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. I can’t safely ride a bike from my home in Short Pump to my job in Innsbrook, let alone into the city (and I would).

As a cyclist, that’s discouraging. There isn’t enough incentive to replace driving with biking. So, I drive to work and into the city — which is ironic, as the company I work for insures cyclists. But if you build it, people will ride it — myself included.

Owens may want to visit the Virginia Capital Trail. She might be surprised how often she sees someone zip by. I guarantee her that person will be smiling. After all, have you ever seen anyone not smiling while riding a bike?

Originally printed as a letter to the editor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Click here to view.

Written in my capacity a program manager for Balance for Cyclists – an accident insurance program for cyclists. See www.balanceforcyclists.com for more information.