The current town council members have told us that Chapel Hill is “bicycling friendly.” With all due respect, they either don’t ride bikes – or only ride them for recreation on greenways. Any one who cycles regularly on the streets of Chapel Hill (as I do) knows that there are very few parts of Chapel Hill where you feel safe on your bicycle. This is a simple fact.

There are two solutions – but first we have to accept that we have a problem:

   -More people riding their bikes. At the Sierra Club forum at Town Hall, I was the only person who rode my bike! (Based on a show of hands only one person took the bus). We need to start riding our talk, so to speak. We need to start asking each other why we didn’t ride our bikes instead of getting in our cars. We can celebrate increased bike use through all the various forums and groups. We should always ask the question --- did you ride your bike here?
   -Intense focus on defining cross town thoroughfares and making them cycling safe. In order for people to use their bikes as daily transportation they have to be able to feel safe about getting across town. That should be our highest priority in discussions with the Department of Transportation. Let’s be a true leader in the BEST way to reduce automotive carbon emissions by actually riding our talk!