What A Week It's Been!

What a week it’s been!

In addition to a great conversation with Chuck Marohn from Strong Towns (next episode drops tomorrow,) there have been SO many stories about bike lanes, eMotos, and even insurance claims – 100% of which were NOT theft related by the way - at least in that story!

As the midterm elections loom this fall, it seems that all these stories – while often BIG headlines the day they are published – quickly fade into the background.

I’m not suggesting that the upcoming midterm elections aren’t important; but as you will hear in my conversation with Chuck, the way we ALL can make a difference is to participate locally.

Let’s look at a couple of stories and unpack them to see what a local response might do to improve things.

Take the objection(s) to the bike lanes in Chicago as reported by the Wall Street Journal’s Joe Barrett on July 30^th. The headline reads: “Chicago’s New Bike Lanes Spark A Rebellion From Businesses.”

Business objections weren’t about high speeds or congestion or crashes; rather they were chiefly about the loss of parking spaces. And for the most part those objections are being taken into consideration by the City.

Using Chuck’s logic about “stroads” though – that streets are different from roads and there should be a delineation – city planners and bike advocates would have had more ammunition to explain how important it is to slow traffic on city streets, give non-driving folks some courtesies, and keep high-speed traffic on the outskirts of the city.

Local businesses have found that, in the long run, they do just as well financially with fewer parking spaces and the likelihood of crashes that injure pedestrians and cyclists are reduced or even become nonexistent. Businesses that adapt to the new street configurations - such as adding outdoor dining and easy walk-up options - thrive.

What the article didn’t get into was any data backing up either side – a business owner who says his business is down 30% just because of parking may not be taking anything else into consideration such as street construction in the area or a redesign of an intersection, both of which could lead to temporary business losses and not to the addition of a bike lane.

To help back up some of the statistical facts about the positive effect bike lanes can have, Mark W from a blog called BikePush published his May 27^th commentary, “The Surprising Ways Bicycling Is Healing Our Cities,”

In it, Mark talks about Mental Health, Green Cities, Economic Vitality, Safety, Community Connection, and more. All of these things are positive and he backs up his commentary with details and data!

So, where is the disconnect? Why aren’t we acknowledging that the auto-centric city is dangerous and then doing something about it?

When I publish these commentaries, I receive so much positive feedback and I wonder if those offering their thumbs up here are also showing up at their local town meetings, joining advocacy groups, or running for local councils?

We know that the funding that was promised was snatched back ostensibly because bike lanes are “woke.”

There must be more to it than that, and we can do something about it.

If we are serious about improving our plight out on the roads – making them safer for us, our children, our grandchildren, and future generations – it’s up to us now to speak up!

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