I have long been an advocate for biking as a form of transportation. Often, a bicycle is vehicle enough to get where we need to go for our daily activities. Generating no pollution, riding a bike doubles as an excellent fitness program and allows for enjoyment of the environment around us as we go.
I have one request: Please create the infrastructure for bicyclists that is safe. Putting bikers on a road designed for auto traffic is a hazard — to all parties involved. Bikers need their own lanes. This becomes even more important if we will be encouraging more biker tourism in the area [“Putting Bikes in Beds,” May 13, Xpress].
Please — help there be fewer individuals needing a Ride of Silence in their memory.
— Dr. Mary Ann Iyer Asheville
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One thought on “Letter writer: With bicycle tourism comes increased need for bike lanes”
Paul Holt
Asheville City tags itself bike friendly, but I agree with Dr. Mary Ann Iyer’s letter – it is unacceptable to call a white stripe on the shoulder of a busy road a “bike lane”. This is especially true when the City’s police department fails to enforce penalties against motorists who abuse these “bike lanes”. Take Riverside Drive as a case in point. Through the spring and summer you’ll see half a mile of parked cars blocking the bike lane next the By Water and Zen Tubing. The City has a responsibility to enforce these parking violations – I am forced to ride in traffic to avoid these parked cars. Polite reminders to the offending motorists that my safety is being compromised is met with abuse as they haul their tubes, canoes and beer coolers across to the river. Asheville talks big on being eco friendly, but this is an example of it being just talk (another example being lack of infrastructure planning that forces Duke Energy to build sub stations next to elementary schools).
Asheville City tags itself bike friendly, but I agree with Dr. Mary Ann Iyer’s letter – it is unacceptable to call a white stripe on the shoulder of a busy road a “bike lane”. This is especially true when the City’s police department fails to enforce penalties against motorists who abuse these “bike lanes”. Take Riverside Drive as a case in point. Through the spring and summer you’ll see half a mile of parked cars blocking the bike lane next the By Water and Zen Tubing. The City has a responsibility to enforce these parking violations – I am forced to ride in traffic to avoid these parked cars. Polite reminders to the offending motorists that my safety is being compromised is met with abuse as they haul their tubes, canoes and beer coolers across to the river. Asheville talks big on being eco friendly, but this is an example of it being just talk (another example being lack of infrastructure planning that forces Duke Energy to build sub stations next to elementary schools).