[OKC] US Cities Promote Bicycling as Gas Prices Soar

[Shauna Struby]

Another sign times are changing . 

 

PHILADELPHIA - US cities that have long promoted bicycle use by commuters
are now seeing a steady rise in the popularity of pedal power as gasoline
prices soar. 

Campaigns originally designed to cut down on traffic and pollution are now
paying off for people looking for an option to driving with national gas
prices averaging a record US$4 per gallon (US$1.06 per litre). 

People in cities such as Chicago, Washington and Portland, Oregon, can take
advantage of bicycle lanes, bike-friendly transit systems and bike-parking
locations built in recent years. 

"Twelve years ago, I would bike down to City Hall and often it was a lonely
ride," said Ben Gomberg, Chicago's bicycle program coordinator. "Today,
there are often 17 or 18 riders stopped at the intersections." 

Unlike Europeans, Americans use bikes for transport sparingly, even though
40 percent of personal trips in the United States are two miles (3.2 km) or
less, according to bicycle advocates. 

In a country famous for its love of cars and driving, less than 1 percent of
personal trips are by bike compared with up to 30 percent in some parts of
Europe, campaigners say. 

But rates of bike use in some US cities are significantly higher thanks to
recognition by urban planners of the environmental, economic and health
benefits. 

In Portland, widely regarded as America's most bike-friendly city, 5.4
percent of people said in a 2006 survey that the bicycle was their primary
means of getting to work. 

"In the last three years, we reached another acceleration point," said Scott
Bricker, executive director of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, an
advocacy group. "Ridership is increasing exponentially." 

More here :::
<http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/48764/story.htm>
http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/48764/story.htm 

 

 

::: shauna lawyer struby

 

 

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