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SUNNY Temp: 55 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Thursday, November 21, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend September 20, 2002 Cycling study finds local cities need to get into gear By BILL KETTLER Mail Tribune Rogue Valley communities face a long uphill climb if they want to encourage bicycle commuting, a newly published report says. Ashland has Southern Oregon’s most bike-friendly streets, according to the Bicycle Transportation Alliance’s first "report card" on cities’ efforts to encourage and promote bicycle use. The Portland-based group gave Ashland a grade of B-, the fourth highest mark among 22 cities that were studied. Medford earned a D-, ranking just above "Flat Tire" communities such as Milwaukie, Oregon City, West Linn, Springfield, Tigard and McMinnville. Grants Pass finished in the middle of the pack, with a C-. Cycle commuter Jef Faw, Medford’s deputy city manager, said the city’s grade didn’t surprise him. He said Medford slowly will become more bike-friendly as bike lanes are incorporated into street improvement projects. Researchers looked at the quality and quantity of bicycle facilities in each city, planning policy in support of cycling, bicycle education and safety programs and feedback from people who bike. In general, most cities continue to support policies that are far more friendly to cars than bicycles, said Brita Johnson, a spokesperson for the group. She cited development policies that push stores and services to the edge of towns as a prime example of cycle-unfriendly planning. Such policies make cycling less attractive because travel times for shopping or appointments become unacceptably long. Large streets that are built to move traffic to those commercial districts carry so many cars and trucks that cyclists often avoid them, she added. The report gave Ashland credit for land-use decisions that have kept the city small, but dinged the city for lack of safe bike access on Highway 99 and failure to make connections between existing bike routes. Grants Pass won praise for creating a city bikeway committee, but was marked down for motorists’ generally poor awareness of cyclists and for failing to sweep city streets for cyclists. Medford earned credit for its "decent transit system," but was marked down for its general orientation toward cars and the absence of an advocacy group to work for more bike-friendly roads. Top grades went to Eugene and Corvallis, which both earned an A-, and Portland, which ranked third with a B+. The report said Corvallis and Eugene are active bicycling communities with bike lanes, parking and paths that favor two- wheeled commuters. It noted that few Southern Oregon communities have shown enough local initiative in providing bike- safety education, bike lanes and general encouragement for two-wheeled transit. "Ashland is the exception to the regional rule," the report said, but it noted that the city has a long way to go before it could be classified as truly bicycle friendly. Reach reporter Bill Kettler at 776-4492, or e-mail [email protected] To see the report go to the web site at: www.bta4bikes.org Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy webmaster feedback A D V E R T I S E R S