SANTA CRUZ, Calif.--Bicyclists Pushing For New Trail Along Highway 1. People who ride their bikes along Highway 1 in Santa Cruz are worried about their safety. It's one of the most popular places to go but now safety of the trails along the road are in question after 39-year old Josh Laven was hit by a car and killed last month.
Many people travel up and down Highway 1 riding their bike from professional riders to families. Cars travel about 60 miles per hour along the highway which raises concerns on whether bikers should be out on the road. Many bicyclists told Central Coast News that if a rail trail was built along the road they would feel more safe.
"There's probably anywhere from 100 to a thousand bikers a day on this read so they're definitely need to be something to make it a lot safer because even though it is a highway bikers do frequently a lot," said Nick Ericksen.
Many bikers say investing in a rail trail along the highway would be a good plan. "It's a great idea absolutely. It'd be a lot safer than what conditions are right here right now," said Nick Young.
Joan Leitner is the woman who found 39 year old Josh Laven laying on the side of the road after a driver hit him and drove off. The accident happened over a month ago and since then she's felt committed to making the route Josh took safer for all bikers. "It's a very popular ride for people even from other countries to come and ride our coastline. We don't provide them a safe way to do that," said Leitner.
On Sunday Joan met with Josh Laven's mother at the scene where he died. She says she's reached out to local cyclist groups and CHP about making a safer trail. Right now the current bike trail ends at Wilder Ranch, but if cyclists want to keep riding they're forced to stay on the highway. Joan says her goal is to get the current bike trail extended. "It would remove the bicyclists from highway one in that section and have a buffered bike lane where they're not competing with the cars and all," said Leitner.
A new bike trail will be costly but Joan says no matter what the price is, building a new trail is something that needs to be done now. "The cost of this shouldn't be a deterrent. We can come up with ways to do this. It's not worth another person dying over this before people say okay its time," said Leitner.
CHP is still looking for the person who hit Josh Laven. The vehicle was described as a 2002-2005 Dodge Ram with damage to the front passenger side.
Josh's family and other bikers are hoping to raise $10,000 for a reward to anyone with information about who hit and killed him. Money is also being raised to help pay for a bike trail that would extend from Santa Cruz to Davenport.
Donations can be given at Chase Manhattan Bank in the name of Josh's mom, Jennifer Putnam. A PayPal account has also been set up under forJoshSquash@gmail.com.
Another donation site has been set up at www.giveforward.com/JoshuaRaineLavensFund
Family members believe if a Coastal Rail Trail were in place, their son would still be alive today.
