[SDCBC] Pedal Power in the News

[Serge Issakov]

And once again safety is tied to facilities.

Boston, like hundreds of communities across the country, has miles of bike
> paths. Still, when it comes to cycling in the central city, "It's definitely
> challenging," said David Watson, the executive director of the Massachusetts
> Bicycle Coalition. "I wouldn't recommend that an inexperienced cyclist just
> dive into commuting in Boston traffic."
>
> He says Boston is at the very beginning of improving its infrastructure for
> cycling.
>
> Several cities like San Francisco, Chicago and Minneapolis are known for
> their bicycle facilities. But the one that's farthest down the road in
> making itself bike friendly is Portland, Oregon.
>

I agree that an inexperienced cyclist should not just dive into commuting in
busy traffic.  But the solution is not segregated infrastructure that gives
these inexperienced (and experienced!) cyclists a false sense of security,
and reinforces the  fears that inhibit them from learning to ride in traffic
in the first place.

We don't train car drivers, motorcyclists or truckers by throwing them into
busy/fast traffic either.   We all learned to drive gradually.  You start in
an empty parking lot, then move to quiet streets, and slowly work up to
dealing with more and more traffic.  There is no reason that learning to
ride a bike on roads in traffic should be any different. * It's not that
hard to learn to ride in all kinds of traffic comfortably and safely. * That
should be the message bicycling advocates should be hailing, not messages
that imply (if not state explicitly) that cycling in traffic is unreasonably
dangerous.

Serge


On Sun, Jul 27, 2008 at 10:51 AM, Stephan Vance <stephanvance at cox.net>
wrote:

>  The feature story on CBS News Sunday Morning today was all about bikes!
>
>
>
> *Pedal Power*<http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/07/27/sunday/main4297624.shtml>
>
> With gas prices now more than four dollars a gallon, more and more people
> are trading in their four wheels for two.
>
>
>
> http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/sunday/main3445.shtml
>
>
>
> Stephan Vance
>
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-- 
NOTE: Any opinions expressed above are mine and not necessarily shared by
any organization in which I am involved.
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