Senate discusses bike lane bill after another cyclist, 13, is struck and killed

A bill under consideration in the island Senate would order the Department of Transportation and Public Works and the Highways and Transportation Authority to integrate the development of new bike lanes and the expansion of existing ones into the “Strategic Road Safety Plan” for the coming fiscal year.

By John McPhaul

jpmcphaul@gmail.com

The island Senate on Tuesday discussed a measure that would order the Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTOP by its Spanish acronym), as well as the Highways and Transportation Authority (ACT) to integrate the development of new bike lanes and the expansion of existing ones, all within its “Strategic Road Safety Plan” for the next fiscal year 2023-2024, which begins on July 1.

“Today we again received the sad news that a driver ran over a cyclist of just 13 years in the Jardines de Caparra urbanization of Bayamón,” said Sen. Keren Riquelme Cabrera, author of the legislation. “Aware of the problems and danger faced by people who practice the modality of road cycling, in October 2022 we filed a package of measures to make our streets safer for them; an essential part of that legislation is Senate Bill 1059, which orders the DTOP and the ACT to develop new bike lanes, among other safety measures that have to be adopted because these accidents have to end.”

A vote on the bill is expected as soon as today, a spokesperson for the Senate told the STAR on Tuesday.

“Many people know the Old San Juan bike path, which is composed of an exclusive lane that extends 3.1 kilometers and runs through historic areas of the capital city for the use of citizens who practice the sport of cycling,” the at-large senator said. “This program, under the tutelage of the DTOP, can be taken to [other] municipalities, thus creating a safe cycling network for those men and women who practice this sport. Bill 1059 is the means for that safety development.”