I had the good fortune to attend a recent talk by Gil Penaloso (one of the world’s leaders in alternative transportation to vehicles) at the San Mateo Library. Mr. Penaloso help to instigate the many miles of friendly bike pathways in Bogota, Columbia some years ago. He showed us examples of how the use of bicycles as an alternative means of transport was gaining momentum in many European cities. Of course many of the cities shown were primarily on flat landscape. By offering better bike and pedestrian pathways, parts of certain cities became more vibrant and user friendly as the pathways became more friendly to people.

We are going to have to look at bike lanes in a different manner to make them safer and more inviting for people to use. Just painting a line on the roadways isn’t enough in the view of Mr. Penaloso. If a community is serious about making it safer and friendlier for pedestrians and bike riders then lanes need to have barriers erected between vehicular traffic and bicycle
traffic. There also has to be a barrier of sorts between pedestrians and bicycles. Any future planning of Grand Boulevards and other streets as a way to move people, bicycles and vehicles will need futuristic planning and a strong resolve to put a sensible plan in place. The political will, will have to be there to develop a more environmentally friendly transportation
system.

-Bertha