A Phoenix City Council subcommittee dedicated to bicycle-related issues and events met for its monthly meeting Thursday to discuss options that could promote bicycling.
The Bicycle Initiatives Committee in Phoenix gathered at City Hall Thursday morning to discuss initiatives that could make Phoenix more friendly toward bicycles, with the goal in mind of earning Bicycle Friendly Community status from the League of American Bicyclists.
“Meetings are intended to discuss events and make connections with people in the community and make networks,” said Yuri Artibise, a coordinator for Jane’s Walk in Phoenix, which was one of the upcoming events discussed at the meeting.
Jane’s Walk is set to take place May 7 and 8 to honor the late urban planning activist Jane Jacobs. The walk, which is comprised of neighborhood tours, is meant to emphasize urban history and could possibly include bicyclists, Artibise said.
Bicycle tours around the historic districts would “showcase the historic side of Phoenix,” Arizona Office of Tourism spokesman Glenn Schlottman said. “Given our inventory of architecture, it’s like L.A. and Vegas, something that the East Coast doesn’t have.”
During the meeting, attendees also discussed the lack of bicycle racks at establishments in Phoenix.
“There are already efforts under way to change that, and the funding is already intact,” City of Phoenix bicycle coordinator Joseph Perez said. “It’s amazing how many businesses don’t have them.”
The Phoenix Public Market, for example, is looking to install bike racks in the place of parking meters, Perez said.
Cindy Gentry, founder of the Phoenix Public Market, said public demand warranted replacing a meter with bike racks that will be installed in April.
“They’ll take the place of one parking spot and will accommodate forty bicycles,” she said. “It’ll make it easier for our customers to come on their bikes. Currently, customers leave them against a telephone pole, and the temporary racks they installed previously were ineffective.”
Perez concluded the meeting by emphasizing Phoenix residents’ interest in bicycling, but community members are hesitant due to a lack of awareness of bicyclist safety, benefits and events in the community.
“A Maricopa County Trip Reduction survey showed that more than 14,000 people surveyed expressed interest, but currently only seven percent of people are using bicycles,” he said.
ASU nursing sophomore Eddie Gutierrez said he sometimes rides his bicycle 14 blocks to get to school, but often decides against it due to safety reasons.
The League of American Bicyclists emphasizes that public education, encouragement, enforcement and evaluation efforts are essential in order for a city to be awarded Bicycle Friendly Community status, which the city of Phoenix hopes to achieve soon.
Contact the reporter at malu.banuelosgonzalez@asu.edu
