So last year, in a town that likes its bicycling, the city council decided to let bikes on sidewalks. Or, more accurately, they just legitimized something that was already happening and not being enforced. The biggest argument for it was “I’m scared to ride on the roads.” And that’s not an illegitimate concern – have you seen people that drive?
The biggest argument against was “Bicycles don’t belong on sidewalks.” I happen to like this argument, and I am not unsympathetic toward the elderly residents who complained about what changing the rules might mean for where they walk around.
Nevertheless, the city made it OK to ride your bikes on sidewalks. Except for a few high profile walkways, where these messages are now appearing:
In a perfect world, with unlimited resources and no lost days to weather or personnel or legal disputes, I’d build a secondary path that followed the primary roads. This would be for bikes. And I could drop this into place instantly and people would come up with interesting ways to break the rules set up for safety. Because that’s just what some people will do.
I bet I could go sit by that dismount notice for just a few minutes and manage to take a picture of someone riding or skating over it. That’s just what some people will do.
Today’s podcast was with my old friend Justin Thurman. The story we discussed has to do with how technology is hurting the youth, this time.
I used to work with him way back when. He may be one of the people that interviewed me, as I was leaving broadcasting. Super nice guy, just smart and thoughtful as can be. He’s one of those knows a lot about a lot kind of people. And he’s got this super cool kid and his wife is a wonderful human being. Now I think I’ve finally arranged this so that I can do a show with him on a regular basis, which was really the ultimate goal of the entire show, if you ask me on the right day.
(Tomorrow’s show will feature the guy who was our boss.)
(Tomorrow will also feature a road trip, so I must go pack a few things. Ta ta for now.)
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