Bike Memphis & More

Bike Lanes Pros and Cons

I have put the conclusion of my reading first in case you don't have the time to read through all of this.

Here's the bottom line-- I think that even bike lanes that are well designed often create more problems than they solve. Thus, at this point, given the dozens of research articles and reports I have read from around the world, I strongly recommend the development of wide outside lanes with effective road signs and education first rather than blindly creating separate bike lanes in most cases.

However, there are some well-designed bike lanes that actually solve safety problems for cyclists. Certain traffic situations are much improved when a bike lane is thoughtfully integrated into the traffic planning. The important words here are 'thoughtfully" and integrated. High quality facilities should be encouraged.

Here's a paradox- if a road is wide enough to add a bike lane without subtracting any regular motor vehicle lanes, the road probably doesn't need a bike lane. Example: There is a road in Memphis

Would you want to ride on a highway in your car if it were designed by someone who didn't understand cars? That's one of  the major problems with bike lanes-- many bike lanes are designed by planners who do not ride bikes and who do not understand the complexities of bicycling in urban traffic. Just lay down a stripe within the legal limits and it is done-- a bike lane! It is a lot more complicated than that. So I am strongly against blindly rushing to paint stripes on roads when it will do no real good and might even make things worse.

Creating a Bicycle-Friendly Memphis

Creating a Bicycle-Friendly Memphis

Organizations--

I see two exemplary organizations - Transportation Alternatives in New York City  and Chicagoland Bicycle Federation. Both of these groups are huge and have comprehensive programs. I hope we in Memphis can do half of what they have done in those cities. There are a lot of others, too-- if you want to track all of these groups, it can become a full-time job.

Check out this film: John Burke, President of Trek recently did a 40 minute talk in Taipei on the opportunities he sees for the bike industry given global warming, the obesity epidemic, urbanization, and traffic congestion. Check the video out-- for a dedicated bike person, it is entertaining and even inspiring-- (your kids or spouse might not think so!). You can view the video at bikememphis.ning.com or at quickrelease.tv . (Thanks to Carlton Reid of bikebiz.com . The film makes a big deal about Louisville, KY, which recently became a bike-friendly city certified by the bikeleague.org. A few tidbits from the film: 50% of car trips are less than two miles. Biking burns 500-700 calories an hour, driving a car burns 5-20 extra calories an hour.

So- Memphis a bicycle-friendly community? Yes. If Louisville can do it, we can do it, too. We need an organization in Mephis that is at least as comprehensive as is Louisville's. See Louisville's bike site at

http://www.louisvilleky.gov/BikeLouisville/

http://cache.libsyn.com/thefredcast/The_FredCast_65x1.mp3

But-- we need, I think, to be unified, at least, as much as we can be.