Dozens of bike turnouts on Mount Diablo make summit cycling safer
DANVILLE (KPIX) -- The mix of cars and bicycles on the road to Mount Diablo has long been a dangerous combination but the situation is improving thanks to the innovation of some local cyclists.
Rick Edmondson knows the dangers of cycling on Mount Diablo all too well. In December, the Danville resident rounded a corner and collided head on with an oncoming car that was completely in his lane and Rick ended up in a ditch on the side of the road.
He was in the hospital for four days and, with two metal plates in his arm, he's dealing with the psychological impacts of the crash.
"Every time I see a car coming the other way, it's like, 'Oh no!' I can't crash like that again," he said.
It's been a problem for a long time. Cars trying to pass slow-moving bikes on blind curves swerve into the opposing lane, right into the path of other cyclists. So, some members of a group called Mount Diablo Cyclists began pushing for a fix and, in 2014, they came up with an idea.
"Eighty percent of the collisions on the mountain were occurring on or near blind curves and what can we do to prevent that?" said Mount Diablo Cyclists president Alan Kalin. "We realized we could modify a bike lane into a bike turnout."
The turnouts look like normal bike lanes that flare out at blind curves. Slow uphill cyclists move into their designated bike path, allowing cars to pass while staying in its own lane.
The group got a few of the turnouts installed in a 2016 pilot program and the results were so striking that 30 more of them are being constructed.
"They only exist on this mountain. What you see here was created here," said Kalin. "I have been contacted by other states. They're curious: 'What is a bike turnout and how does it really work?'"
In a few months, there will be 47 turnouts on the mountain and they're coming at a good time.
Shima Sakata rides an e-bike and says the emergence of power-assisted bicycles is making the trek up Diablo possible for a lot more people.
"Just having any turnouts will help inexperienced people and experienced people and inexperienced drivers," Sakata said.
The southern gate to the park is closed while the construction is happening but the word is already spreading among cyclists that, while the ride up Mount Diablo is still challenging, it doesn't have to be death-defying.
"Once these cutouts got placed, there were just fewer altercations and it was a better experience for everyone," said Walnut Creek cyclist Yvonne Wu. "The drivers in the cars were actually cheering cyclists on as opposed to honking at them. So, I'm excited."
The turnouts will be installed in three phases: the southern section, the summit and the northern section. If all goes well, Kalin said, construction could be completed by the beginning of October.
