Bike Lanes - Why I Don't Really Care About Them (And Neither Do Most People)

I'm just gonna say what a whole lot of other people are thinking, and I know its gonna annoy my fellow progressives but it needs to be said, we focus too much on bike lanes.

If you've ever had the misfortune to sit in on a meeting of the MPO there is inevitably a presentation of something that has to do with bike lanes.

I'm sick of hearing about bike lanes. I'm sick of seeing bike lanes. They take up a lot of real estate and here's a dirty little secret...the are rarely used. Seriously, they are almost always empty. In rural communities a traffic study is done to establish the amount of traffic on a given road. That is how it is determined whether or not the road gets paved. Makes sense. Why they don't do the same thing for bike lanes is beyond me.

Could I use a few miles on a bike every week? Hell yes.

Is it great exercise? Absolutely.

Would I like to see more people use them? Actually I don't really give a shit.

It just seems like we spend a lot of time, treasure, and talent in this town on bike lanes. I certainly don't want to see anyone get hurt. I think obesity is a big problem, especially with our youth and a lifestyle change like riding a bike is cool.

But honestly I roll my eyes in frustration every time I hear someone talk about how "important" bike lanes are to our community.

You know what is important to our community? Rooting out corruption, providing park space for kids in rural areas, fixing potholes in streets, slowing down speeders, addressing drunk driving, economic development, better jobs, expansion of healthcare, addressing the lack of potable water in colonias, etc. Thats important.

Shrinking the infrastructure for cars so that some hipster in spandex slurping his little energy drink and making hand signals just doesn't seem like its a priority.

No matter how you look at it, there are bigger priorities. Lets take mobility.

Very few people use a bicycle as a primary mode of transportation. Sure there are lots of clubs and groups and recreational riders. I don't doubt that. I see that almost every weekend.

Thats cool.

But lets not pretend that bikes are part of mobility in the community. So why the huge public investment in infrastructure? Why not put that dough in to mass transit? Buses and rail would have a much bigger impact on mobility in this community than bike lanes.

The reality is that we will never be China. They have incredible bike use in their country but its mostly out of economic necessity. The poor ride bikes in China because they can't afford a vehicle. El Paso's layout isn't conducive to bike riding either. At least not in the parts of the city the matter. Sure you can get away with it downtown or in central, but what can you do in central other than eat? The parts of town that matter most are more spread out and planned in a manner that just isn't bike-friendly.

Do I think they should've been planned that way? Absolutely. And I think they should've been planned to be more pedestrian friendly as well. But they weren't.

If you're stuck in traffic and are thinking to yourself, "Man, I wouldn't be stuck in this traffic wasting gas and making a huge carbon footprint if only there were another lane available for traffic." And then you look out the window and you see what you see all over town...and empty bike lane.

If you want to make a special lane for a group of people that will enhance mobility for El Pasoans? Make a separate lane for people from New Mexico.

Or better yet...lets talk about tolling bike lanes. Make them pay for the use. That way at least the tax payers gets something out of an empty lane.

It doesn't make sense. Sorry, but I know I'm not the only person that feels that way. Feel free to teach me otherwise. thelionstarblog@gmail.com