Subject: BIKE: Bicyclist injured in collision with bus on Guadalupe
Date: 11/4/00 2:15 AM
From: Michael Bluejay
To: austin-bikes@topica.com
 
From the (Wednesday) Daily Texan
 
 
Bicyclist injured in collision with bus on Guadalupe
 
Bicyclist Anneke Pfister, 28, was admitted to Brackenridge Hospital after
a 10:51 a.m. collision Tuesday with a northbound Capital Metro Route 1
bus at the corner of Guadalupe and 26th streets. Pfister suffered injury
after the rear of the bus rolled over her legs. Pfister remains in fair
condition.
 
By Julie Nolen
Daily Texan Staff
 
A bicyclist was in fair condition at Brackenridge Hospital Tuesday
evening after a Capital Metro bus ran over her legs as it drove north on
Guadalupe .
 
At 10:51 a.m., 28-year-old Anneke Pfister's bicycle handlebars grazed the
side of the North Lamar bus, causing her to fall into its path, said
Laura Albrecht, a spokeswoman for the Austin Police Department.
 
Both were traveling north at the intersection of Dean Keeton and
Guadalupe Streets when the accident happened, Albrecht said.
 
Pfister was injured on a portion of Guadalupe where there is no bicycle
lane.
 
Heather Meed, an English freshman who called 911, said she didn't see the
accident happen but did see Pfister immediately afterward.
 
"I couldn't see much ... but I saw her shoe fly off and ran over and
called 911," Meed said. "She kept yelling, 'My leg, my leg, I can't move
my leg.'"
 
Another witness, Lisa Gindy, a nursing sophomore, said APD, the Austin
Fire Department and Emergency Medical Services responded quickly.
 
Pfister was transported to Brackenridge Hospital. The extent of her leg
injuries was not available Tuesday night.
 
Sylvia Lemberski, a biology senior who was on the bus when Pfister was
injured, said the bus driver didn't realize he had hit Pfister.
 
"When this woman told him he had hit her, he said, 'I didn't hit her,'"
Lemberski said. "I don't think he knew."
 
Brian Roe, Capital Metro's public relations manager, said the driver was
sent home for the day and will be required to undergo drug and alcohol
testing as part of their standard procedure. An APD investigation is
ongoing.
 
Rebecca Beard, an advertising junior and bicyclist, said Guadalupe is a
dangerous street on which to ride.
 
"They say no biking on the sidewalk, but there's no bike lane. Where are
we supposed to go?" Beard said. "We're not a car, we can't do the same
things a car can do we're too small."
 
While Guadalupe has a bicycle lane along part of its length, it only
extends from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to 24th Street.
 
Linda DuPriest, bicycle and pedestrian coordinator for the City of Austin
Public Works and Transportation Services, said there is not enough room
on Guadalupe to extend existing bicycle lanes.
 
"We'd have to take out the sidewalks in front of those businesses or run
into the UT buildings," DuPriest said. "It's just not physically
possible."
 
DuPriest added that there are alternate routes with bicycle lanes to
escape the heavy traffic of Guadalupe , such as Rio Grande Street and
Speedway.
 
"If nothing else, you can get off your bike and walk on the sidewalk,"
DuPriest said.
 
DuPriest added that Capital Metro bus drivers have been responsible
drivers and are good about driving around bicyclists near campus.
 
Roe said Capital Metro implemented a bicycle- and pedestrian-safety
program that has reduced bicycle accidents 54 percent since March.
 
The program teaches drivers how to anticipate the reactions of bicyclists
and pedestrians by assessing road conditions like a bicyclist would. The
program was created in cooperation with the Texas Bicycle Coalition.
 
Roe added that the Texas Chapter of Public Risk Management Association is
awarding Capital Metro a Risk Management Achievement Award for the
program this week.
 
"Our drivers need to understand they're sharing the roads with
pedestrians and cyclists," said Mark Ostertag, Capital Metro's safety
coordinator, in a statement. "We want to make sure they understand what
to watch out for."
 
 
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