Is there a demand for bike lanes in Carson City?
After reading the two columns dedicated to bicyclists in the July 28 edition of the Appeal, I decided to take a drive around our city early on the morning of July 29. I started my drive at 8:30 a.m. when it was nice and cool. Perfect bicycle riding weather, one would think. I drove for a little over an hour in all parts of the city and saw less than two dozen bicycle riders, very few of which were in the downtown corridor area. Gee, I certainly thought I would see more though, considering the urgent tone of the columnists’ pleas for creating more bike lanes around town.
There was one attempt at comparing Carson City to Amsterdam. Incredible stretch of the imagination indeed, considering the shortage of water and canals here as well as much wider streets.
There was also an attempt to sway residents into believing that there is widespread clamor for a more bicycle friendly city using statistics from a very small percentage of Carson City residents. I am certainly not against bringing in more tourists (and their disposable income) into the city, but I am against taking any portion of money earmarked for road maintenance to create more bicycle lanes.
If a completely impartial study is conducted that shows such a need, then it should be conveyed to the citizens, prior to any work. This study should not be done by those who already have a bias toward increasing bicycle lanes, as evidenced by the two columnists’ opinions.
It was apparent to me, on my drive, that North Carson Street would be a candidate for lanes, but it is going to come at the cost of narrowing existing traffic lanes or the center turn lane.
In my opinion, Ms. Hannaman’s assessment was closer to reality than a poll or looking out a window to count bicycles.
David Knighton
Carson City
