The other day I was out on an early morning bike ride through South Portland’s Willard Square, on my way to Portland Head Light, and I came across a situation that I thought was worth sharing.

For those of you that know the area well and frequent Scratch Baking Co., you understand what a challenge it can be to maneuver through that area early in the morning. Whether on a bicycle, in a car, or walking through the area, it’s a very busy place with a lot of moving parts.

For example, people getting in and out of their vehicles and crossing into the street or vehicles pulling in an out of adjacent parking spaces while others wait for that spot; people like myself on bicycles riding through; people standing in line on the sidewalk; lots of distracting things that make it challenging to be aware of everything going on around you.

Being a transportation engineer, I’m always thinking about ways to improve safety, so I thought I’d share a few of my thoughts while riding through the area on my bike, with the hope that others will take these safety considerations into account the next time you’re in the area or find yourself in a similar situation.

For those on a bike:

· Make sure you can be seen (flashing headlights and taillights on your bike help increase your visibility).

· Be extra alert and cautious, reduce speed through the area, and yield to pedestrians.

· As you approach parked vehicles, be alert, assume the driver in the vehicle doesn’t see you, slow down and be prepared to stop quickly.

· Check to see if it’s safe to share the lane and use appropriate hand signals to take the lane and avoid a car door opening.

· Do everything you can to make sure the driver of the vehicle can see or hear you.

For those driving in a vehicle through the area:

· Be extra alert and cautious, reduce speed through the area, and yield to pedestrians and bicyclists.

· As you approach parked vehicles, be alert, assume the driver in the other vehicle doesn’t see you, slow down and be prepared to stop quickly.

For those in a parked vehicle:

· Be extra alert and cautious, look in your mirrors and turn your head to check your blind spots before opening your car door, or pulling into the lane.

For pedestrians:

· Use crosswalks to cross the street.

· Do not stand at the landing of a crosswalk unless you are ready to cross the street.

· Make eye contact with drivers before crossing, use the stop, look and wave method for crossing the street.

Tony Grande is a transportation engineer, chair of the Transportation Subcommittee for Age Friendly South Portland and also serves on the South Portland Bike-Ped Committee.

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