MORE BIKE PARKING. There’s nothing worse than getting a bike stolen. The city should create lots of safe and secure bike parking facilities. In Holland, municipal garages, staffed or locked at all times, allow people to store bikes free for the first 24 hours.
BUS-ONLY LANES. Give STA the ability to provide frequent and reliable service with a network of lanes reserved only for buses. This allows local bike travel shorter than three or so miles to be supported by transit for longer trips.
ELECTRIC CARGO BIKES FOR LOCAL DELIVERY. Enough with the massive trucks parking in the street with their engines running. Encourage in-town delivery to happen on e-cargo bikes, which are capable of holding up to 550 pounds.
ELECTRIC BIKE VOUCHERS. People in cities and states all over the U.S. — from Vermont to Texas — have access to hundreds of dollars in rebates if they buy an electric bike, many times through their electric utility. Washington state almost passed a similar program, and it was nearly included in the recent Inflation Reduction Act. Call Avista and your representatives and demand it.
MORE POLITICIANS ON BIKES. We need to see our elected officials getting around on two wheels.
COMMUTER RAIL BETWEEN THE AIRPORT AND IDAHO. When Mayor Nadine Woodward was running for office, she said Spokane should emulate Portland’s light rail system and build a line from Spokane International to Coeur d’Alene. She was right.
BETTER COMMUNICATION — ESPECIALLY FROM THE CITY — ABOUT TRAFFIC SAFETY. And how bikes make our streets safer for everyone
WINTER MAINTENANCE. Wintery cities around the globe ride all year, from Minneapolis to Calgary to Oslo. The city needs to invest in plows that can maintain bikeways.
INCREASE DENSITY. The open spaces of the central city need to be filled in with destinations closer to where people live.
BETTER FLOWING ARTERIALS. It may seem counter-intuitive, but with autos and bikes disentangled, traffic should flow better. Create fewer stops for cars, do away with block after block of red lights. They won’t be going at a faster speed, but with better flow, fewer lanes are needed, allowing the street to be shared by all users.
FIETSER NOT CYCLIST. Google fietser, and you’ll see men and women, young and old, riding bikes. Google “cyclist” and you’ll see a middle-aged man in lycra. Let’s be fietsers. ♦
