The National Bike Challenge is winding down, as is Cycle September, and Lincoln has no serious challengers. We’re still crushing it. Congratulations! Check out the local stats to see how our workplaces are doing at lovetoride.net/lincoln, results. We have more people here who like to ride their bikes, and ride them more, and log their miles, (have you logged all your miles?) than any other city our size. And more than a lot of cities bigger than us. So what’s the next hurdle? I think it’s raising our score on The League of American Cyclists Bicycle Friendly Communities Scorecard. Here’s what the League says that looks like:
“A BFC welcomes bicyclists by providing safe accommodations for bicycling and encouraging people to bike for transportation and recreation. Making bicycling safe and convenient are keys to improving public health, reducing traffic congestion, improving air quality and improving quality of life.
Go to https://bikeleague.org/bfa/awards#community to compare Nebraska with other communities and states. We have a long way to go. Basically, all we can do is go up in the rankings. How can we have so many enthusiastic riders and amazing National Bike Challenge results year after year and such mediocre rankings? We need to harness that enthusiasm and get the voices of cyclists heard. One way is to weigh in on the Long Range Transportation Plan. The following is from the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). “We need ALL City of Lincoln & Lancaster County residents, employees, commuters, students, and visitors to HELP the Lincoln Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) develop a safe, connected, convenient, accessible, & reliable transportation system for the next 30 YEARS. Visit us online at http://lrtplincolnmpo.com/”
The survey and opportunity for comments is only open until October 19, so PLEASE, inform yourself, take the survey and make comments. Also, remember to Vote Bike. Find out how the candidates stand on issues that are important to us. You may have to educate them.
Transportation issues touch on far more than our ease of travel and our scorecard. I’m old enough to remember what interstate highway systems did to core urban neighborhoods when they came into our cities. If you’re interested in these issues, UNL Hyde Lecture Series is featuring a speaker that will explore them in depth. Renowned equity, environmental and racial justice advocate Tamika L. Butler will deliver the first Hyde Lecture of the season via Zoom at 4 p.m. Oct. 2. “The talk will explore how the transportation industry has contributed to systemic oppression, using personal stories and recent data to highlight related fears in the Black community. She will provide concrete tips on taking action towards being anti-racist and call for change at the personal and institutional level. https://news.unl.edu/newsrooms/today/article/environmental-racial-justice-advocate-to-kick-off-hyde-lecture-series/
