Let me say that living car free in Boulder is about as ideal as it gets. Our small foot print of 25 square miles with over 381 miles of bikeways with 74 underpasses make Boulder a cycling paradise. When it snows the paths are cleared in a timely manner, they're often better cared for than the roads. I've been living car free for about ten years and ride my bike everywhere. I rarely take the bus, if I do I usually throw my bike on the front rack and take it with me.

I don't know how many miles of greenways have been added since I've lived her but the path system is filling out nicely. The Goose Creek Greenway was completed 5-6 years ago and now sees significant recreation and commuter traffic. I'd say on any given spring or summer day over 1000 cyclists ride the path. I know this because the Community Cycles shop is located just spitting distance from the path, I attribute much of our current success to this proximity.

But the best thing about the path system is it's starting to interconnect. For example Goose Creek connects to two other paths and by 2012 two new paths will tap into the path from the north. When the system is built out around 2020(?) you can be anywhere in Boulder and not be more than a quarter of a mile from bike infrastructure.

One of the big problems with our system is that the business community doesn't understand our needs. I'm talking specifically about bike parking at places like grocery stores and other retail outlets in places like strip malls. We have a bike parking code but it is largely unenforced and at the property managers discretion. Imagine what Whole Foods could do if they encouraged their patrons to bike to shop and when they ride there they would be greeted with covered well lit parking. Instead cyclists are treated as second class citizens and left to fend for themselves.

All and all Boulder is a great place to live and cycle. I hope to be able to share it with you all at the 2010 Bike Bike in Boulder.

Peace
Rich

David Kuch wrote:

My recollections are that while Boulder had constructed a physical system to facilitate city-wide bike use with minimal automobile encounters, except for the Boulder Creek corridor out to the University and the north-south downtown/univ routes, the rest of the system was sparsely used, and the encounters between cyclists and motorists were nasty, brutish, and short. What's changed?

On Fri, Dec 5, 2008 at 5:06 PM, Rich Points <rich@richpoints.com> wrote:

Collectives,
As you may know the League of American Bicyclists recently awarded Boulder the platinum level for bicycle friendliness. This prompted Clarence Eckerson Jr from Street Films to come out and document our wonderful bike system.

http://communitycycles.org/media/24-2008-media/139-december-5-2008-boulder-goes-bike-platinum.html

And take note that even though we've achieved the platinum level we know we still have a long way to go.

In solidarity

--
Rich Points
Community Cycles Director
http://CommunityCycles.org
Rich@CommunityCycles.org
720-565-6019
Donate your old car to Community Cycles

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--
David Kuch
Shop Production Manager
Community Cycling Center

Office
3934 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Suite 202
Portland, OR 97212
Office: 503 288-8864
Fax: 503 288-1812

Bike Shop
1700 NE Alberta St.
Portland, OR 97211
Hours: 10 AM-6PM Tues through Sat
Shop: 503 287-8786

www.CommunityCyclingCenter.org

The bicycle is a tool for empowerment and a vehicle for social change
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