SALT LAKE CITY — People in one Salt Lake City neighborhood have renewed concern now for the safety of cyclists.
It comes after an SUV hit a man on his bike Thursday at Guardsman Way and Sunnyside Avenue.
Liz Memmott saw the aftermath and said she began shaking because it reminded her of a similar accident that she was involved in last September, when she was struck by a car while bicycling home from work.
Memmott said it happened less than a mile from Thursday’s incident.
“It brought back that trauma of my own experience, and that bicycle looked far worse than what happened to me,” she explained. “It’s not right. Cyclists should feel safe on the streets here, so hopefully saying something will matter.”
FOX 13 News brought Memmott’s concerns to Jon Larsen, Salt Lake City’s transportation director, and asked about plans to make Sunnyside and the intersecting streets safer.
“Over the years, we keep chipping away at making it more safe and comfortable,” Larsen said.
More recently, the city made changes to the Foothill Drive and Sunnyside Avenue intersection so it could be more comfortable for cyclists and pedestrians to use.
They’re now working on minor safety enhancements with crosswalks on Sunnyside going from Guardsman to 1300 East. Larsen said they just started the planning and designing process.
“I do think that we are going to have to continually take a look at that section, maybe between Guardsman and Foothill again,” he said.
As for Memmott, she still hasn’t been back on a bicycle since her accident. She says she is hopeful she can soon, but she first wants to feel safe while doing it, so for now she’ll be watching to see what changes are made.
