“Resistance to bike infrastructure improvements and bike culture, or ‘bikelash’, is nothing new…”

Indeed, a clash and resistance to bike infrastructure is happening right now with the debate over the Penn Ave Rightsizing project in the Strip District. Yeah, you’ve seen the billboards.

Unfortunately, the “bike lanes are bad / cyclists are bad” mentality is something that still persists in Pittsburgh, and we’ve been working at dismantling it all these years, one story at a time. After all, the *big bad bike lobby* is really just normal people who want to get from point A to point B safely, just like everyone else.

Check out the Joe Wos: “I Was Wrong” interview we published in 2014. After the Penn Ave bike lanes were installed from 16th St to Stanwix St, Joe wrote an op-ed summarizing his thoughts on bicycling and the people who ride them in Pittsburgh. You’ll understand why we’re drawing the connection between these two stories. This also serves as a good reminder that it’s ok to change your mind after learning more, and sometimes, clash can be seen as a sign that we’re making a difference.

After reading that one, you can also learn more about our stance on the Penn Ave Rightsizing project by checking out our LTE published in the Trib.

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