Op/Ed Draft: "Bike Lanes or BP?" - John Baker (Note: I could use help with a better title. Suggestions?

For The Buffalo News: This is an issues-oriented column. Submissions should be 475 words. The author should have some background or expertise on the subject. There is no payment for this column.

In 2008, the city of Buffalo and the Buffalo Common Council passed “Complete Streets” legislation, mandating that new road construction or maintenance include “bicycle and pedestrian facilities”. However, in the resulting two years, almost no progress has been made to make Buffalo a bicycle friendly city. Bike lanes remain limited to recreational trails in our parks and along our waterways., but dedicated lanes on our thoroughfares are still almost non-existent. Much more needs to be done before Buffalo is to call itself a bikeable city.
Bike lanes on even a few of our major arteries, particularly Elmwood, Main, Genesee and Broadway, would go a long way towards not only more of the city bike accessible, but also making Buffalo a city safe for biking. Currently, bikes and cars must compete for the same piece of roadway, which is bad for drivers and bikers alike. Setting aside a small portion of the road not only keeps bicyclists safe, it keeps cars safe as well. No driver wants to maneuver around a bike, just as no cyclist enjoys riding on a major street without a buffer from cars.
Bike lanes are a low-cost way to promote environmentally conscious and healthy behavior. Cases of “greenwashing”, where organizations claim to be helping the environment while conducting business as usual, are increasingly common, as is currently seen with BP’s “green” image tarnished by the Gulf oil spill. It is vital that our cities don’t make the same claim to “green” behavior while really doing nothing at all. According to the recently released Active Transportation Regional Case Statement for the City of Buffalo, 65% of Buffalo households have at least one bike. Pressuring our city government to follow through on their promises to create bike lanes can help ensure that Buffalo becomes a regional leader in sustainability.

About the author: John Baker is a Phd student specializing in urban geography and transportation at the University at Buffalo.