Florida Voice: Editorial - Pedaling reduces car congestion, saves fuel

I have a dear friend in South Florida whom I used to describe as the most anti-walking and anti-bicycling demographic imaginable. He drove a large SUV occupied by only him, thought anyone who rode their bike was a “treehugger” and always scoffed at the thought of riding a bicycle or allowing his daughters to ride their bikes beyond the walls of his private upscale community.

For years I begged him to join me on one of my many cycling adventures throughout the country and world, but to no avail. However, the most amazing breakthrough has occurred during the last two years that I still can’t believe: His cuter-than-a-button daughter now has him riding his bike with her to and from school that is located well outside his subdivision.

I spoke with him on the phone a few days ago as he was getting ready to leave his house to meet his daughter for their ride home from school and he mentioned it was about to rain. “Why don’t you just drive to school and put her bike into the back of your vehicle?” I asked. His response left me stunned. “Are you kidding me?” he replied.

“Marisa would be crushed if she couldn’t make the return home on her second day of school.” Here, my macho, 6-foot-plus, tough-guy, SUV-driving friend was reduced to riding his bike home in the rain because he didn’t want to let his young daughter down, and rightly so.

Children have a way of influencing their parents with little more than a smile and a steady resolve, and as a result, my friend is on the verge of being hooked on riding his bike. He no longer drives his SUV to the gym to ride the stationary bikes. Now he rides his own bike there and represents one less car congesting our roadways and polluting our precious environment.

About half of all car trips made annually are less than three miles in length — a distance even my friend has adapted to nicely as he now rides his bicycle to the grocery store and even Starbucks. There are a growing number of people just like my friend throughout Florida.

And a new study from the Florida Department of Transportation called “Conserve By Bicycle” is aiming to determine what it will take to get reticent citizens to embrace the occasional bike trip or commute. Requested by the Florida Legislature in 2005, DOT just completed the first phase of the study and presented its initial findings to Gov. Charlie Crist and the Legislature.

The purpose: figure out how to

1) save energy by increasing the number of miles ridden on bicycles, thereby reducing the usage of petroleum-based fuels;

2) increase the efficiency of cycling as a transportation mode by improving interconnectivity of roadways, transits and bicycling facilities;

3) reduce traffic congestion on existing roads;

4) provide recreational opportunities;

5) provide healthy transportation and recreation alternatives to help reduce the trend toward obesity and reduce long-term health care costs;

6) provide safe ways for children to travel to school.

My friend is fortunate that his community has made the commitment to build sidewalks, bike lanes and trails, and he is able to move about his community safely and seamlessly. And while he hasn’t noticed that he’s helped to reduce congestion and save fuel, he does realize that he is now as fit as he was 20 years ago, his blood pressure has improved, his cholesterol has dropped and his daughters are learning healthy, active lifestyles that will serve them their entire lives.

The Conserve By Bicycle study confirmed what my friend learned on his own: If a community is perceived as safe and offers sidewalks, bike lanes and trails, people are much more likely to participate in bicycling. In addition to health benefits to the person and planet, making the mode shift to cycling and walking increases existing road capacity, stretches roadway lifespan by reducing usage, and stabilizes and protects roadbed surface and subsurface through the placement of bike lanes.

With a combination of monetary, health and conservation benefits it’s easy to agree with the position of the Conserve By Bicycle study — especially when the final component includes an emphasis on safety. It amazes me how little attention is given to the embarrassing statistic that Florida again leads the nation in total bicycle fatalities for 2006. And you fare no better being a pedestrian in the state. Since bicycle and pedestrian fatalities have been tracked, Florida has dominated these horrible stats.

Additionally, a report released by the Surface Transportation Policy Project, lists Florida as having 4 out of the 5 worst cities, nationwide, for biking and walking. These disturbing factors reinforce a stark reality — Florida needs a new approach to its transportation future. The Conserve By Bicycle study is the first step. The current state of affairs is troubling, yes.

But I remain extremely optimistic for the future of the Conserve By Bicycle Program and for Florida, Volusia County and Floridians like my good friend Seth and his daughter. The large scale realization of climate change and the strong new leadership of such departments as the Florida Department of Transportation and Florida Department of Environmental Protection, together with a growing number of people understanding the need for transportation options, places Florida on the verge of an exciting movement toward a healthier, safer transportation future. We at Rails-to-Trails Conservancy refer to this as “active transportation.”

Bryan is the Florida director of Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. To learn more about the Conserve By Bicycle Study, visit www.railstorails.org or www.dot.state.fl.us/Safety/ped_bike/ped_bike_reports.htm .