David: "Education, education, education."

David suggests: "The best way to avoid accidents as a whole is to educate."

Blog Contributor One: I couldn't agree with you more. If more pedestrians and bikers alike were educated we could avoid a number of accidents. Unfortunately, in this short of perfect world, we cannot educated everyone. However, educating people about bike lanes and such can make a significant impact in the long run. I find your suggestion very insightful and perhaps it will lead to a new campaign teaching people the basics of crossing a road–or in our case, crossing bike lanes.

Blog Contributor Two: I hear the whole "... just need to educate..." or "... if only people knew..." and so on mantra a little too often. There are lots of laws; there are professional tax law consultants, marriage law consultants, and we might as well have traffic law consultants. I don't think the issue is one of education; I've been cycling as my primary mode of transportation for over a decade in Boulder, and it's not the law that guides my travel decisions. First and foremost, it's my personal safety. After that, it's convenience–what's the fastest way to get to where I'm going. No amount of "education" is going to change that.

Blog Contributor Three: I think establishing designated bike/skate lanes around campus is the key solution to reducing the havoc for campus traffic. Campus is like a microcosm of the city, there's a lot going on and sometimes you have to get around faster or farther than comfortably walking. We need a way to bike or skate around but just as you mentioned the most dangerous areas on campus are the bike lanes along Broadway and near Folsom. No one even pays attention to the fact that there are designated lanes, they walk aimlessly about and its difficult to go through there. It's hard to imagine that such a highly evolved species would constantly be bumping into each other the way we do.

Blog Contributor Four: Education really is an important first step in making this campus a safer place for all pedestrians, cyclists, and skateboarders. Much of our campus population comes from out of state and very often from a non-cycling community. They really don't understand that a bicycle is considered to be a vehicle or that the lines painted on the pathways aren't just for decoration. They come to a campus and a city that pushes a car-free, environmentally friendly lifestyle, but are never taught how to be a responsible cyclist. I think there are several organizations on campus that could come together and provide comprehensive, mandatory education for cyclists and skateboarders.

Blog Contributor Five: Instead of education, perhaps infrastructure changes may be a way to reduce pedestrian/bicycle congestion. Boulder recently proposed Project New Euclid that plans to retrofit Broadway into a manageable space for both bikers and pedestrians. Unfortunately the project remains two years in the future, pressing the need for current solutions. As a primary bicyclist, I offer two pieces of advice, call it education if you will. My first bit calls out fast riders. Boulder County has over 500 miles of open trails, don't use campus as a single track, downhill experience. My second piece of wisdom asks pedestrians to be a bit more mindful. Stop texting, turn down the iPod, and notice the lane beneath your feet; if it has a bike on it, just move three feet to your right and problem solved. No one party needs to acquire full blame, but we all must work on the same page to find practical solutions.

Blog Contributor Six: I think that the concept of commuter education is an excellent idea. How about instead of issuing $100 tickets to cyclists and other campus commuters for blowing a stop sign, they are required to attend a short, hour-long class about which traffic laws apply and do not apply to them. Many campus commuters are students, and came from places where law enforcement was not as prevalent of an issue as at this university, and they do not realize that there are many basic traffic laws that they would never think of ignoring in a motorized vehicle, which they unfortunately disregard due to ignorance when commuting in a more sustainable manner. I agree-educate!