Bicycle community concerned about bike safety

“I know this is a treacherous intersection even driving it’s treacherous and I avoid it on a bike.” Marcia Smith lives in Santa Cruz and rides her bike to work in Capitola every day. She says Soquel Avenue is not the safest street to ride on. “I do my best to cross Soquel and I just kind of stay away and take side streets as much as possible. But not everyone can do that if they work on here or go to school.”

63-year old, Jose Adan Lainez was on his way to work Friday morning when police say he was hit from behind while riding his bike on Soquel Avenue near Hagemann Avenue. Police say the driver of a white full sized pickup truck hit and killed Lainez. Santa Cruz is known as a bike friendly city. Many people ride bikes instead of driving a car.

The city of Santa Cruz has more than 46 miles of bike lanes; however some pedestrians and bicyclists still feel unsafe. Especially after Friday morning’s fatal accident. Santa Cruz resident John Hosburgh, “I’ve had two close calls.” John Hosburgh has been bike riding in Santa Cruz for 28 years. He says drivers need to respect the two wheel peddlers more. He says he feels like a part of him goes with the death of fellow bicyclist, Lainez. “We can all learn from this valuable lesson to slow down when you’re driving and take bicyclists in your thoughts when you drive.”

Santa Cruz City Council member, David Terrazas said Friday’s hit and run is a further push to look at new opportunities to keep the city safe for pedestrians and bicyclists. “It was a very tragic accident and I’m very interested in finding out the cause and knowing that we can bring the person who is responsible to justice.”

Lainez worked as a landscaper and the day of the accident he was heading to work. He is Salvadorian and the majority of his family lives in Washington, D.C., but he lived with his wife in Santa Cruz.