Residents, Parking Spaces, & Bike Lanes - Why Do We Struggle So Much?

I don't know that I can recall an instance where the residents of a community embraced more bike lanes as a "good thing". Maybe it's because it's not newsworthy or maybe it's just that knee-jerk reaction against change. Either way, getting bike lanes added to streets nearly always seems to be an uphill battle. 

That bike-friendly test plan on Manor comes to mind. Some of the residents even took the time to join CL to argue with us. Throwing around "not safe for cyclists" as one of the main reasons. That seems to be the go-to to act like they care about our safety as they honk and buzz past us on roads with no bike lanes.

Wilmette is no exception. You'd think they'd want their kids to have options to safely ride their bikes or don't kids ride bikes? 

Two of the three trustees on the committee – Cameron Krueger, chairing his last committee session before leaving the board, and Daniel Sullivan – agreed with almost two dozen east Wilmette residents who said creating shared bicycle lanes on Central, and cutting the number of available parking spaces by more than half to do so, would be unsafe for bicyclists and an inconvenience for people living on Central.

Full Article:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/wilmette/news/ct-wml-central-...

How do we change this?

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Michelle S on May 9, 2017 at 7:34am

Not to oversimplify the discussion in Wilmette, but I think it comes down to the general truisms that 1/ people who ride bikes for transportation are still a small minority, and 2/ we're still a car-centric nation, and anything that threatens that status is going to be an uphill battle. Any proposed change that involves removing parking spaces is especially likely to draw ire, and that goes double in the suburbs. You asked why they wouldn't want bike lanes for their kids to ride bikes, but from what I remember in the suburbs 25 years ago, kids and adults alike often ride on the sidewalks, usually legally, because "the street is for cars". I sure wish it were less of a battle. I think it will gradually become less of one over time in the city neighborhoods, as car ownership and driving addiction decreases. My own kid is 18 and shows zero interest in obtaining her license, and that's not unusual in her peer group.

Permalink Reply by Jon Cunningham on May 20, 2017 at 1:29pm

The suburbs have changed a lot since "25 years ago." The overwhelming majority of us adults ride in the streets here, despite having very few bike lanes. My personal view after 117,000 miles of cycling since 1985 is that the streets are fine. It's the user behavior that needs to be fixed. Forget the paint, start writing tickets. Instead of seatbelt checks, bust the distracted and aggressive driving. Instead of fines, require several hours of driver re-education, complete with gory films of crashes including car/bike incidents. Losing time is a more effective motivator than extracting cash in this overprivileged society. Cyclists and drivers alike, if they break the law. Pretty soon bike lanes would be a moot point.

Permalink Reply by Gage B. on May 9, 2017 at 7:59am

My first thought is, who has the time in the first place in our busy lives to go to a meeting to argue against bike lanes? 

Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on May 9, 2017 at 8:05am

Good point. And yet, so many people did. 

Permalink Reply by mike w. on May 10, 2017 at 2:41am

And just as important to ask, why aren't more bike lane advocates showing up?

Permalink Reply by Jared on May 10, 2017 at 3:41am

As far as I can tell most of the street parking isn't even used, its mostly single family homes.  So not sure what the big deal is.

Permalink Reply by Tom A.K. on May 20, 2017 at 3:41pm
Jon Cunningham said,
"Instead of fines, require driver re-education. Losing time is a more effective motivator than extracting cash in this overpriviledged society."

How true. This is something our system of justice should recognize is the only effective way to get lawbreakers to realize the consequences of their actions.
Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on May 22, 2017 at 7:03am

This is a pretty broad generalization. While many of us feel completely overbooked, a pretty large chunk of the population has, or claims to have, the opposite problem. 

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