My heart goes out to the friends and family of Scott Gallagher, another cyclist needlessly killed by a careless and reckless motorist. Recently, I moved to Durango Hills and regularly cycle Florida Road. I moved from Bend, Oregon, to escape runaway growth, crowded trails and ironically, dangerous roads for cyclists.
The speed limit on Florida Road must be reduced. Forty-five mph is far too fast. Florida Road has blind turns, steep grades, narrow shoulders, frequent wildlife crossings and yes, cyclists. I'm not even comfortable driving it at 45 mph. Yet, when I do, I regularly have other vehicles riding my bumper.
No, they aren't all monster trucks from Texas, most are Colorado plates. I pull over to let them pass. These drivers need to chill out and a good start would be a reduced speed limit. Slow down and think about why you live in Durango. I am aware that Gallagher was killed late at night and on a less treacherous stretch of Florida, where the speed limit is 35 mph. The real solution would be to widen Florida and provide true bike lanes, not a 12-inch shoulder.
But in the interim, the speed limit must be reduced to prevent more needless tragedies. Or at the very least, the current speed limits need to be observed and strictly enforced.
Mike McComb
Durango
