Highway agency stuck in 20th century mindset

I could not agree more with this newspaper’s recent editorial on the proposed shared-use path to benefit pedestrians and bicyclists crossing Interstate 49 at the Wedington interchange.

As the editorial notes, the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department is refusing to fund such a path, on the grounds that it is a “recreational” and “quality-of-life” issue, having nothing to do with transportation.

It’s not a quality of life issue. It’s a length of life issue! If you’re on a bicycle and get hit by a car or truck, you’re likely not to live long.

Instead of a shared-use path, the Highway Department is proposing to build a bike lane within the roadway. That’s fine for a quiet, low-traffic street, but the I-49/Wedington interchange is a totally different story. It’s a very busy stretch of road used by heavy vehicles, with lots of cars turning left and right.

The Highway Department seems to be lost in a dream of the 20th century, when bicycles were essentially toys used by kids (One sign of their Rip-van-Winkle mindset: Their web page includes phone and fax numbers, but no email contact information).

I am part of a one-car family. My wife gets the car most of the time. I use my bicycle to commute to work at the University of Arkansas and to do errands around town. With the difficult parking situation at the U of A, I would commute by bike even if I had a car to use.

I hope the Highway Department will wake up and begin to treat bicycles as the integral part of our transportation system that they in fact are.