Why isn't the tri-state more bicycle friendly?
By Kevin Eigelbach
Post staff reporter
Riding a bicycle costs nothing in gasoline, produces zero emissions and makes
the rider a healthier, happier person.
So why don't more people do it? It could be all those darn hills to climb. Or it
might have to do with the fact that America is in love with its automobiles.
With few dedicated bicycle paths and sometimes-narrow roads, tri-state bicycle
riding for fun, for exercise or as part of a work commute can be an adventure.
Some bicyclists say the combination of persistently high gas prices and a
growing number of people interested in bicycling mean businesses and governments
should pay more attention to their needs.
"As the population continues to grow, more people will be returning to bicycles
as an alternative form of transportation," said Union resident Ralph Mitchell,
the leader of the Northern Kentucky cluster of the Cincinnati Cycle Club. "As
gasoline goes up in price, you'll begin to see more people interested."
Nationally, about 57 million people will ride bicycles this year, said Mike
Mackin of the League of American Bicyclists. That number is growing because of
better awareness of healthy lifestyles and the coverage of the Tour de France
bike race.
At the same time, there are about 20 million more cars on the nation's roads
than there were 10 years ago, according to the American Automobile Association.
Mitchell, who said he rides 200 to 250 miles a week, would like to see more
accessibility for bicyclists.
So would Edgewood resident Mike Sullivan, who would like to see more bike racks
at businesses. He says if a merchant doesn't want his business when he's on his
bicycle, he'll avoid that merchant when he's driving.
"If you went up and down Dixie Highway, you'd find very few if any (bike
racks)," he said. "You pretty much have to chain it to a post or a street sign."
He has to chain his bike to the shopping-cart rack when he rides to the Kroger
store in Erlanger.
Then there's the safety issue.
In mid-July, two bicyclists were killed when they were hit by a car in Crosby
Township on the west side of Hamilton County.
Bicyclist Eugene Spiegel said it would be nice to have more bike racks, but what
bicycle riders really need is an education program for drivers that informs
motorists of the rights of cyclists.
Unless it's less than 15 degrees outside, Spiegel, 56, bicycles the six miles
from his Winton Place home to his shop at Vine and Court streets downtown,
Reliable Jewelry and Loan. He has a bicycle with studded tires for riding in
snow and ice, and one with fenders for riding in the rain.
As he rides, he makes mental notes on the number of bad motorists he encounters.
The most common problem - they pass too closely. He always rides with a
rear-view mirror.
"There's a constant problem with getting yelled at, and vehicles not giving you
your proper space," downtown resident Chris Pohler agreed.
Pohler said more bicyclists would make bicycling better. That way, motorists
would get used to them and act accordingly.
Larry Parker has been an avid cyclist since 1983, but never commutes to work on
his bicycle because the area in general is not biker-friendly, he said. One
exception, he said, is Hyde Park, where he lives.
Roads without shoulders to ride on, limited bike lanes that don't connect in any
way and a lack of cross-town bicycle routes are big problems, he said.
"There are just congested areas that are traffic bottlenecks," he said, listing
the Oakley intersections of Paxton at Wasson and Edwards at Madison, plus the
University Hospital area in Corryville.
He agreed that motorists are a problem, but said cyclists share the blame. They
are "notorious for slowing traffic and failing to leave gaps in large groups to
allow motorists to pass."
The city could also make its streets friendlier for riders by removing broken
bottles. Spiegel collects bottles as he rides, about 800 of them a year,
one-third of them Budweiser beer bottles.
He knows that if he doesn't pick them up, they'll likely get broken and threaten
his bicycle tires.
Local merchants remain more geared to making their businesses accessible to
automobiles than to bicycles.
Crestview Hills Mall, newly renovated into an upscale "lifestyle center," has
plenty of parking spaces for autos, but no bicycle racks.
The developer of the mall, Jeffrey R. Anderson Real Estate, doesn't have bicycle
racks at any of its lifestyle centers, including Rookwood Commons in Norwood,
Marketing Director Tracy Nemenz said. The issue has never come up, she said.
"We truly rely on the municipalities in which we do business to really clue us
in to what's important to the communities," she said.
The city of Crestview Hills doesn't require stores to install bicycle racks - to
do so would be up to the developer, City Administrator Dan Groth said.
He often sees bicycle riders in subdivisions, but rarely on Dixie Highway or
Turkeyfoot Road, two major roads inside the city. The city has no dedicated
paths for bicycles.
