Dear editor of the Fresno Bee,
As a new years resolution I have decided to start bike commutting to work. My daily commute is 6 miles each way. I commute for better health and a better environment for our city and our world.
I am an avid bike rider who takes long rides out of town on the weekends for 3-4 hours at a time covering 40-60 miles per trip/
A few troubling issues have surfaced in my recent travels and a new bike commuter.
Bike Lanes
Bike lanes in Fresno have become a joke. Alluvial avenue in particular between Cedar and Fresno Street has spotty bike lanes that start and stop and merge with traffic lanes 4-5 times in just 2 miles. I commute before 7 am in the morning and after 4 pm and encounter very little resistance in the morning but more and more angry drivers in the afternoons on this stretch of road.
Bike Racks
During a stop on my way home the other day I decided to see if a local discount clothing store (Ross) in the River Park Shopping Area had a certain color of dress slacks I was in need of for an upcoming formal event.
When I arrived at the store I rode around looking for a bike rack or a suitable area to lock my bike. When no rack was found I decided to park my bike just inside the store against the wall out of the way of customers or employees. In a similar way someone might park a stroller or wheelchair when not needed. After shopping for less than 3 minutes the store manager approached me asking me to park my bicycle outside. I educated her as to their lack of a bike rack or suitable place to lock a bike and she suggested that I lock my bike to itself or lock it to a tree. I told her that locking it to itself would be grossly ineffective and locking a bike to a tree is disrespectful of the environment. She told me that the parking lot and its lack of accomodations was not her problem. I was asked to leave the store.
I decided to send this story to you for informational purposes in the case that you might be planning some kind of future story about Bicycling in Fresno or about alternative transportation in Fresno and its advantages or pitfalls.
I have been bike commuting for the entire month of january and into february and in the process have lost 5 pounds of weight and saved over $100 dollars in gasoline with an immeasurable improvement to local traffic congestion and air quality.
Zak
4 users commented in " Letter to the Fresno Bee "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackBut wait, I thought Alluvial Avenue was one our roads with a good bike lane?!
I always feel lucky living in the northeast part of town. The roads farther south always look less bike friendly to me. Just running an errand near downtown once in a while always seems like quite an adventure into traffic.
You are right about being lucky, northern Fresno has great bike lanes compared to southern Fresno. I will give them that, but it would be nice to have a constant bike lane
I attempted to ride to work (only a couple miles) using the bike lanes in Northern Fresno and was discouraged by the speed of the vehicles - Although the bike lane I use is almost uninterrupted except by intersections the speed of the traffic (40 - 50 mph)is frightening. I gave up after two close calls. I will buy a safety vest and try again this spring.
Kathryn I can understand your concerns, riding out on the roads can be scary. If you stay alert, be visible, hold your ground when needed, and always be looking ahead for hazards or ways out in case of hazards. Then you have a very good chance of commuting safely.
All and all it just takes time getting used to it all. When I first started Zak would take me out and would ride next to me, putting himself between the traffic and me. Which gave me a buffer and allowed me to get used to the whole whooshing cars.
I would like to close with saying welcome to bike4more.