OPINION: Improving Anchorage road safety and protecting freedom of choice

Anchorage’s trail system is one of our community’s best features. Our investment in quality non-motorized infrastructure empowers Anchorage residents of all ages to choose the outdoors any time of year even when they’re simply en route to a daily destination. But many necessary destinations are beyond the trails and on the road system. People outside cars are terrifyingly vulnerable alongside two-ton machines on the road, and finding a safe and comfortable route to work, the grocery store or a restaurant can be difficult.

On average, 19 people die in vehicle collisions in Anchorage every year, and 43% of those are people walking or riding a bike. Just last week, a woman was killed crossing the Seward Highway in Midtown. A 2022 national report, “Dangerous by Design,” found that those killed are disproportionately people of color — especially Indigenous people. However, we all know someone who was almost hit, on a bike or on foot — perhaps it has even happened to you. The danger springs from the fact that our city was built to move cars, not people. But we can take another route.

This Tuesday, the Anchorage Assembly will consider AO 2023-65, an ordinance to legalize behaviors that improve safety of bicyclists, pedestrians and other vulnerable road users, including the “Anchorage Stop” and crossing the street without penalty.

In 1982, Idaho needed to lighten the load on its court system. Legislators decided that requiring every bicyclist to fully stop at every stop sign was not important enough to issue a citation. Instead, they allowed bicyclists to slow down at a stop sign and proceed if the coast was clear. This minimizes the time that a bicyclist spends in intersections — the most dangerous part of the road system. The year after Idaho’s legislation took effect, collisions involving bicyclists declined by 14.5%. Delaware was next, and saw a 23% reduction in stop-sign crashes. Now, nine states have adopted the “stop-as-yield” component of the “Idaho Stop.”

For the “Anchorage Stop,” AO 2023-65 proposes allowing all vulnerable road users, not just bikes, to yield at stop signs. This will extend the safety benefit to everyone who needs it most.

The second component of the Idaho Stop allows bicyclists to treat red lights like stop signs. In addition to Idaho, this component has been successfully implemented in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Colorado. We’d like to see this here, too. Most stop lights in Anchorage are not equipped to detect bicycles, and signalized intersections are dangerous places for bicyclists to linger.

Rules of the road are necessary to keep everyone safe. But the current rules in Anchorage were designed specifically for cars. Yielding at a red light on a bike is much safer than running a red light in a car — for the bicyclist and for everyone around them. But the onus will still be on bicyclists to ensure the way is clear and to yield to pedestrians.

The same argument can be made for pedestrians, which is why the latest version of AO 2023-65 would legalize “jaywalking.” In 2019, Anchorage city officials surveyed pedestrians, half of whom admitted they do not always cross the street using marked crosswalks, because it’s faster or more convenient to cross elsewhere. In Anchorage, a pedestrian typically does not automatically get a crosswalk signal, but must instead press the button and then wait until the cycle comes back around. Even with a walk signal, drivers continue turning across the crosswalk from three directions, creating a dangerous and chaotic environment. It’s no wonder that some people choose mid-block crossings, where traffic is coming from only two directions and they don’t have to wait on a corner that feels dangerous. This safety-seeking behavior should not be penalized.

Additionally, the ordinance codifies some important definitions for the first time — things like protected bike lanes, buffered bike lanes, cycle tracks and vulnerable road users. This will help create a shared language for active transportation infrastructure in Anchorage. Notably, our definition acknowledges that protected bike lanes can either be permanent infrastructure or temporarily installed on a seasonal basis.

Alaskans love having freedom of choice, so Anchorage should be a place where you have the freedom to choose among multiple safe and comfortable transportation options. AO 2023-65 is a step closer to that reality. When you walk, ride, roll or drive, we wish you safe travels on whatever route you choose.

Emily Weiser is the Board President of Bike Anchorage, a volunteer-driven nonprofit dedicated to realizing a vision of a vibrant, livable and healthy community where it is safe and practical to go by bike.

Daniel Volland represents District 1, North Anchorage, on the Anchorage Assembly.

Anna Brawley represents District 3, West Anchorage, on the Anchorage Assembly.

Karen Bronga represents District 5, East Anchorage, on the Anchorage Assembly.

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