ok everyone. here is my annual reasonably-decent-weather rant:
i ride my bike. i am a cyclist. i ride for exercise, for recreation, for
the sheer thrill of the wind in my hair. but mostly i ride for
transportation. from melt to accumulation, i'm pedaling to get to where i
need to go. i reside in uptown but have been known to go far afield, from
north and northeast, south and southwest, to (gasp), that foreign land known
as st. paul. and while i'm gratified our recreational paths are
expanding, i'm completely frustrated by the utter lack of bicycle lanes
along direct transportation routes. in my immediate vicinity there are no
lanes on the north/south streets of hennepin, lyndale, nicollet, and even
worse, no crosstown lanes on franklin, 24th, 26th, 28th, lake, 31st, 36th
and into infinity. (i will cede that there are lanes on blaisdell and 1st
avenue - a little out of my way, but i use them if convenient). bicyclists
everyday face the dilemma of pissing off pedestrians by riding on the
sidewalk, or risking life and limb against multi-tonnage SUV's anxious to
complete that all-important right turn before the light changes.
we give a lot of lip service about our wonderful "standard of living" and
many of us strive for more livability, more community, slower life pace,
less dependence on fossil fuels, transportation alternatives, blah, blah.
but i assure you, other "progressive" cities are far ahead of us. this is a
real livability issue for many of us here in the urban environment. this
is our transportation; just as important to us as your car is to you. give
us bike lanes and i guarantee they'll get used. who knows, maybe we could
put a few gyms out of business in the process.
please do not respond with old, tired excuses that we would be needlessly
using up a precious lane that should be going to help vehicles move through
our city (usually to the 'burbs). it's all a matter of priorities. and
right now, for now, motorized vehicles rule the public consciousness. and
it's a shame.
and on a related side note: i seem to recall lisa mcdonald telling me of
the building of a new "flyover" bridge for pedestrians and cyclists from the
henn/lyndale bottleneck to bryant ave. (and believe me, that stretch from
loring park to rudolph's is a nightmare). that was two summers ago. what's
up with that plan?
beth solle
ward 10
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