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New Elk Grove Bike Overpass to Enhance Pedestrian and Bicycle Access, Prevent Accidents

Residents of Elk Grove can look forward to a new pedestrian and bicycle bridge over highway 99, making access to the rest of the city easier, and preventing bicycle and pedestrian accidents.

The city has been granted funds of $900,000 for construction of a pedestrian and bicycle overpass. The bridge will connect the eastern and western sections of the city, and will enhance access to commercial and business areas, parks, schools, etc. Currently, pedestrians and bicyclists have no other choice but to travel through busy intersections and around other motorists to get around.

The mayor’s office has released a statement that expresses gratitude to the state of California for the funds, which comes during a difficult financial time. The California Department of Transportation’s “Safe Routes to School Program” is funding the $900,000 grant.  Local agencies in Elk Grove and the Sacramento area Council of Governments are also contributing to the funds.  The bridge project is expected to begin in 2011, and is expected to be completed by 2012.

The Safe Routes to School Program goes back 10 years, and funds efforts to enhance safety, and promote bicycling and walking in a community. The program aims at encouraging communities to help children safely walk and bike to school. The program is implemented by individual departments of transportation in each state, and works by bringing together people in the community, identifying issues and solutions to these, planning and implementing these plans. The state DOT does not provide all the funding, and a mix of local and private funding, besides state grants, is necessary to move the program forward.

By the time the bicycle and pedestrian bridge is complete, it will link eastern and western parts of the city, and will be the only bicycle and pedestrian-friendly crossing of highway 99. The implications of this bridge, and the kind of results it will have on safety in Elk Grove, are huge. With the bridge meant exclusively for pedestrians and bicyclists, these people will be able to get across the city without having to ride or walk through crowded streets, and busy intersections. Often, we see that pedestrians and bicyclists are the most vulnerable users of our roads. They are often the target of impatient and aggressive drivers. Many motorists tend to think that roads are only designed for automobiles, and are loath to give pedestrians and bicyclists equal space and rights. In a situation like this, the risk of accidents involving pedestrians and bicyclists becomes stronger.

Accidents involving pedestrians or bicyclist are the most devastating ones. These people have minimal protection from severe injury during impact with another vehicle. Fatalities are often seen in such accidents, and catastrophic injuries are common.  With a bridge that is meant exclusively for them, these people now have a much safer route to get from one end of the town to another.

These are financially difficult times for California, and it must have taken some financial manipulation to make this hefty grant available to the city.  It’s always encouraging to California pedestrian accident lawyers when such projects are undertaken to improve safety for pedestrians as well as bicyclists.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of pedestrian accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

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