Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum has proclaimed May as bike month, and a new safety campaign is part of the city's investment in street improvements that take cyclists and pedestrians into account.
The campaign is WalkBikeTulsa, and it aims to teach drivers, cyclists and pedestrians how to co-exist. Bike Club Tulsa co-founder Mike Wozniak shared a few basics.
"At all intersections, I think it’s really important to make eye contact with drivers that are potentially turning through a lane, being visible, having a properly maintained bicycle that the brakes work, the chain is lubed, the tires are pumped up. Wearing a helmet is really important," Wozniak said.
It’s also important for cyclists to follow rules of the road and use hand signals, especially where bike lanes don’t yet exist.
More bicycle lanes are coming to Tulsa. Residents will see them in big street projects, including several more downtown. City Councilor Blake Ewing said they’re the payoff from years of work and millions of dollars in public investment to develop and implement the range of transportation ideas known as the GO Plan.
"And it isn’t just because it’s a cool thing to say that we do. Cities that invest in other modes of transportation … have strengthened economies, have an improved morale and an improved quality of life for the people that live there," Ewing said.
