Ride of Silence Honors Cyclists Injured or Killed by Motorists

A solemn procession of bicycles will pedal through Doylestown streets Wednesday evening as riders participate in the worldwide Ride of Silence to honor cyclists who have been injured or lost their lives in traffic accidents.

It’ll be the third year that Doylestown will serve as a ride location. There are eight scheduled for Pennsylvania, and 292 internationally.

According to Pennsylvania Department of Transportation figures for 2010, 21 bicyclists were killed last year in roadway crashes. The numbers have increased, with 16 fatalities in 2009 and eight in 2008.

Nationally, 630 bicyclists died in 2009, latest figures released by The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and 51,000 were injured in motor vehicle accidents.

The event started in Dallas in 2003 as a one-time memorial ride for a fallen cyclist. It has since grown to become a yearly international ride that is held the third Wednesday of May.

The six-mile, slow-paced ride, escorted by police and emergency vehicles, will start at the parking lot of War Memorial Stadium on War Memorial Drive.

While the ride begins at 7 p.m., riders are encouraged to come as early as 6 in order to park, listen to remarks and register.

Participating riders will be given black or red armbands, with black honoring those who’ve been killed and red signifying those who’ve been injured.

Doylestown Deputy Borough Manager Phil Ehlinger, himself an avid cyclist, said the first ride held in the borough had more than 200 riders.

“It was the biggest ride in the northeast that year, so we’re proud of this event,” he said.

“Even though it’s a serious occasion, there’s a lot of camaraderie in the group.”

The route takes the group, which rides in silence, throughout town, including Maplewood, and ends up back at War Memorial Stadium’s parking lot.

The event is co-sponsored by the Central Bucks Bicycle Club.

It’s another way to promote cycling in the borough, which aims to become more bike-friendly.

This spring, the borough plans to paint “sharrows,” pavement markings that indicate bicycles may be present in traffic lanes, on some roads. It is not a separate bike lane, since bikes will share the same road as motor vehicles. The painted symbol is two arrows in the correct direction of traffic with a bicycle underneath.

The move is designed to create safer conditions for cyclists, making streets more bike-friendly.

The borough biking bulletin, an insert in the spring-summer edition of the borough’s newsletter, said sharrows will be placed on a section of Bike & Hike trail that routes along streets in the Old Orchard section of the borough (Forest, Hickory and Orchard drives).

Doylestown’s Environmental Advisory Council also has proposed sharrows on several other streets including Ashland, West and Court streets. Officials plan to approach PennDOT about placing them on State Street as well.