Resident Mark Goodley has grown a beard because he can’t shave; it hides the scars where the plastic surgeon stitched his face together after the crash.
Goodley and his wife Susan attended Monday night's Newport Beach bike safety committee meeting to share the details of their bike versus car crash last month in Corona del Mar. I picked him up at his home and drove him to the meeting; it was the first time we’d met in person. He’s not riding his bike; it was destroyed. He can’t shake hands or do much with his right arm because he got banged up pretty good on Sunday, June 10 when a motorist making a left turn across Coast Highway at Iris hit him.
On the way to the meeting Mark had many questions about Sharrows, the safety feature coming soon to this same stretch of road in CdM. It will take awhile, but the intent is to alert both motorists and cyclists that the narrow travel lanes and the proximity of the parked cars means that cyclists can and should ride in the center of the right lane as they move through town.
“I knew of the Bike Safety meetings and I thought about attending, but something would always come up,” Goodley said.
But he was at the meeting last night and I expect to see him each month from now on — safety on the roads isn’t something Mark takes for granted anymore.
At the end of the meeting my wife heard Susan Goodley say, “See you July 10th.” That’s when the City Council takes up the issue of Sharrows. Want to learn more about this safety feature? Watch the video.
