Off to Louisville Bike Summit 2… updates to follow.
Update:
Made it through the better part of Bike Summit today. Would have updated this sooner but there was a lack of electrical outlets and internet access so here I sit. While I may delve deeper into this later, right now I’ll just go over some general impressions I walked away with.
First off, it’s good to see this dialogue happening in the city. There were likely 200 or so people in attendance and even a fair number that got there by bike. With that in mind, I would like to not the lack of proper bike racks at the facility. Bike Summit in a building with no bike rack - dialed.
Second, the city seems to be more concerned with making a name for itself in the recreation venue than attempting to keep riders out on the roads alive. With goals aimed at adding nearly 300 more miles of “bike routes” and a morning dedicated to the 100 mile “Louisville Loop” these goals don’t do too much for getting people to the grocery, school and work safely by bike. With this sort of aim Louisville seems destined to keep bicyclists and pedestrians at bay. Yes there is now a complete streets program implemented in all new road construction, but that does little to serve our existing network of dangerous roads.
Lastly, I have to address what is a level of ignorance that hopefully this sort of forum helps curb and allows Louisville and other cities to progress. This became especially clear while during the engineering break out session one of the workers noted how he had never even contemplated the issue of having to make a left turn while using bike lanes that are located on the far right of roadways… WTF? Like I said, hopefully this communication between riders and the people behind planning roads and what not will just make for a more bicycle and pedestrian friendly system in the end.
That really is the bottom line here. Creating a better system. Obviously the one the country has been going by is totally fucked and it seems government at every level is realizing this. As much as Louisville Bike Summit seems like an opportunity for city bureaucrats to pat themselves on the back for their efforts it does provide an opportunity and I am happy I took part in it.
