By David Stewart"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
KHF
June 2004
Years ago, late one afternoon I remember running while on a business trip. The shoulders of the road near the hotel were wide enough for safety. Cars were passing but rush hour was over. Just as one car passed, a can of beer landed nearby me and spewed foam as it fanned rapidly to the gutter.
Cycling has taken me to other cities as well. I learned about the rules of the road and etiquette from the Louisville Bicycle Club in those early days when I had my first bike. Since then, I’ve had drivers shout at me or rush by too closely. Clipping me with a mirror would have disastrous results. It was unnecessary, whatever the driver’s reason.
I’m a driver as well. I’ve found myself annoyed when runners dart into the street so that they startle me. The same annoyance rises when a group of cyclists snarl traffic unnecessarily. I’ve been on both sides of these fences.
Most recently, I’ve stood beside a hospital bed as a fri/files/storyimages/struggled for his life. He was hit by a car in one of our Olmstead parks while riding his bike. He is a highly experienced competitive cyclist. He was doing nothing wrong when he was hit.
The driver of the car that hit him wasn’t someone I know. But I learned about him as I heard the story surrounding the accident. My friend’s life will never be the same. Neither will the driver’s life. We mustn’t repeat that type of tragedy.
There has been a transformation in many of us in recent years. We are healthier than our forebears. We walk, run and ride our bikes. A lot. Our roads also carry a greater volume of motorized traffic. More of us commute on a bike. Somewhere we need a balance because we all use the same road.
Having our shared roads safe for each user is important to our community. Not only does it spare us needless pain and sorrow; it also promotes our city to the outside world. That’s important from an economic standpoint. Just as famous horse races draw tourists, being high on the list of cities friendly to runners or cyclists draws people who like to run or ride their bikes. Cities friendly to active populations keep their talented citizens who might otherwise be lured elsewhere.
Mayor Jerry Abramson agrees. He has brought in an engineer, Mohammad Nouri, to serve as Louisville Metro’s regional bicycle and pedestrian coordinator. Nouri is focusing on a wide range of projects from making intersections in the parks safer to putting in new major roads that will have bicycle lanes and sidewalks.
Louisville’s progress in the past, Nouri says, has always been in favor of automobiles. The balance is off and needs to be righted.
When asked what he needs, Nouri asks for community voices. He has the mandate from the Mayor to assert a balance for all of us who use our roads. In some organized fashion, Nouri needs community voices to help him understand what that balance means.
I am proposing a consortium of walkers, runners, cyclists, motorcyclists and motorists to bring that sense of balance to our roads. We haven’t seen a lot of change despite all the talk. As a consortium, we bring a greater number of people to the table, not just fragmented interest groups. We can have a voice in the transformation being forced upon us by the growing numbers in our active city.
“Share the Road” is an old, old concept. Perhaps it’s too worn to be effective any longer. People typically believe it refers to someone else’s road manners. A name that speaks loudly about this issue needs to be coined. My suggestion is a simple one. “One Road.”
If you’re interested in having a positive influence on the world around you, if you like a challenge and if you think in an innovative fashion, you will be an essential part of “One Road.” Be prepared to make a difference.
David Stewart is vice president of racing for Team Louisville and the Louisville Bicycle Club. Contact him at OneRoad@insightbb.com.
