Bend should do more to improve bicycling. By Joanne Mina
- Siempre Mina
- 27 mar 2024
- 3 Min. de lectura
May 24, 2015 Updated Jan 31, 2020
Taxes on studded tires are a devil needed, but a tax on prepared food and beverages would also affect locals — perpetuating the trend of livelihood in Bend getting more and more expensive.
With only 3 percent of the population being bike commuters and 3 percent who walk, why aren’t we setting higher goals? If we are thinking of how to solve problems such as traffic and rapid growth, it only seems fit to think about what is causing the problems now to do things in a different way. What would traffic on Newport Avenue look like if one-third of COCC students commuted by public transit or biking?
How would our community develop if we set goals now to have one-third of high school-age students use cycling as a way of transportation rather than by car, freeing up resources for them to travel or study. If one-third of us used a bike as the primary means of transportation, we would see a healthier, more vibrant population. We would see better roads, lower health care needs, lower levels of pollution and lower cost to maintain our vehicles, among many other benefits.
Thinking of the substantial gains that come with cycling and seeing that the Bend 2030 transportation forum didn’t give real solutions to fulfill the needs and goals of our growing community, I presented the City Council on May 6 with some ideas that now I would like to share with you, hoping that if many of us embrace feedback from our environment and self-regulate our consumption, Bend can blossom into a sustainable and thriving community.
First, we should look at what other cities are doing. Cities with successful numbers of cyclists incorporate special sets of traffic lights for bicycles in major intersections, allowing them a head start ahead of motorists. Instead of painted lanes as cycle tracks, many have dedicated surfaces separated from traffic by a divider or up a level from car traffic.
The education of motorists to also be cyclists, which enables them to better anticipate the behavior of cyclist in traffic, helps them keep the number of accidents low. And the development of successful cycle-sharing systems for locals and tourists alike not only proves to enrich the quality of life of those living in these cities, but it also enriches the experiences of visitors.
So what are things Bend could do better when it comes to utility cycling?
To get things moving in a positive direction, we must educate cyclists and noncyclists about the benefits of biking and how to keep all those sharing the road safe. Safety gear should be widely available to cyclists.
The city should establish clear goals to increase the number of bike commuters and create accountability by gathering feedback. Bike users should be notified of dangerous junctions, block paths, potholes as well as records of “near misses.”
In future designs of traffic circles, sidewalks, etc., bike lanes should be incorporated — or at least considered. And a partnership with Bend park and rec should be established to extend the urban trails, creating a system of two-way bike lanes (like Coyner Trail) to take pressure off roads while keeping cyclists safe.
Imagine the direction our town would be heading into 2030 if the $9.7 million put into the Colorado dam safe passage and the $1.1 million on McKay Park would have actually been spent on urban trails on the east side of town.
With the recent election, this is a good time to re-evaluate the priorities of Bend park and rec. I find it refreshing to think of leadership that makes the community a priority instead of the tourism and historic preservation that seems to take most of their funding.
— Joanne Mina lives in Bend.
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