[Photo thanks to akira1975]
While biking in Spokane can be a daunting task for the average Spokanite, it's not impossible. In fact, we've been impressed by the sheer numbers of bicyclists we've seen this week commuting to work and back home. We're not sure if it's just because we've been paying closer attention to the fact that it's National Bike To Work Week, or rather that the number of bike-commuters are truly up from previous years.
Reading an article last week about El Paso, Texas' Ciclovia event and then seeing all these riders around the city made us wonder if the time was ripe for a step-change in biking here in the lilac city. Ciclovia(HEADS UP: page has sound at first), as we learned via CoolTown Studios,
The original ciclovia was founded in Bogotá, Colombia...in 1983, which now hosts 70 miles of roads closed every Sunday to cars. That event attracts one-and-a-half million people each week, spurring other Latin American cities to follow, some closing entire urban districts to vehicles.
El Paso, Texas has recently picked up the concept in a big way: Every Sunday morning this summer miles of city streets will be closed off to automobile traffic and open to everything else that is human-powered. Entire streets for miles dedicated to people. It's an interesting concept, and one that we think could very easily work here in Spokane. Of course starting small is best, but imagine for a moment a Bloomsday-style event happening every Saturday morning downtown for the rest of summer. Ciclovia Spokane - Are we ready yet? Other cities are...
I love this idea and it's one that the folks on the Bicycle Advisory Board have talked about a bit.
Cycle the Bridges (http://www.cyclethebridges.com/index.html) will be on Aug 19th this year. The streets are closed for the ride, but it would be nice to have the streets closed for a longer chunk of time and more frequently as you suggest here.
Closing a big chunk of downtown to traffic on Saturdays would be a great start.
To me, it's related to the farmer's market deal and just getting folks to walk/ride/enjoy the downtown area. We've got this great coridor downtown on Wall that just screams for a public market.
Car traffic downtown on most Saturday days is pretty minimal anyway. It seems like testing out the waters with the idea for one summer would make sense.
Perhaps a good question for the next mayoral candidate forum? (Thursday, May 24th 7PM Wilson School)
Posted by: John Speare | May 16, 2007 at 09:53 AM
If you live in Asia for a few years, you begin to realize that biking is not just for recreation, it's easy transportation. I think a lot of people are beginning to recognize this and educators need to start working with the next generation. The WSDOT Safe Routes to School is a prime example of a good idea with growing interest. A 7-mile commute (35 minutes) to and from work is really pretty easy, even in Spokane! Get on your bike, Fatty!
Posted by: CountD$ | May 16, 2007 at 05:04 PM
You could shut down any street in downtown on a Sunday and no one would notice.
I would like to shut down Grand blvd/Stevens Street from Manito Park to Riverfront Park. You could have festivities at both ends which provides a reason to bike from one to the other. You could still allow cars to cross the route at intersections with traffic lights (2nd ave, 3rd ave etc.)
Posted by: David Blaine | May 17, 2007 at 01:01 PM
That would be wonderful for Spokane, but I am sure it won't happen, just look at our other bicycle events, such as critical mass, which attracts about 10 people, 15 in the nicer months. Most of whom are those teenage anarchist types. The city really needs to get behind bicycling as a viable means of transport. But that will only happen if they start to see that people are willing to use their bikes. So come on down to critical mass, the last friday of each month, between 4:30 and 5 PM, at the new fountain thing in Riverfront Park.
Posted by: William | May 19, 2007 at 11:59 PM
It could happen. How cool would that be? I see lots more people riding in the last year. CM is the only indicator of local bike culture. We just need more people committed to riding and organizing. Kudos to the BAB members for trying to shake things up. Next step: Bike/Ped position at City Hall.
Posted by: Jon Snyder | May 22, 2007 at 09:47 AM
Whoops. Meant to say "CM isn't the onnly indicator of local bike culture."
Posted by: Jon Snyder | May 22, 2007 at 09:54 AM
Critical Mass this month attracted quite a few cops. And that doesn't look good to any of the people in cars or on the sidewalk who see 20 bikers being followed by 3 police crusiers.
Posted by: William | May 31, 2007 at 09:37 PM