Cycle Main Street: Bicycle Infrastructure Elements

[Update 7/23/2013 - NYTimes: Too Many Bikes in Amsterdam? ]

Are there really too many bikes in Amsterdam? from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

Bicycling in the US - A Dutch Perspective

How are we doing in the US with our bicycling infrastructure? For a perspective from the Dutch take a look at this video:

After watching this video I recognized my own bicycle riding often consists of racing traffic. I have done this for years mostly to protect myself in the auto dominant landscape of our roadways. It's a mode of defensive riding where cyclists jockey for position on the street to get safely to their destination. Taking to the streets with our tens of pounds bicycles along with our neighbors in their thousand pound vehicles is a daunting task. I have been fortunate in never having been hit by a car in decades of riding. Nonetheless without safe infrastructure would-be cyclists are unlikely to attempt it.

Saturday and Sunday I experimented with a new perspective, one of relaxing and enjoying my ride. I left my helmet at home (not an endorsement) relaxed and rode to the Farmers Market and around town. For the weekend I stopped racing traffic and enjoyed a more rewarding ride. The experiment allowed me to appreciate and experience the ride in a novel way.

Cycling in cities such as Boulder, CO, Portland, OR, and the Twin Cities of MN where bicycling is a normal form of transportation has given me hope that all cities can become great places for bicycling. It will take cyclists speaking up for better infrastructure in our communities. The good news in Concord, NH is that more and more people are taking to the streets on bicycle. More trailers and tag-a-longs are being pulled by parents each year. The more cyclists are out riding the safer the streets become for all.

We need our city officials and business community to get on board - and they are slowly. I would encourage all cyclists to ask the mayor, their city councillor, city employees, and business owners for their support for cycling. If these people are your neighbors, ask them to consider riding a bike for transportation and invite them to join you on your next trip in town. Together we can make Concord an exemplary bike friendly city.

[More Dutch perspective on US bicycling]