Friday, May 21, 2010
Transportation Bike Path
Posted by Mary Cashiola on Fri, May 21, 2010 at 11:21 AM
Marvin Stockwell started riding his bike to work about six weeks ago.
"That was after a year of thinking about it," he said. "I would see my buddy [bicycle advocate] Anthony Siracusa ride his bike everywhere."
It was just in time to get the jump on National Bike-to-Work Week. Today's Bike-to-Work Day dawned sort of cloudy and overcast, perfect weather for a group of seasoned and inexperienced riders to bike downtown, where the Center City Commission had "energizer stations" on North Main, South Main, and in the Medical Center District.
- Energizing at Central Station
Dawn Vinson is the project manager for Downtown Bike to Work Week. The Hickory Hill resident often rides her bike to do casual errands.
"We were sitting around one day and we thought, how can we get more people to ride their bikes?" she said. "How could we make it safe and fun?"
In addition to the energizer stations, the CCC organized group rides into downtown, as well as practice rides in the days leading up to Bike to Work Day.
"It can be stressful to ride with traffic if you're not confident in your skills. I prefer neighborhood streets with lower speeds. I'm must not ready to ride down Poplar Avenue," Vinson said. "We organized the meet-ups for those not confident in their riding skills or who don't want to do it by themselves or don't know how to choose a route."
Peddler repair manager Bobby Singley met-up with about six other cyclists at Eastgate Shopping Center this morning, and the group joked about how it's good to ride with a mechanic.
Singley rides his bike every where he goes.
"It's a great way to start the day," Singley said. "It wakes you up and you see so many things. Most people don't realize how nice it is going past the Wonderbread Factory."
Already it seems, the event was a success. More than 100 people registered with the CCC to ride their bikes to work, a number that quadrupled their initial estimate.
"We'd just like for peopel to get on their bikes," Vinson said. "You don't have to be on it every single day or give up your car in all kinds of weather. But if you just did it when it was convenient — errands in a two-mile radius — that would have such a significant impact. I'm not just talking on the environment, but on health and temperament, as well."
Andy Ashby with the Memphis Business Journal says he rides about once a week. He has ridden to work before but doesn't do it often.
"I might not have ridden in today otherwise, because there was a 20 percent chance of rain," Ashby said, "but I thought it was fun with all the people doing it."
County Commissioner Steve Mulroy rode his bike from home to the Healthy Breakfast station at Church Health Center Wellness. More of a runner, Mulroy says he rides recreationally with his family.
"More people need to bike to work, and I need to be an example," he said. "I also need a shower."
When the law school was on the U of M's main campus, Mulroy did ride his bike to work, but since the law school moved downtown, he hasn't.
"What Memphis needs is bike lanes on a few of the main east/west thoroughfares," he said. "People are skeptical but I think if they try it, they'll find that it's fun."
Stockwell says that when you bike to work you don't need to wake up when you get there; you show up already in gear. So to speak.
"I feel like today is part of a larger cultural shift," Stockwell said. "Memphis will only become a bike-friendly city when people demand it."
As part of the event, the Center City Commission gave out messenger bags to registered participants.
And Steven Sondheim will be selling these t-shirts for $10 at the Court Square event today from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
- Steven Sondheim
Oh, wait, here's the back. The three-feet law, by the way, says that motorists have to say three feet away from cyclists.
- The back
If you can't make it to the event, but you still want a t-shirt, Steven says you can call him at 761-1793.
Comments (2)
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I'm delighted to see this peddle power activity. Back when I first moved to Memphis, I started riding a bike to work (from the Immaculate Conception area down to the vicinity of what's now the new law school). I did it for a year, in all kinds of weather, and was in the best shape of my life (now---not so much). And yes, during that time I had my share of "incidents" with cars. As the former president of the Memphis Hightailers (in the Charlie Finney/Scott Andreas era), I encouraged all kinds of bike riding, and spoke to various groups about bike law and bike safety (particularly wearing a helmet).
It pains me to see how the cycling environment in Memphis has deteriorated since I first started riding here, all those (no number, if you don't mind) years ago. Cyclist/motorist confrontations have always been with us, but it seems like that problem has gotten worse in the last few years in a community that has become even more (if that's possible) wedded to the car as its transportation mode of choice, and offers few palatable alternatives. Hopefully, through the efforts of folks like the CCC, the MPO, Greenline, bike advocacy organizations and the cycling community at large, that situation will improve and we'll return to an environment that's hospitable to cyclists.
By the way, as most avid cyclists will tell you, bike paths are NOT the way to achieve bike/car harmony. Bike paths that share auto thoroughfares are a way of relegating cyclists (who have the same rights---and responsibilities---on the road as motorists) to an inferior status, and even worse, because they are frequently where road debris gets deposited and parked cars get in the way, can actually be unsafe for cyclists. The real solution is increased sensitization of the motoring public to the presence, and rights, of cyclists, and yes, the reciprocal increase in the awareness of cyclists to their obligations as well.
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