Brian Wilford, Oceanside Star
Published: Thursday, April 07, 2011
Cycling is healthy and environmentally friendly and cycling infrastructure doesn't cost a lot.
"These are things that should be easy to sell to the politicians," cycling legend Ed Schum told the Oceanside Cycling Coalition last Thursday, "but don't count on it."
Schum, a national and provincial cycling coach who has cycled across Canada and Europe, said decades of automobile-centric planning have created communities that are one-third roads, one-third parking and one-third buildings, with little room for trees and cycling.
The new priorities, he said, should put pedestrians, cycling and public transportation first and the single-passenger automobiles last.
Cycling infrastructure, such as dedicated lanes, signs and parking, is cheaper to build and maintain than that for cars and trucks, he said, but it takes a lot of public pressure to develop the political will and to overcome bureaucratic resistance at all levels.
Ministry of Transportation officials in Nanaimo and Victoria are particularly resistant, he said.
The Province likes to say it's doing a lot for cycling, he said, "but they're really not."
Past-president of the Comox Valley Cycling Coalition, Schum said members are still fighting to get safe river crossings in Courtenay but they've made some progress in terms of road surfaces and converting car lanes into cycling lanes.
Safety is the biggest barrier to cycling, he said. Most people don't cycle because they don't think it's safe, he said, and they don't let their kids cycle to school, either.
But there are big cities, like Paris and Portland, where lots of people cycle because there are beautiful, dedicated cycling paths, safe cycling routes to school, safe intersections, secure parking and a cultural recognition that cyclists have a rightful place.
Portland, Schum said, is "the most cycling-friendly city in the world."
He likes to quote Portland Mayor Sam Adams from a city planning document (available at www.crazyguyonabike.com): "You just can't get a better transportation return on your investment than you get with promoting bicycling."
Schum urged the 40 or so people at the Oceanside meeting to form a public advocacy committee, offer instruction, hold special rides (like a Mother's Day ride), and work with schools to offer things like bike rodeos.
"That's the best way to develop a cycling culture," he said.
Oceanside Cycling Coalition members voted to join the BC Cycling Coalition and to elect a formal board at their next meeting.
Schum said a cycling coalition in Nanaimo is active once again and people in Campbell River and the Cowichan Valley are interested in forming coalitions in their areas as well, creating the possibility of an Island "cycling mecca."
For more, see http://oceansidecyclingcoalition.yolasite.com or email oceansidecyclingcoalition@shaw.ca.
© Oceanside Star 2011
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