Keep Building Bike Lanes, the Cyclists Will Come

In response to Correspondent of the Day Karen Owens’ letter, “Why build more bike lanes if they aren’t used?”: In December, I returned to Richmond after three years in Arlington. Say what you will about Northern Virginia, but its bicycle infrastructure is superb. There is, quite literally, a bicycle interstate system connecting Virginia, Maryland, and Washington.

Hence, while living there, I often chose to ride my bike rather than drive. I’d ride to the grocery store (a mile away), my job (12 miles away, and it was faster than driving), and to see friends and family across the area. Once, I even rode my bike 60 miles to Loudoun County and back.

While I was away, Richmond made tremendous progress toward becoming a bicycle-friendly city. Our city hosted a world championship, the Virginia Capital Trail reached Richmond, and the city built bike lanes. These are wonderful, life-saving developments.

However, there’s a long way to go. Currently, the city’s bicycle infrastructure is disjointed. It isn’t possible to utilize bicycle transit in Richmond like I did in Northern Virginia.