An unidentified bicyclist was struck by an unidentified motorist at River Road and Zorn Avenue on Tuesday, May 24 at 7:25a.m. The cyclist was taken to the hospital.
The incident was reported by WAVE3, was tweeted by WHAS11 and a WDRB reporter, and WLKY managed to write two sentences.
The intersection of Zorn and River Road is a pedestrian and cyclist nightmare despite its proximity to some of Louisville’s best recreation amenities. Both Zorn Avenue and River Road carry posted speed limits of 35 miles per hour, but anyone who drives these streets knows that the prevailing speeds are higher than that—made worse by the interchange with Interstate 71 a block away. And the two-lane River Road, which should be one of the best biking corridors in the city, can be downright dangerous from motorists speeding or unsure how to properly pass a cyclist.
A pedestrian path begins here at the Water Tower and heads east, but otherwise there are no sidewalks in the area.
Fortunately, River Road is the subject of a redesign that will bring the Louisville Loop through the area at some point, improving the situation significantly. But right now, River Road and Zorn Avenue are both Dangerous by Design.
Correction: North of Zorn, River Road carries a 45MPH speed limit.
I’ve commuted via bike along that route periodically, and agree the River Road is dangerous for bikes, particularly during rush hour (and I’m not inclined to do so in the future based on incidents like this and the Darryl Issacs accident). I did hear, however, that this particular instance was probably the fault of the cyclist, as I believe he or she was hit going south on River Road through the intersection when the light was green for Zorn traffic. My guess is that the cyclist assumed that a truck entering the intersection was turning left (as 99% of the traffic does at that time of day) and instead the truck went straight into the water tower property. Regardless, I hope he or she has a speedy recovery.
It’s not just rush hour traffic. There are many dump trucks going in and out of Nugent Sand Company hurling rocks and such as they speed past you. I am nervous everyday, driving through here in my car. I can’t even imagine riding my bike through here.
Zorn is ripe for a wide, paved path down the center grassy median for pedestrians and cyclists – similar to what exists on Eastern Parkway. Pedestrians walking along Zorn are forced to choose between slogging through the (often wet, unmowed) grass or dangerously walking along the side of the road itself.