Letters to the Editor for November 22, 2024

Bike lanes gave me “permission” to ditch my car

To the Editor:

In May 2022, I walked into a local bike shop with one goal—to buy a bike I could use for transport and fun. I’d imagined long rides in the wine country as well as using it to get around Alameda. I’d gotten sick of getting stuck in Otis Drive traffic on my daily trip to Panera at South Shore, and figured that riding a bike would be better for the environment and allow me to justify a cookie treat each day. After just a month, we bought our Minivan of bikes (a cargo e-bike), which has space for our three kids so I could transport them to/from their activities and child care. Fast forward to today, I still haven’t made it to the wine country, but I’ve replaced nearly 5,000 miles of driving between my two bikes.

I’ll admit that my conversion to cycling instead of driving has surprised me. Not only do I find it more fun to ride around town, but I feel better and healthier. I get a great dose of Vitamin D and spend time in the sun. It helps that Alameda is the perfect place for transport cycling. It’s flat, sunny, and rarely rains. But even the weather and geography would not have been enough to convince me to sell a car and ride instead. What did?

I moved to Alameda in 2014, and in that time, the City of Alameda and Caltrans have added many miles of bike lanes. Some are better than others. I much prefer protected cycle tracks to painted (and often blocked) bike lanes. But any bike lane gave me two things I needed to make this shift: (1.) A physical sign encouraging me to use the road as a cyclist, and (2.) a dedicated space that made it safer to do so.

I did not have the privilege of growing up in Alameda, but many bemoan changes related to traffic and safety here. Some people talk nostalgically about how the Alameda Police Department would ticket a person driving 1 mph above the speed limit in the not-so-distant past. I’ve witnessed plenty of speeding and downright scary driving behaviors so that I, too, want more enforcement.

But enforcement has significant costs and trade-offs, and it can’t be everywhere all the time.

As a result, our City, and many other cities, are reconfiguring streets that encourage dangerous driving to make them safer by design. Strategies include things like roundabouts, lane narrowing, and lane reductions for overly wide streets. None are without controversy, but lately road reductions have been getting a lot of attention. Many believe they increase traffic and congestion, and get frustrated when a lane (or parking spot) is replaced with a bike lane or cycle track.

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I can see where these folks are coming from, but I hope they will consider two things:

1. Safer streets are something a whole lot of us want, and voted for through adopted policies and plans, and these are proven, necessary strategies to get us there.
2. There are many people like me who have replaced thousands of vehicle miles with biking precisely because this infrastructure exists. I see more people with cargo bikes hauling their kids around. That’s one less large sedan, SUV, or minivan on the road blocking your path, needing parking, and adding wear and tear to our streets.

I’d also encourage those who are able and curious to try to replace some driving trips with walking, biking, or something else where you get to be outside enjoying the sunshine. We all pay a premium to live in this amazing—and extraordinarily walk/bikeable—place. Get out and enjoy it. It may change your life for the better too!

Maria Piper
Alameda