Bike lanes provide choices and benefits to many

LETTER EXCERPTS

Biking and other forms of active transportation are a cheap and fun way to get around that’s also good for your health. I have lived most of my life in the Netherlands until I moved to Edmonton in December 2023. Anyone who has been to the country will remember how superb cycling infrastructure makes it so that Dutch people of all ages can safely and pleasantly get around without a car. I want this same safety and pleasure for bikers, scooters, boarders, rollerbladers and wheelchair users of all ages in Edmonton.

A person who rides an e-scooter to yoga class or rides a bike to grab some beers from the liquor store can surely be the same person who drives a car to work in Spruce Grove or drives a truck to get compost at the eco station? Some trips are more practical with a motor vehicle, others are more efficient and affordable using something smaller. I want to be able to choose without getting pigeonholed into some supposed social group. And when a person chooses to ride a bike for a trip, that’s one less car to be stuck behind in traffic. Everybody benefits.

Bike lanes provide a framework of bike routes to navigate the city and make it clear to cars that the street is also a thoroughfare for bikes.

Reinier Lamers