On November 8th, Senator Nelson held the third and final Roundtable hearing with the Department of Public Works (DPW) and members from the Cycling Community.
Over the past couple of months, they have held several roundtable hearings and work session meetings to develop solutions to ensure bicycle-motorist safety.
During the Roundtable Hearing, DPW Director Vincent Arriola presented the DPW
Bicycle Accommodation Improvements for bicycle routes broken up into three, North,
South, and Central routes.
These accommodations include using existing shoulders as bike lanes, new road signage, and clearing and cleaning shoulders. DPW also mentioned that they would be doing a Public Relations Campaign to get this information out to the public so that everyone is aware of the projects they’ll be working on in the coming months.
“Since the start of COVID-19, we have seen a lot of people becoming more active.
There has been a rise in cyclists, and unfortunately, auto-cyclist accidents are on the
rise too. It is so important that we make the roads safer for all motorists, cyclists, and
pedestrians,” said Senator Nelson.
In the second half of the hearing, Eric Tydingco from the Guam Cycling Federation
proposed modifying the current cycling law. Current Guam law states that cyclists must
remain on the outermost right lane. He suggested that a new Bill be drafted to allow cyclists to ride in the middle of the lane and have motorists move to the next lane to pass.
He also hopes to work with Senator Nelson to designate the outer lanes on Marine Drive for cyclists only on the weekend from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
“I’d like to thank the stakeholders for their collaboration on this project, and I look
forward to having the bicycle lanes implemented. This will help to ensure everyone’s
safety and will prevent further accidents, injuries, and deaths,” Senator Nelson added.
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