Wichita City Council member Janet Miller said she wanted to run around shouting “Hooray!” after hearing about plans to add more bicycle lanes to city streets. Her reaction is understandable. Though Wichita and Sedgwick County have added nice bike paths in certain areas, they’ve done a poor job adding bike lanes to streets. So it’s encouraging that the city is now planning to add lanes to some city streets and may add other lanes when streets are repaired. Council member Paul Gray noted that not a lot of Wichitans ride bikes for transportation, but one reason is because Wichita streets are so unfriendly to bikers.
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10 Comments
Bike lanes are quite attractive if done properly and enhance a city’s beauty and function.
Pedestrians and bikers don’t mix well. Bikers should stay off the sidewalks. A few days ago, I was clipped by a 40(+/-) year old biker who silently rode up behind me while I was walking across the Maple Street river bridge recently. I yelled at him to come back so I could call the police … but he kept on pedalling.
In my opinion, bicyclists should ride in the same lanes as motorcyclists. Maybe they would learn some manners.
If they are going to ride on the public streets and highways, maybe they need to pay a road use tax. Hmmm
Salina is horrible for bikes too. Some idiot the other day was just strolling down Ohio in rush hour. The cars didn’t even merge into the other lane. Scared me to death.
Now 1, why would a bicyclist put themselves in that situation? And 2, why wouldn’t drivers get over for them? Are people really just such aholes that if they hit someone they don’t care anymore?
Bike lines work fine in Tucson. Yeah, occasionally there is a tragedy–you have to be careful—but you rarely hear of anything bad happening.
In Wichita, cyclists ride anywhere they can. Some of them must be insane, given the suicidal manuever I’ve seen. Having clearly marked lanes, “share the road” signs, and laws backing it all up helps.
Having said that, Wichita actually has one advantage: good bike paths. They may exist in Tucson, but not for anyone in the main part of town. The Linwood/I-135 bike path is essentially a highway for anyone who wants to bike from Pawnee to Central (keeping in mind, of course, that other patrons in the park might not view it as such! :) ).
If they are going to ride on the public streets and highways, maybe they need to pay a road use tax. Hmmm
Since when are cyclists exempt from taxes now??
In my opinion, bicyclists should ride in the same lanes as motorcyclists. Maybe they would learn some manners.
Don’t try this at home (in Wichita), if you value your life and health. In fact, in doodah there is a scum element that is dangerously dismissive even of motorcycles. The consequences can be fatal
Cyclists who ride on sidewalks should be aware that (1) pedestrians have priority, and deserve courtesy and, (2) they can get a ticket for that.
But sometimes there is no choice.
Every once in a while I would see a motorcyclist riding on the bike paths or on the sidewalks.
Surprisingly there never are any cops around to see them doing this even more surprisingly it was always near a police substation.
I would gladly pay a road use tax figured on how much road wear is caused by my bike as long as truckers pay an exactly proportionate amount based on the wear their rigs cause.
More bicycle lanes help promote a culture of cars sharing the roads with autos. Cycling is a very green activity and is great for ones health. I am an avid cyclist and would like to see a lot more bicycles lanes and paths in the city.
Wichita realizes that we need to appeal to young professionals. Young professionals are generally active individuals who look for communities that provide for an active life style. Cycling, walking and running appeal to them. Wichita currently doesn’t have enough bicycles lanes and paths to understand if they would be beneficial or not. I would like to see bicycle lanes on more streets in Wichita. Perhaps then we would see a lot more commuting by bicycle?