This thread has been pretty fascinating and highlights the need for a broader community conversation about the place of bikes in our public spaces. I did want to say thanks to Marsha for her commitment to seeking community input and specifically for including “Bikies” in her ask. While I was/am a little disappointed that the idea to prohibit bicycle use from the path that winds through Orton Park was the starting point for the conversation (rather than raising the issue of potential bike/ped conflict and asking for ideas to address it), I really respect your decision to cast a wider net for input. You could have looked instead to gather input from just the most local neighbors and I appreciate that you didn’t do that. I think that speaks to your strength as a leader/alder and I wanted to acknowledge it.
Many of the responses I’ve read have affected me at an emotional level (sad, frustrated, exasperated) and I’ve truly been surprised at how quickly many are to dismiss the needs/desires of people that ride bikes. While I know it's not intentional, I feel discriminated against. I feel frustrated that I have to explain why I shouldn't be banned from this park. Yes, I know that I could get off my bike and still access the park, but that's not how I use it. And despite one "bike commuter's" assertion that there's nothing romantic about riding through the park, it absolutely gives me joy. I wanted to share this blog post <http://alittlemoresauce.com/2014/08/20/what-my-bike-has-taught-me-about-white-privilege/> from last year that might do a better job of explaining how some of us who really rely on our bikes to get us where we need to go experience things. It may help shed some light on why many “bikies” often come across as angry. It might help explain why what seems like a little thing is actually a very big thing. (Why do they need to ride there when they can just go around? Why do they need to sit in the front of the bus when they can sit in the back?) It might give some pause before supporting further limiting access to public space by people on bikes. But mostly, I wanted to encourage people that care about public safety to put this conversation in context. While I don’t mean to discount the discomfort that may have been associated with the two individuals that reported being hit/nicked on this path, I’m assuming that if injuries were sustained that that would have been shared as well. Part of the beauty of walking and cycling is that *they aren’t a threat to others*. That doesn’t mean that bike/ped collisions never cause injuries, but it’s invisible in scale to the enormous loss of property, injury, and death caused by motor vehicle operations in our city. Barely more than a month ago a woman on a bicycle was struck and killed by a motor vehicle on Raymond Rd. with no public conversation following about how to prevent it in the future: "Ross says the city would be open to taking a deeper look at this intersection, but at this time he believes the stop signs and crosswalk currently in place are adequate for insuring safety." <http://www.wkow.com/story/29290554/2015/06/10/car-vs-bicycle-crash-in-madison-raises-concerns-about-intersection> Or just last month when this young boy <http://host.madison.com/news/local/crime_and_courts/boy-killed-in-bike-crash-was-budding-jazz-pianist-loved/article_6b168da2-f12f-58da-93fb-12e7f4e9d3e0.html>on a bike was struck and killed by motor vehicle operation on University Ave. Anyone who has tried to walk or bike across that road knows that it is completely hostile to people not traveling in a motor vehicle. Or the cyclist who was just struck a few days ago east of Sprecher Rd by a hit and run driver who left him with fractured bones in his leg, pelvis, and back. If there’s a conversation to be had about public safety it’s not about bikes in Orton Park. And having pedestrians and cyclists fight over the scraps of our transportation network is not going to change the reality that 6/7 of our traffic fatalities in Madison are pedestrians and cyclists. Grant
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