More bicycling going on in Springfield area

According to this article in the Springfield News-Press, more bicycling is going on the Springfield area, partly due to recent increases in the price of gas:

Just like Bonnie Wilson, SpringBike Bicycle Club member and city Transportation Advisory Board member Bruce Adib-Yazdi expects more people will take to cycling to avoid high gas prices.

He advises new cyclists to acclimate themselves by taking to the Ozark Greenways trails before riding on city streets.

"They venture out more each time and get more comfortable on the streets," Adib-Yazdi said. "It's a gradual process. For somebody to hop on their bike and ride down the street is not the right approach."

Some cyclists are enthusiastic, but unaware of the hazards, he said.

Incidentally, this comment by David Hutchison of Springfield city is practically begging Springfield area bicyclists to contact their city leaders (always in a polite and respectful way, of course) and ask for proper maintenance and reasonable expansion of the current bicycle system. Springfield's bicycle route system is one of the best in the state right now--but it won't stay that way if it is not properly maintained and expanded in accordance with the recently adopted bicycle plan.

City traffic planning engineer David Hutchison said that won't happen during the city's budget crunch.

"Our budget is tight, our budget is not expanding," Hutchison said. "The Public Works policy is we are not adding additional bike lanes, or doing maintenance. With the funds the way they are, maintenance is one of the things that is going to take a hit."

When budgets are tight, expenses have to be prioritized. If no one expresses to city leaders that bicycle accommodations should be a high priority, then naturally they are made a low priority.