In the new year, hopefully the City of Buffalo will make a resolution to step up its bike game. While we have made some progress, there is a long ways to to go before we can be called a safe and vibrant cycling city. There are certain streets that should be bumped to the top of the queue, instead of waiting for the City to come along and mill and overlay (see Bike Master Plan). There are plenty of opportunities to lay down bike lane striping immediately, in order to enhance connectivity for cyclists. But instead, we must always wait for streets that are in line for milling and paving. There should be some sort of compromise, in order to get Buffalo up to speed with progressive bike infrastructure. If there is a street that is desperate need of bike lanes, but is not on the milling and paving list for, say, 5 years, then there should be an interim action plan to stripe the street, for the safety of cyclists.
To see what progressive bike infrastructure looks like, weburbanist.com has highlighted seven Streetfilms productions that showcase cities that are blazing fierce trails for cyclists, in new directions that we can only dream of at this point in time. From Philadelphia to Amsterdam, we can see that by setting the bar as high as possible, these cities are empowering their citizens to lead happier and healthier lives. Streetfilms highlights the rise of democratic Superblocks, as well as the simple tricks of the trade that can be implemented right away. In the end, it’s all about rethinking what a bike-friendly city truly looks like, and how it functions. It’s not about adding bike lanes whenever a road is milled and paved. It’s about putting together an action plan (beyond Complete Streets) that solves the cycling issues at hand, with urgency and immediacy.
Click here to check out these seven inspirational films.