http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2003667576_peirce16.html
Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson is one of a growing coterie of city leaders who believe the moment is ripe. Keynoting this year’s National Bike Summit in Washington, Abramson described how an early 2005 Louisville gathering of cycling enthusiasts has changed his city’s focus.
Louisville’s bike paths are being connected into a citywide system. Miles of highway bike lanes are being added. The city has adopted a “complete streets” policy requiring the placement of sidewalks, bike lanes and bus stop locations in any major road improvement. And the city is planning two commuter-friendly bike stations, with indoor bike parking, rentals and repair facilities.
NEWSLETTER
3 Comments
While our city (Louisville) has come a very long way towards becoming a more bike friendly community, there are large community acceptance hurdles that may present huge obstacles. I’m an avid cyclist, and there are far too many people here who would just as easily take a swipe at a cyclist with their car as respect a bike lane or a cyclist’s rights. That’s admittedly not unique to Louisville, but it’s a public education issue that is often overlooked. Building better biking paths and connecting them together is wonderful, but there needs to be a public education component included to become “friendly.”
Agreed. Have you contacted the Mayor’s office about this? I know you have a pretty advocacy-oriented bicycle club in Louisville, but have cyclists there ever thought about starting an organization dedicated solely to bike/ped advocacy? That could help get these issues brought to the forefront quicker than they would otherwise.
Thanks for the comment! Nice to see folks from other cities visiting our site.
There is actually an organization in Louisville, headed by our own Barry Zalph, called Bicycling for Louisville. It is a non-profit agency dedicated exclusively to bicycle advocacy. We contract with them for educational programs, bicycle traffic counts, and various other initiatives.
Moreover, we consider our own Bike Louisville program within Metro Government to be as much of an advocacy program as we can be within the bounds of our mandate and authority. Beyond us, BFL, and the Louisville Bicycle Club, there are dozens more “unaffiliated” cycling advocates in the city who are quite active, some of whom are members of the Mayor’s Bicycle Task Force, another bicycling advocacy organization of a sort.
-Jon Villines
Louisville Metro Bike/Ped Coordinator