5 myths about bicycling

"Each year, 100 million Americans jump on a bicycle at least once, especially when the weather gets warm. Some of these pedalers are recreational riders; others rely on their bikes for transportation to and from work. In the past few years, cities have rushed to accommodate such travelers: Scores of bike lanes and bike-share programs have popped up. But there are still a lot of misconceptions about getting around on two wheels. As the number of cyclists rises, it's important to keep in mind some truths about who they are, how they behave and what impact they have on the space around us."

For the full article go here: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-bicycling-...

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Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on April 4, 2016 at 2:52pm

Good article. Thanks for sharing. I am glad they addressed the helmet myth. I pretty much agree with the whole article with the exception of one point...

I do feel the statement on traffic congestion is limited. If you live 10+ miles from work, there are a few additional options to help keep you riding. eBikes can help with long commutes and are excellent for the environment (compared to cars) since they are electric. There is also the option of mixing forms of transportation like bike-train or bike-bus. I used to reverse commute to the burbs, riding my bike and catching a Metra train. Once I reached the town, I rode another mile to the office.

In addition, bikes can reduce traffic congestion especially if the city commits to bike infrastructure through out the city. After spending yesterday riding around Madison, I was in awe of what they had built - over 200 miles of bike paths in and around the city:

As the bike capital of the Midwest, the Madison Area boasts more bikes than cars! In and around Madison, more than 200 miles of scenic biking and hiking trails are available for all biking and hiking enthusiasts. Traversing the city on bike is both easy and beautiful! Visit Madison

We spent over three hours riding to nearby towns and and back into the city mostly on bike lanes. Being a beautiful day, there were lots of cyclists and runners out enjoying the day but it never felt overly busy or congested. I never had to make stressful decisions. If a city commits to supporting cyclists with sufficient bike paths, people will take advantage of it. We've seen this with the 606. We just need a lot more paths like the 606 to support the demand. Once this is in place, I do think we could see a drop in traffic congestion.

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Permalink Reply by Joe Guzzardo on April 4, 2016 at 8:25pm

I consider myself very fortunate in that for most of my bike commute, I can do do it along the LFT. If that were not the case, I would probably never do it, period. So yeah, build it and they will come. But that's the rub, of course. It all comes down to money. I'd really like to see some one way side streets designated to allow only permitted vehicular access for local residents to park their cars and for bicycles. These side streets should be enhanced with traffic calming speed humps and roundabout intersections. No commercial vehicles allowed, but school buses, and maybe taxis are ok (Uber and Lyft, not allowed). Now that most of us have cameras, we can enforce this restriction ourselves by uploading pics of the offenders to some official, municipal web site. Who needs red light cameras, anyway? And the city will love the additional revenue stream.

Build it and they will come.

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Permalink Reply by Joe Guzzardo on April 6, 2016 at 11:08pm

I would like to nominate Kenmore and Winthrop Avenues, between Ardmore and Devon as the first streets designated under the plan I proposed above.

Consider that those streets have Sheridan Road to the east and Broadway to the west, both very heavily trafficked roadways and both very hostile to people on bikes. Consider also, those streets are gateways to the LFT. We're talking about a whopping 5 block stretch in each direction. This won't cost much to build. The real obstacle will be selling it to the residents along that stretch. But let's also consider that we're talking about an area that has excellent public transit available and has a lot of student residents attending Loyola, many of whom are probably bike friendly as well.

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Permalink Reply by Irvin Steinert on April 7, 2016 at 9:59am

Cyclists are people, drivers are people, people are people.

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Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on April 7, 2016 at 11:41am

Soylent Green is people!

Sorry, couldn't help myself. ;-) Ok, so here's the funny thing, I used to think this issue of drivers vs. cyclist vs. pedestrians was a matter of accepting it for what it was, conflict. And then I rode my bike on the bike paths of Madison last weekend. And I spent the entire day watching parents guide their kids to ride to the right, group riders calling out as they passed, people doing the friendly wave (no fists!), drivers stopping to let me cross (even if I stopped), pedestrians walking on the path without crowding the path. It was a perfect day. I wasn't angry or upset or scared. For nearly 30 miles of bliss. Until...

Two squirrels darted across the path only to have one jerk squirrel double-back because that's what rude squirrels do. I managed to avoid running it over but swore at Mr. Furry Tail as he disappeared into the bushes.

I digress but there is a joy to riding without incident, without fear. 30 mph winds and it was one of the best days of riding I've ever had.