[Winona Online Democracy]
Phil Carson said, in part: "
Bryon Bothun makes a very good point on walking and biking - it doesn't take
much to disrupt a good walking/biking environment. Every segment of a
sidewalk/trail system must be safe, pleasant, and conducive to pedestrians
and bikers. Attention must be paid to size of the lanes, paving materials,
visual aesthetics, buffers to major roadways or other unpleasant features,
and safety - or the feeling of safety. Otherwise people will simply avoid
them. The chain is only as strong as the weakest link."
I appreciate Mr. Carson's comments because I realize they come from a
thorough involvement in the study and design of public places. (I've been
watching you, Phil. :))
I am not negating Phil's comment, but ask people to realize that we need not
wait for our bicycling environment to be ideal to begin to achieve the
benefits. The more who bicycle, and walk, the more powerful their input to
improvement. When I ride my old bike, some of the streets in Winona just
make my bones shake. But I've ridden in worse. I'm happy nonetheless, and I
think many others will be, too, if they try it. (By the way, for the others
of age, the 'shake' I speak of is from an ancient race bike - the newer
bikes have shock absorbers that virtually remove the bumps. Very cool
technology and not expensive. Besides, your children won't mind them a bit.)
Suburbanites - I feel your pain! Anyone on the other side of '61 has the
prospect of dealing with harried highway drivers. How do our children on the
North side cope with making their way to the school? Oh, see, there's a
solution. We have to make it clear and more people will take advantage of
the facility (putting feet to the fire, there). Then move on up '61 to work
on the rest. Signs help. Nice, clear, unobtrusive reminders like, "Don't
kill our bicyclists" and for pedestrians, "Stop for pedestrians in
crosswalks - IT'S THE LAW HERE!" Good idea? Heck, I'd help pay for them...
as soon as I see our city workers walking, bicycling more.
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