Streetcar tracks major cause of serious downtown cycling crashes, new study finds

Researchers in Toronto and British Columbia have discovered something that many cyclists have found out the hard way: streetcar tracks can be ahazard to your health.

The study,by researchers at Ryerson University and the University of British Columbia,found that about a third of all serious bike crashes that took place in downtown Toronto were caused bystreetcar tracks.

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"We're hoping that putting some numbers [against this] will help setpriorities," saysAnne Harris,one of the study's co-authors. Speaking toHere and Now's Gill Deacon, Harris explained that while there are some measures cyclists can take to protect themselves, infrastructure changes and especially building separated bike lanes is the best remedy.

The study, published last weekin the journalBMC Public Health,looked at276 bike crashes that happened in Toronto's downtown core betweenMay2008 and November2009andwere serious enough to require hospitalization. Researchersfound that 87 of those spills happened after the cyclists' tires either became caught in the tracks, or skidded across them.

They said the crashes happened most often on streets that contained parked cars and which had no bike lanes.

'Areal spaghetti of tracks'

"Training and attention, these are all good things to advocate for, but one good thing that really offers protection is physical protection ... a separated bike lane," Harris says.

The study's authors say they hope the findings will spur urban designers to create more of thoselanes, and as well aslight rail networks with their own rights-of-way, which also reduce the number of accidents.

"Cyclists who are injured on these tracks reported circumstances like having to maneuveraround other road users," Harris explains. That maneuvering means that bike riders often get caught in the flangeways the openings through which streetcarsrollthrough the tracks.

Cyclists turning left were also at a high risk of streetcar track-related accidents, the study found. Intersections can be "a real spaghetti of tracks," says Harris, "which can make it really difficult to cross at the recommended 90 degree angle."

Fatter tires might not help

Aside from building more separated bike lanes and rail systems with their own rights-of-way, the researchers recommend that cyclists be encouraged to use bikes with wider tires. Most bikes on the road today have tires that are"still narrower than the narrowest point on that flangeway," Harris says.

But that may not be enough, according to Ross Lyle, head mechanic at Toronto's Bikes on Wheels. "People think a big fat tire is going to be okay. A streetcar track is way wider than you think and it'll accept anything," he told CBC's Ali Chiasson. "So there's really no bike that's better for it."

His safety advice? "It's really just about paying attention."