Carrboro is North Carolina’s big winner in new ratings of bicycle-friendly communities published by the League of American Bicyclists.
While no North Carolina burg makes the nation's 13 top-ranked “platinum” and “gold” cities for two-wheel friendship, Carrboro is the state’s only representative on the list of 28 “silver” communities.
It's not clear what did Carrboro did to earn this recognition. A league web page outlines desirable town qualities under the headings of “engineering, education, encouragement, enforcement, evaluation.” A press release about bike-friendly communities says:
Mayors and community leaders are promoting bicycling to improve public health and quality of life while protecting the environment and provide better transportation choices. Bicycle commuting in BFCs has grown by 70 percent over the last eight years.
The fourth “bronze” tier of 117 bike friendliest includes Greensboro, Charlotte, Davidson, Durham, Cary and Chapel Hill. Last year, Carrboro was merely bronze, too.
As an automobile driver who frequently shares Carrboro and Chapel Hill streets with bicyclists, I wish these and other Triangle communities would boost their education and enforcement efforts regarding the little-known state bike safety law that requires cyclists to use headlights visible for 300 feet and rear reflectors visible for 200 feet after dark. (There's an effort in the legislature to add a taillight requirement.)
Too many two-wheelers travel without lights at night. That’s dangerous, and that's against the law.
Bruce Siceloff reports on traffic and transportation. A News & Observer reporter, editor and blogger since 1976, he took over the
Comments
Nice to see cities getting recognition...
Wed, 09/15/2010 - 12:00 — notacolourfor work they've done to be more bike-friendly. But it's definitely odd that the only comment you could think to add was a complaint about bikers. I guess it's tangentially relevant, but really? You could think of nothing more relevant or even positive to say?
And for the record, as both a driver and biker I agree with you that bikers should be reminded of the need for proper safety equipment at night. Drivers, too, should be reminded of the "little-known" state laws requiring them to share the road with bikers. Even in places like Durham, where plenty of people are biking these days, many drivers act like the bikers don't exist. Far too often, this has tragic results.
Specifically, Carrboro
Wed, 09/15/2010 - 12:47 — caflink