Bicyclists: please use care on Hogback and Carolina
Published 8:30 pm Wednesday, June 9, 2010
To the Editor:
Bicyclists like to use the hills up Carolina Drive and up Hogback Mountain Road on to train. It also must be a thrill to go back down the hill.
It is an extremely dangerous ride down. Unlike the Saluda Grade and Greenville Watershed, that also look like great rides, there are a large number of driveways and several cross streets. Not that anyone likes noise for noise sake, but you can hear cars and trucks coming when you cant see them.&bsp; A beauty of bicycles is the quiet but you cant hear bicycles coming. That makes even pedestrians, with or without companions, like dogs, a potential hazard to bicyclists.
We live near the corner of Carolina Drive and Braewick Road. Both stop signs on Braewick are frequently not obeyed. It is a matter of time until a bicyclist is fatally injured at an intersection, at one of the driveways, or at the old hospital. Even if&bsp; a driver comes to a complete stop at the stop sign and proceeds properly, a bike coming down the hill on Carolina at their high rates of speed probably cant avoid the vehicle if it is slowly crossing Carolina Drive.
My points are: we love having the bikers, but would ask that they use caution coming down the hills and use moderate speed. Bike riders have the majority of the bodily risk, but a pedestrian could also be seriously injured by a cyclist. Since not all bikers will have an opportunity to read this please remind your fellow riders.
There was an accident this week that resulted in unnecessary pain and an ambulance ride to the rider involved.
Jim and Kathy Wright