Riders,

The public City/County meeting on Wednesday was at once disturbing and
also uplifting.

On the one hand, the vast majority of local residents (probably about
80 present) spoke against bikes being in the roadway at all.  By the
end of the evening, even our pro-bike County Commissioner Mike Byerly
and cycling activist City Commisioner Randy Wells were conceding major
ground, agreeing with all county and city commishes that bikes don't
belong on the road at all.  To be fair, some said so in the guise of
seeking mixed use lanes (which I don't see as viable given the
residential entries and exits along the corridor, cost, and political
will), and others did so simply because they don't like bikes in their
way.  We were called "young," "dangerous," and "crazy" on multiple
occasions, and commissioners and residents relied on anecdote and
personal experience to make their points.   In short, it was probably
one of the worst nights for Gainesville cycling, politically speaking,
in my fifteen years in this town.  I was ashamed to be a Gainesville
resident.

On the other hand, there were thirteen GCC folk there that I can
count, maybe even more, including several Board Members, commuter
committee folk, and some new faces.  Contrary to my disappointment,
the emails exchanged afterwards were upbeat and forward looking.  Five
GCC folk spoke to the public, making concise and diplomatic points
that spoke to logic and the heart.  Many of the anti-cycling comments
were in fact made by self-proclaimed "cyclists," so it was refreshing
to hear us represent those 5,000 people that the U. S. census says use
the roadways to bike in Gainesville for work and school.  I have never
been more proud to be a GCC member.

My general conclusion is that, like Mike Byerly said, this isn't about
safety (median reduction being the main issue for car folk), it is
about allowing cars to move as fast as they like through our streets.

By the way, the only elected official who said we need lanes in the
street, even if we do mixed use, was Mayor Craig Lowe.  We'll be
helping him educate his elected peers over the next few weeks about
mixed use, in-lane, and segregated cycling data so they can, I hope,
back track on what was a terrible evening for vehicular cycling.

More to come, thanks for listening, and thanks for coming out.

Regards,

James Thompson
Advocacy Director
Commuter Committee Member

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