SHOW UP FOR BIKE LANES!!

SHOW UP FOR BIKE LANES!  

THURSDAY, NOV. 13, CITY HALL AT 6 P.M.!

If at all possible, please show up to support the 3rd and 4th Street bike lanes NOVEMBER 13 at City Hall at 6 p.m. There is no public input allowed at this meeting (if you haven't yet emailed and/or called your council rep about this, please do it Thursday before 6!!)

Signs are not allowed at council meetings, so PLEASE WEAR YOUR BIKE HELMET whether you bike there or not. Some council members are apparently waffling. We need all the advocacy we can get!

WisDOT will be reconstructing 3rd and 4th Streets, both state highways, and have given the city two options. One would remove one lane of car parking to give enough space for a parking protected bike lane on each street. The other option would keep all car  parking, narrowing the parking lanes a bit in order to widen the sidewalks with zero bike infrastructure. 

 

The La Crosse City Council will vote on which option to recommend. They should recommend Alternative 1. 

The La Crosse Climate Action Plan calls for increasing and improving safe-for-all-ages-and-abilities bike infrastructure in order to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from Vehicle Miles Traveled. This is an opportunity to invite more people to bike to shopping, events, and social engagements, paid for by WisDOT. 

Thirteen years' worth of studies have proven that ONLY protected bike lanes (not paint, not sharrows) provide actual safety for bike riders AND for all other road users. 

Studies also show that better bike infrastructure increases business at bike lane-adjacent businesses. It slows traffic and makes it easier for those walking and biking by to stop and check out stores and restaurants on the route. In fact, when a Toronto politician tried to remove a bike lane from a shopping street, the business owners fought back.

There are some concerns from those with disabilities, but there are models and examples of best practices to take special needs of those with mobility and vision impairments into consideration. 

Please contact your council member and come to the City Council meeting Thursday night at 6 p.m. at City Hall! Wear your helmet!!