Opinion: Cycling is important aspect of transportation
By Paul Gaffney, Via
While I do work for an auto club, I still ride a bike. I’m happy to report that I’m not alone. Cycling is on the rise in most parts of the country. People ride for fun, for exercise, and, increasingly, just to get from here to there. According to a Rutgers University study, the number of bike commuters in the United States grew 64 percent over the past two decades.
The two-wheeled, self-propelled commute is especially strong in major cities such as New York, Minneapolis, Chicago, and Portland, pushed on by improvements in cycling infrastructure and bike-friendly public policies and programs. In San Francisco, where an annual city bike count shows a 71 percent jump over the last five years, riders benefit from such initiatives as Sunday Streets, which closes certain streets to cars and opens them to bicycles and other people-powered modes of transportation.
Paul Gaffney
“There’s also no discounting the importance of word of mouth,” says Kit Hodge, deputy director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, a nonprofit advocacy group. “People are seeing their friends, family, and coworkers ride, and it’s just becoming part of their lives.”
May is National Bike Month, but don’t let the calendar limit when you ride. With the current price of gas, cycling is good for your wallet. It’s also good for your health and good for the environment. It might even put you in a better mood. There’s something liberating about hopping on a bike that brings back a freewheeling sensation of childhood and learning to fly without training wheels.
Gee….where have I heard that before??
Interesting that this comes from the President of AAA which is largely focused on motorized vehicle travel.
The times they are a’changin’.
As we struggle to revive our sputtering local economy by moving toward sustainability, it would behoove local officials to pay particular attention to the following (abridged) part of Mr. Gaffney’s article:
“The two-wheeled, self-propelled commute is …. pushed on by improvements in cycling infrastructure and bike-friendly public policies and programs. In San Francisco,…an annual city bike count shows a 71 percent jump over the last five years….” “There’s also no discounting the importance of word of mouth,” says Kit Hodge, deputy director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, a nonprofit advocacy group. “People are seeing their friends, family, and coworkers ride, and it’s just becoming part of their lives.”
This is important to us locally as so many of our visitors and part-time residents come from the San Francisco Bay area. By improving cycling infrastructure and policies (like fixing massive cracks on streets and bike paths and NOT piling snow where it blocks bike paths for months after surrounding snow has melted), traffic and lake/air pollution will both be decreased. Public health issues like obesity and heart disease (and their massive costs) are also reduced when people become more physically active. Cyclists would flock here for the mountain air, scenery and chance to visit other recreational venues WITHOUT USING THEIR CARS WHILE HERE……IF… we can offer a safe and enjoyable network of bike paths/lanes. Physical activity makes you both hungry and tired so lodging and food service also benefit. Visiting cyclists, as a group, have more disposable income so all businesses would see a bump. Even a well-known local fly fishing store sees a bump in business during Curtis Fongs 2 large annual bike events.
While acknowledging that many improvements are “in the works”, we are still years away from any significant improvement in our cycling infrastructure and connectivity at the current pace. When are local officials finally going to acknowledge this and REALLY put it on the front burner?
BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME…AND TELL THEIR FRIENDS.