AUGUSTA, Maine — The Bicycle Coalition of Maine is tracking 50 bills this legislative session and gained some powerful allies in its push to make Maine roads more accessible for cyclists and pedestrians.
Coalition members took a symbolic ride to the State House on Thursday morning before discussing a few priority bills, with language that includes offering e-bike rebates to low-income Mainers, requiring traffic safety lessons in schools, and funding more trail systems statewide.
But, above all, the theme among those who spoke was that speed kills.
According to the National Safety Council, speeding was a factor in 29 percent of all traffic fatalities in 2020. For coalition executive director Jean Sideris, the biggest obstacle on the roads is speeding cars.
"Fundamentally, we all want to be safe out there on the road," Sideris told NEWS CENTER Maine after the discussion. "And slowing down vehicles, slowing down traffic, creating these other spaces does also make it safe for the drivers. And that’s where we really want to find the common ground, is how do we all be safe out there and be able to move safely?"
Joyce Taylor, MaineDOT's chief engineer, joined the coalition in support Thursday, saying Mainers have a right to bike on roads without fear of being killed. She pointed to her newly published transportation plan, with goals to review Maine's longstanding roadways for potential changes.
"We have a lot of roads with no shoulders or very small shoulders," Taylor explained in an interview before her remarks to the coalition. "It makes it uncomfortable to bike. And so, we're looking at areas, 'Where can we add shoulders? What does make sense?' And then there are just other roads where, probably, bicyclists are fine because it's just such a low amount of traffic on them."
The coalition brought e-bikes for members or onlookers to try after the discussion.