Per request: cycling deaths are on the rise in the US

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One good thing that happened during the pandemic is that people got out their old bikes or bought new ones and started riding them.

And across the country, cities are trying to accommodate this boom in cycling by developing more bike lanes and trails.

But amid a sharp increase in fatalities and serious injuries among cyclists hit by cars and trucks, some cycling advocates say there's often a disconnect between efforts to encourage more biking and ensuring the safety of bicyclists who are using streets that are primarily designed to move cars and trucks through city neighborhoods and urban centers quickly.

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Like many cities, Chicago has been adding bike lanes to its street grid, painting white stripes 4 to 6 feet apart feet on certain thoroughfares, giving cyclists their own lane.

But Rynell says drivers often don't respect them. She's speaking from a spot on Chicago's busiest cycling street, Milwaukee Avenue, where two cyclists have been killed while riding in the bike lane, one of them earlier this month.

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Improving urban transportation safety for all users starts with putting cyclists, pedestrians and those using scooters, e-bikes and other alternative mobility modes on a level playing field with car and truck drivers, says P.S. Sriraj, director of the Urban Transportation Center at the University of Illinois - Chicago.

"There is this lack of awareness about sharing the road between different modes, between motorists and bicyclists," he says.

"The U.S. has this perception about modes other than automobiles being inferior and that needs to be addressed right from the get go," Sriraj adds.

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