JACK GARDINER
"Where there are bike lanes, and they're protected, you just feel a lot better about being in them."
"Looking at my time in Tucson, I didn’t take the bus as much only because it was easy enough for me to ride my bike. I lived about four miles from campus. And you know, any serious bicyclist knows that that's not much of a commute. The issue there was they didn't have a trail system like Columbia has. Instead they had some bicycle pedways on city streets. And while I was in Tucson, texting was just becoming a thing. And biking in those pedways went from being okay, to being sort of dangerous on some of the streets because people were so distracted from their texting, that they were not paying attention. On some of the roads I had to cross four streets that were probably just as busy as Providence to get to work. Each one of those was an adventure, and it was still worth it. But you weren't in protected bike lanes, and so it was more difficult.
Photo credit Cortney Daniels
Speedway is one of the main arteries that runs through Tucson east to west. There are no protected bike lanes on Speedway, but people are going 40-45 miles an hour. So you're riding out there with no barriers between you and a vehicle. So technically, I could take them. But I didn't want to, because I felt too vulnerable out there. So, I would take a path through the neighborhoods, because it was much better. It was much safer. Taking my chances going through the neighborhoods that had lighter traffic density, as opposed to riding in that “dedicated” bike lane, where there was nothing between me and the car. You wouldn’t really see people in those unprotected bike lanes. Where you would see bikers in Tucson were these bike paths running along the river. There they were much nicer. You weren't on the street, you were in an area dedicated to just bikes.
Photo credit Jonathan Asher
Here in Columbia there's a bike lane on Scott Blvd but they're going 45-50 mph down there and they're always speeding. Technically there is a bike lane there but I don't feel safe. So I do the wrong thing, and ride on the sidewalk. I know a driver has to hop a curb to run me over. They're gonna damage their car getting to me. As a bicyclist it's all about shaving risk, and minimizing my risk in a situation. So where there are bike lanes, and they're protected, you just feel a lot better about being in them. I think protected bike lanes in Columbia would be a good idea. People would feel safe to actually ride on them."
STAY CONNECTED WITH US
Be the first to hear about our latest Advocacy Alerts and events, and get updates on the work our organization is doing every day with the support of people like you.
