I’m surprised that a majority of Town Council didn’t support establishing a citizens’ commission for this important aspect of life in Cary. It seems to me that such a commission makes a whole lot of sense (oh, and I think Gary should be on it :-).

Not establishing a commission seems so…un-Cary-like.

I’ve ridden the Washington and Old Dominion Trail, plus the C & O Towpath, the entire Rock Creek Trail, the Alexandria Trail, and the Mt Vernon Trail.

Trail riding is nice fun for novices but too constraining to the commuting and transportation needs of commuting and utility cyclists.

Bike lanes generally suck because municipalities never keep them free of debris. Cary is especially bad about keeping them clean. There are also too few of them to be useful.

I am a strong advocate of sharrows since they are meaningful compromise: a constant reminder to automobiles that bicyclists use the road while cars have full reign rights to drive all the way to the edge of the lane and therefore keep the lane clear of debris. They are used in every major city in the US and are quite effective. The main problem is that noone — especially motorists — know what they are for. Sometimes you just can’t fix stupid.

About DC: ride the W&OD trail!

Many places to stop and dine along the way. We have done it several times. It’s a converted rail trail and I bet the train companies wish they had it back! We often stay in Herndon. http://www.wodfriends.org/parking.html

Also, DC closes some parks to cars on weekends, so you can really enjoy the roads.

What could Cary learn? Let beverage commerce develop along our trails, use helpful signs, toss out the sharrow paint, and forbid 2-abreast cycling on 2-lane roads?

However, I must also say that I’m not surprised that the Town of Cary is not interested in hearing the input of its citizens who are bicyclists and avid walkers. Town council and government is reflective of the majority of the populace as it should be. In my experience with bicycling thousands of miles around Cary and environs for the past 20 years, this town is completely undeserving of the bicycle friendly status bestowed upon it by the League of American Bicyclists. BTW, after I investigated how Cary could possibly receive this award starting in 2003, I was told that the award was based more on hope than reality.

My cycling experience around the Triangle region has revealed that Cary motorists commit acts of “intentional rudeness” to cyclists more often than any other town in the region, with the possible exception of Apex. Trying to sensitize a bunch of SUV wielding suburbanites of the need to share the road reminds me of the Robert Heinlein quote: “Never try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.”

As for me, I’m tired of wasting my time with Cary whilst annoying the pig. My family is moving to Washington DC, a real city which enjoys a well-deserved LAB silver rating.

Cary’s greenways, like Raleigh’s really lack the “You Are Here” signage, to help a walker/cyclist connect to the next part of a given greenway that all of a sudden ends at some street and the user is clueless as to which way to go to connect to the rest of the greenway. Save the $160K cost of painting useless sharrows and invest in signs, maybe?

Tip: ask 10 drivers waiting at a stop light if they even know what a sharrow is!

Well, I got to get back on my recumbent and cycle up to McD’s for a yogurt…