10 Things a City Can Do to Promote Bicycling

1. Exempt bicycles from obeying stop signs (especially 4-way) when the bike is the only vehicle approaching an intersection.

2. Fix pot holes that form in the space between where cars drive and the side of the road. These road blemishes force bikes to choose between veering into traffic and ruining their tires or crashing.

3. Require companies or neighboring clusters of businesses to provide a space for employees who bike to work to shower and change clothes.

4. Paint designated bike lanes on main bike routes that are clear of parked carsí opening doors. If necessary, eliminate car parking on one side of the road and have a 2-way bike lane on that side.

5. Install bicycle-responsive triggers that actually work to help bikes get across busy streets when there is no other cross-traffic to trigger the light.

6. Smooth out curb cuts to prevent flat tires.

7. Provide adequate, functional bike parking throughout the city. Simple posts are fineóspare us the complicated contraptions.

8. Stipulate that mass transit agencies such as buses, trains, and subways must accomodate bikes, at all hours of the day.

9. Ticket vehicles that endanger bicyclists, for example, by stopping or parking in a bike lane or cutting off a cyclist.

10. Encourage high-density, mixed-use development that enables bicylists to easily meet most everyday needs without having to make long, dangerous journeys.