Bicyclists are not squirrels

As the city of La Crosse prepares to pass its new Bike/Ped master plan, we can celebrate a step forward in making spaces safer for those who walk and cycle AND we can be frustrated that many previous plans meant to make walking & biking safer and more comfortable are still sitting unfinished on a shelf (next to the many plans promising better bus service). And we can wonder why making relatively small changes takes so long and must be studied seemingly indefinitely.

Not only do these delays and slow-walking of  needed changes mean fewer children will grow up riding bikes for transportation and fewer adults will ride because there are not safe places on busy direct-route streets, they also mean more people who do ride are at risk of injury or death from speeding, inattentive, sometimes hostile drivers.

On August 11, in Colorado and virtually, there will be a ride in honor of a cyclist killed by a car for lack of good infrastructure and for lack of appropriate  penalties for drivers all across the country. (Let's face it, drivers  speed and text and drive aggressively because, in many states, hitting a squirrel or a bicyclist with a car is treated about the same.)

Read the story of Magnus and why many national groups are taking up this cause from Streetsblog. 

"Shortly after Magnus died, the Colorado Department of Transportation announced the emergency installation of rumble strips on the road where he was killed, which despite being known locally as the 'Diagonal Highway' or Colorado 119, [Magnus' father] Michael says counts among Boulder's most popular cycling routes. That announcement was soon followed by a star-studded press conference in which Gov. Jared Polis and Sen. John Hickenlooper appeared personally to unveil plans for a new protected bike lane along the stretch.

"A roadside memorial for the site where Magnus White died is viewable on Google Maps.

"Michael spoke at the event as well, but his comments weren't all celebratory. He'd been told that because of the challenges of finding funding and approving a design for the project, the bike lane would take a total 16 years to complete — nearly as long as Magnus's life on Earth."

If you happen to be in Colorado on August 11, join the ride in person, but if not, join the virtual ride (instructions here) and then pay attention to our local plan - what's there and what's left out and what's already been sitting on the shelf - and push for better.