03/22: Former 49ers and Raiderscoach Greg Knapp gets killed in San Ramon by a 22 year old - the primary cause of the collision was "inattention", but the prosecutors determined the "actions did not rise to a criminal level under the law".
2022/09/28: Vincent Qualls kills Harald Herrmann, 55, riding his bicycle in a bike lane along Hwy 1. His puppy jumped of his lap so he had to kill the cyclist and a tree.
2022/06/25: Samantha Mei Hartwell kills 60-year old Thomas Hampe riding his bicycle in a bike lane along Hwy 1.
2023/02/02: In Dana Point (SoCal) just for good measure Vanroy Evan Smith (39) didn't just run emergency doctor Michael John Mammone (58) over in the bike lane - he also stabbed him just to make sure he is dead. Then he calls himself Jesus Christ.
2023/02/10: Half Moon Bay, Hwy 1 - Unlicensed driver Miguel Jose Juarez Perez (18) in his GMC Yukon struck and killed Wang Jiuxiang (75) while riding his bicycle.
2023/03/31: Redwood City - in a hit-and-run crash "Richard" - a homeless resident gets killed while riding his bike on Veterans Blvd.
2023/04/04: Reigning US track cycling champion Ethan Boyes is killed in SF's Presidio along Arguello Boulevard by a speeding ans possibly drunk driver
2023/04/10: CaƱada Road near Fioli Garden, Lester Legarda (37) gets killed by a 22 year old speeding driver.
All these crashes happened because the drivers were too fast, too drunk, too distracted. In a lot of the cases the murderers have never been charged or will eventually walk free, because of very biased anti-bicycle law enforcement.
We need more separation - not less. Children and Seniors on bicycles deserve protected bike lanes. I have seen more and better bicycle infrastructure in many red states than in the Bay Area. Why do we have the worst possible politicians and transportation engineers in the midst of Silicon Valley?
easygerd, near the end of your well researched comment, it sounds like in some cases law enforcement is doing their job, but itās district attorneys that are not charging murderers or are allowing these perpetrators to eventually walk free. Similar to how law enforcement is likely attempting to do their job, but district attorneys (especially in Democrat-controlled areas) are allowing those arrested to walk free from all crimes, not just bicycle enforcement. If DAās arenāt going to enforce other violent crimes, why would they target bicycle crimes? Voters get the government they deserve so for a change, vote red and stop defunding and demonizing the police.
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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.