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An article in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal stated Sacramento is the fifth deadliest city for bicyclist deaths among the 50 largest metro areas based on data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
"These are fast streets with a lot of traffic on them and they weren't really designed to accommodate bikes," said Jim Brown, Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates.
Brown says Sacramento ranking fifth doesn't surprise him. He says nearly half of the fatalities happen in south Sacramento, south of Broadway and west of Power Inn Road. He also says it's crossed with high-speed, arterial boulevards including streets originally built as state highways.
According to Brown, urban areas like downtown can accommodate bikes better.
"You have a denser concentration of traffic and it slows everybody down," Brown says. "Lower speed limits and more bikes which makes drivers more aware of operating around bikes."
The city of Sacramento has made some road improvements for bicycle safety through its Vision Zero program.
The Wall Street Journal article also stated bicyclist deaths are rising as the popularity of bike sharing programs have increased. Brown doesn't believe that is true for Sacramento.
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