Someone asked whether the city was doing anything to promote bicycling in the city. Well, the mayor took a symbolic ride on a bicycle today. Other than that, I'd say not much. We do have some bike lanes painted on a few streets and some of the parks have bicycling paths. However, hardly anything has been done to allow the bike to be a serious alternative to the automobile for relatively short trips around town.
I recently returned from Amsterdam and Berlin. In both of those cities, virtually every major street has a bike lane that is physically separate from automobile traffic. In many places they even have their own set of traffic signals. The number of bicycles parked in from of Amsterdam's main railway station is astounding and large numbers of cyclists in go-to-work clothes can be seen everywhere. In these places the bicycle is not seen only as a recreational vehicle. It is a principal means of getting around used by large numbers of people for getting to work and shopping. If it can be done in those cities, which have less than ideal climates, there is no reason it couldn't be done with similar effect here. Arno mentioned telecommuting. That's all well and good. It certainly ought to be encouraged. However, bicycle commuting not only is good for the environment, it's good for the health of the cyclist too. That can't be said for sitting in an Aero chair in front of a computer. Charlie Swope Ward 1 _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
