Officials announce changes to trail after fatal bike crash

Park officials announced changes today to the Bloomington bike path where a woman was killed during a collision last week.

Lisa Ann Roden, 50, of Excelsior, died when her bicyclist collided with another on a marked bike path just outside of a tunnel on Thursday at about 6 p.m. Roden was making a left turn into the tunnel when she veered slightly into the incoming bike lane.

She collided head-on with a cyclist who was exiting the tunnel. Roden died, despite wearing a helmet. The other cyclist did not suffer any visible injuries.

In response to the incident, Three Rivers Park District officials will convert the dotted center line to a solid yellow line in the tunnel area to emphasize that bikers must stay to the right and not change lanes.

Park and city officials will also install signs saying "Tunnel-Keep Right-Slow" on both ends of the trail approaching the tunnel.

Officials also plan to develop enhanced public safety efforts to reduce trail speeds, educate about the importance of helmets, and provide information about other trail safety guidelines.

"This trail was designed within existing federal and state guidelines," said Three Rivers Parks superintendent Cris Gears, in a statement. "But now that these safety concerns have been brought into greater focus, we really need to emphasize safety, caution and awareness on our trail system."

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