"There are just too many highways going through the city," Groth said.
Some businesses still extend the welcome mat to bicyclists. Newport on the Levee
has several well-used bicycle racks and even offers a bicycle valet, General
Manager Ellen Prows said. For $2, the valet will secure your bicycle until you
return from shopping. It's never been an especially popular service, she said,
but it's there.
Florence Mall has two bicycle racks at the mall entrances off Mall Road, said
spokesperson Stephanie Wood.
You'll find a variety of bicycle racks at businesses up and down Houston Road in
Florence because, since 2002, the Boone County Planning Commission has required
them in all new developments, Executive Director Kevin Costello said.
Erpenbeck Elementary School puts out a new bicycle rack every year and now has
about five, Costello said, because of all the kids who ride there from nearby
Plantation Pointe subdivision.
But even some bicyclists don't think bikes belong everywhere in this age of the
automobile. Edgewood resident Paul Listerman said bicycles just didn't belong in
some places, including shopping malls.
"I don't think they have any particular obligation to put up bike racks and
invite us in," he said. "The only thing we're going to do is go in and get a cup
of coffee."
When he rides his bicycle to the Starbucks at the Crestview Hills Mall, he
simply leans it against the window outside, where he can keep an eye on it.
"Before anyone can grab it, I can be out the door," he said. "I've done the same
at Panera Bread for years."
Downtown Cincinnati has bicycle racks only at the main branch of the Public
Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County at 800 Vine St., Speigel said.
Listerman is among bicyclists who don't want to see designated bicycle trails on
city streets.
"If we had more bike paths, I would be expected by cars and perhaps the law to
stay on the bike path," he said. "That would really limit where and how far you
could go."
Many bicyclists use dedicated bike paths such as the Little Miami Scenic Trail
on Hamilton County's east side or the eight-mile loop at Miami Whitewater park
on the county's west side. But for serious cyclists, those routes can be
dangerous because there are too many parents pushing strollers on them,
Listerman said.
"Multiple-use trails are great, but I don't want to be restricted to them," he
said.
The Little Miami trail runs from the Little Miami Golf Center in Newtown to Buck
Creek State Park in Clark County, more than 70 miles. It's popular with
bicyclists, runners, roller bladers and more.
The Hamilton County Park District hopes to eventually extend the trail to Clear
Creek Park in Anderson Township, spokeswoman Joy Landry said.
Sometimes, bike paths are dedicated that aren't really practical. Houston Road
in Florence has a dedicated bicycle lane that no one ever uses, Mitchell said,
because it goes nowhere.
But a new section of U.S. 42 through Union, with sidewalks and bicycle lanes,
has attracted riders, he said.
When it comes to accommodating bicycles, Boone County may be the most
progressive Northern Kentucky county. The planning commission requires new
developments to build sidewalks and plan for bicycle routes, Costello said.
Also, when roads are upgraded, "we're trying to include bike paths as part of
that," he said. That includes a new road the county plans to build to link Ky.
18 with Donaldson and Houston roads. It could form the first link of a bicycle
path around Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport similar to the
one around Lunken Airport in Cincinnati, Costello said.
Boone County would also like to create a safe path for bicyclists that would
connect its mountain bike trails in England-Idlewild Park with its bicycle paths
in Central Park, he said.
The planning commissions in Kenton and Campbell counties don't require
developers to create bicycle trails.
"I'd be happy with a sign that says, 'Share the road,' so motorists would know I
have the right to be there too," said Keith Logsdon, a bicycle rider and the
Northern Kentucky Area Planning Commission's deputy director for long-range
planning.
Less experienced riders would need bicycle lanes, he said, but the commission
has had more success getting developers to agree to build sidewalks for
pedestrians.
Things are improving for bicycle riders, Mitchell said, albeit slowly.
Local riders were glad to learn that in May, the Transit Authority of Northern
Kentucky finished putting bicycle racks on all of its buses. TANK used a $70,000
grant from the state to fund 80 percent of the project, spokeswoman Gina Douthit
said.
The system had 562 bike boardings in June, she said, and "that's just huge for
the first month of a project like this. There are systems who have had racks for
years that are not right in line with where we are."
All 390 buses in the Metro bus system, which serves Cincinnati, have bicycle
racks, spokesman Sallie Hilvers said.
Metro doesn't keep track of how many bicycle riders use the bus, but Hilvers
said she has seen more bicycles on the racks in the past few months.
Publication date: 08-05-2006
http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060805/NEWS02/608050327