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Caution: Bicycles at the Main Gate

(Image - Bike Lane) "Last week as I cycled up Sand Hill Road and turned left into the main gate, a driver coming from 280 didn't look before merging and turning right," said SLAC employee Roland Kurz. "That was the second time in the past few months that I've almost been hit. Passing through SLAC's main gate is the worst part of my commute."

Kurz's story is not unusual. Over the past few weeks, security guards have noticed an increase in vehicles failing to yield to bicyclists at SLAC's main gate. The majority of these safety concerns result from drivers not slowing down or not merging with enough care.

"To keep everyone safe, we ask both drivers and cyclists to be cautious when approaching the main gate," says Simon Ovrahim.

Ovrahim specifically asks drivers approaching SLAC from the west on Sand Hill Road to pay special attention to eastbound cyclists turning across traffic at Saga Lane into SLAC's main gate. Ovrahim also once again urges drivers not to cross into the bike lane until the white line becomes broken (see above image). Drivers merging early run the risk of hitting unseen bicyclists or other drivers who are merging after the solid white line ends.

Security also asks that once drivers turn into SLAC they refrain from passing bicyclists.

"When cyclists enter SLAC in the right lane, they often swerve left to give the guard a better view of their ID, coming too close to vehicles entering in the same lane," says Ovrahim. "We ask all drivers to slow down and proceed through the gate with caution."

—Kelen Tuttle, January 19, 2007

Above image: The Sand Hill Road bike lane (Image courtesy of Simon Ovrahim)