18 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY JULY 30-AUGUST 5, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com Can advocates make local streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers? By Aric Sleeper ROAD SHARE We’re all going places, whether it’s work, school or the grocery store, and no matter how we get from point A to B—by car, bike, e-bike or our own two feet— there’s always a risk we could be seriously injured or killed, even when we obey speed limits, yield, check all our blind spots, and stay vigilant of other travelers. Consider a sunny, dry day in December 2025, when 66-year-old Seth Pollack was out on his regular morning bike ride on 17 Mile Drive in Pebble Beach, wearing a helmet, as usual. As Pollack was heading north, crossing the intersection of Crespi Lane, the driver of an incoming SUV, Dana Rene Lauchlan, was heading south and making a left-hand turn onto Crespi Lane. According to court documents, Lauchlan failed to yield while she was turning, and struck Pollack, who flew into her windshield, smashing it, and was then propelled upward and down through the moonroof of the 2011 Toyota Venza and into Lauchlan’s backseat. Pollack was declared dead from blunt force injuries at the scene. Lauchlan told investigators that the sun was in her eyes and she didn’t even see him coming. He left behind his wife, Naomi, and two adult daughters, who filed a lawsuit in March against Lauchlan, who was also charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter for Pollack’s death. It is safe to say that neither Pollack nor Lauchlan left their homes that morning thinking that their outing would end in tragedy. Although there are many completed and ongoing projects to make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists to get around Monterey County, like the Monterey Bay Coastal Recreation Trail or Rec Trail and the Fort Ord Regional Trail and Bikeway (FORTAG), “We have a long, long way to go,” according to Mari Lynch, founder and volunteer custodian of the website Bicycling Monterey. The URL has served as an information hub for all things bicycle-related in the county since 2009 and runs entirely on donations and elbow grease. “In an ideal world, we would have bike lanes with a physical barrier everywhere,” Lynch says. “That’s what’s needed. The reason more people don’t bike is primarily the fear of cars, and you can’t blame them.” Comparing Monterey County bicycle and pedestrian safety statistics with similar California Mari Lynch, founder and volunteer custodian of the website Bicycling Monterey, has been laboring for infrastructural and policy improvements to make the road system safer for pedestrians and cyclists in Monterey County for nearly two decades. DANIEL DREIFUSS DANIEL DREIFUSS
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