Mayor gives commuters a challenge for Bike Month
May is Bike Month, and to commemorate it Mayor Jones is encouraging Richmonders to bike to work. He and the city’s first-ever bike coordinator, Jakob Helmboldt, have announced a Bicycle Commuter Challenge. New and experienced cyclists are encouraged to bike to and from work. Simply report the days that you commute via bike at the end […]
May is Bike Month, and to commemorate it Mayor Jones is encouraging Richmonders to bike to work. He and the city’s first-ever bike coordinator, Jakob Helmboldt, have announced a Bicycle Commuter Challenge.
New and experienced cyclists are encouraged to bike to and from work. Simply report the days that you commute via bike at the end of each week. Everyone who registers will be automatically entered to win a men’s or women’s Giant Escape bike.
Encouraged by hosting the 2015 Road World Cycling Championship, city officials are trying to make Richmond one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the country.
Here’s the Mayor:
“The Bicycle Commuter Challenge is a great way to encourage our residents and local businesses to engage in healthy activities. For those that are cyclists, National Bike Month presents an opportunity for Richmond to be a central resource displaying the benefits of physical activity to increase the health of our city.”
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Notice: Comments that are not conducive to an interesting and thoughtful conversation may be removed at the editor’s discretion.
We have a long way to go. It is still ridiculously dangerous to ride a bike in Richmond. Car drivers are just too aggressive and anxious to haul ass to whatever red light they want to sit at.
The comment from Scott is a reflection of perception, not reality. Richmond is a very bikeable city and the constant “it’s dangerous” mantra reinforces the notion that bicycling in general is dangerous. Those same people routinely get in their car and drive, which is the most dangerous daily activity almost anyone engages in. Also, bike-specific infrastructure can’t eliminate many of the most common crash types, specifically those occuring at intersections. Driving requires skills and training (which is way too lacking in the US), but so too does bicycling in an urban environment, regardless of the bike-specific infrastructure.
That said the city is moving forward with a variety of initiatives, including opportunities for League of American Bicyclist ed/skills courses as well as infrastructure improvements. But if people want improved infrastructure, be sure to let your elected officials know it is a priority for you.
To me, this is the big event this weekend:
http://northrichmondnews.com/news/2012/05/02/cannon-creek-greenway-official-opening-this-weekend/
Soon the East Coast Greenway (www.greenway.org) will intersect with the Cap2Cap Trail!
Jake: I respectfully disagree. I’m not a bike rider: I’m purely a pedestrian or I take the bus: and the car drivers in Richmond are quick to turn on a red light w/out checking the intersection first, or rolling through a Stop sign & then blasting through an intersection once they see no cars are coming (but ignoring the pedestrian crossing the street: I got that license plate# & called the police), barreling through crosswalks that bear the State Law Pedestrian Right of Way sign (see Capitol area), etc. I’ve had more near injury or death experiences here in Richmond as a pedestrian than when I lived DC, BerkeleyCA or Portland,OR.–and I’ve lived here for less than 2 years.
And just as cyclists have limited space on the roads: there are plenty of places in Richmond with no sidewalk or no safe sidewalk.
I’m hoping with bike awareness and a growing cyclist community that it also bring awareness to all of us using the streets: not just the car drivers who seem to control them and make life risky for the rest of us….
ps: I do completely agree about encouraging infastructure/voting for those who support it and even further: raising it in any conversation possible with anyone.
Just Curious, what ever happened to the plan to make many of the now one-way superthrououghfares like Marshall, Cary, Main, and Franklin into two way streets again? IMO I think this would create a more neighborly atmoshpere and discourage some of the aggressive driving seen by auto commuters who we are only encouraging to treat the roads like their personal freeways by continuing the policy of auto preference through one way streets. Thank you Jake for the point about driving a car being the most dangerous activity. I think sometimes when you hop in the cage you forget how truly dangerous it is.