Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition staff check out the new bike lanes. photo: SVBC
San Jose Bike Party is a lot of fun. There’s no doubt about that. New riders soon join our other rides, or start riding on their own with friends or family. But they soon realize that that bubble of safety that hundreds or even thousands of fellow riders bring you, disappears as you start to ride on your own.
If you don’t have other friends to ride with, bike paths or green bikeways sure help out a lot. But as new riders soon realize there are parts of this city that lack safe bike lanes, or what the engineers call bike infrastructure.
The city of San Jose is taking a bold step forward however in laying down some of this “infrastructureâ€. Have you noticed that many Bike Party rides highlight great bike lanes such as San Fernando St., 3rd, 4th, 10th and 11th streets, as well as Hedding Street.
The city of San Jose has recently restriped Lincoln Ave. to include temporary bike lanes, but as you may have figured out controversies sells newspapers. A recent article by Gary Richards in his Roadshow column highlighted the mixed review on the project given that some people use the avenue more like a highway.
Yes if you live in the Almaden Valley and you use Lincoln Ave. to avoid the freeway traffic, you may be unhappy as you race through someone’s neighborhood. And yes many motorists hate “those $@^^# cyclists; but if you’re a cyclist going to work, or a mother taking your child to Willow Glen or Broadway Elementary Schools then the quieter, calmer street mean safety for your children.
Let the community and the city know how you feel. Support more bike lanes for cyclists, and calmer streets for pedestrians. Send an email to lincolnroaddiet@nullgmail.com. For more information check out their website.
Here are some things you might want to mention if you are in favor of the improvements for cyclists and pedestrians.
- The wide buffered lanes make you feel safer, keeping you away from car doors that may open suddenly.
- Less stress from no longer having to be so close to speeding cars and trucks.
- How much easier it is to cross the street since you are only crossing 2 lanes of auto traffic instead of four lanes.
- Sharrows ….well they just suck, and six foot bike lanes are much safer.
- That calmer traffic just makes shopping and dining in Willow Glen that much more enjoyable. (Think Santana Row).
Rendering of the temporary bike lanes on Lincoln Ave.
We know you got a voice; we hear it every month when you shout “Bike Party!â€. Now make your voice heard and leave your comments at lincolnroaddiet@nullgmail.com Please keep this positive. Show cyclists in a good light.
Bike Party!!