Many of you saw the survey circulating on social media asking about your level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with aspects of the quality of life in Lincoln. It’s generated by the University of Nebraska Public Policy Center, and includes questions about Lincoln’s parks and trails, among a variety of other topics. One question concerns the ease of bike travel in the city, and a whole section is devoted to Parks and Recreation. It brings up trails and park maintenance. The more cyclists that weigh in, the better. Copy and paste go.unl.edu/LNK2020 to take the survey.
It asks for satisfaction level rather than comments, but at the very end it does provide a box to type your comments.
We know from studies that ease of bicycle travel and recreational opportunities are important factors in attracting and keeping younger workers, and contributes to a more vibrant city. The League of American Bicyclists keeps score of how cities and states are doing in creating better bicycle infrastructure and safer cities. Lincoln Moved up from bronze to silver ranking this year, but Nebraska ranks 49th according to their criteria. (up from 50th in 2017) Here is the scorecard used in the city ranking.
You can see how bicycle transportation and recreation are becoming more important to cities, and that we have a lot of work to do in Lincoln, and throughout Nebraska. Please be involved in promoting better facilities and infrastructure.
Now, get out and ride your bike, just be careful with the ice. Again, I’m really liking my studded tires. It’s much less stressful and safer. I did have a little trouble putting my foot down and staying upright on an icy ramp when I had to stop, and making a sharp turn didn’t go as planned, but otherwise I’ve had no problems with slipping. I rode my not-studded fat bike in Omaha on Saturday with sloppy streets and had no problem in those conditions, even on hills, except with a little “snirt” spinning. On ice even they can slip though, unless studded.