Get On Your Bike And Ride -- And Don't Stop There

Friday is National Bike-to-Work Day and Lancaster is all-in with the Spoke'n Gear Bicycle Expo at the Southern Market Center on South Queen Street.

We love the daily cycling commute -- it's a great way to get your head into a productive day and even better to leave the office behind in the evening.  And of course Lancaster is one of the most enjoyable settings in the country for cyclists at all levels.

But riders always need to be mindful and alert to the inescapable conflict for pavement between motorists and themselves.  A small number of drivers are downright hostile -- boors and morons they are -- but most are simply unaware of the hazards their vehicles present.  Share-the-road signage and other educational steps help, but the reality of competition for limited road space between two objects of different sizes and weights and moving at different speeds is a structural inevitability of the road and street network.

More bicycle infrastructure -- dedicated lanes, paths and trails -- will be welcome, but these can be expensive and sometimes controversial.  Another measure we support is traffic calming, to slow those cars down, particularly in urban centers.

Traffic calming also costs money, but a few years ago Lancaster city leaders tried a novel, low-cost approach -- narrowing traffic lanes on East King Street with painted lane lines.  We wondered what became of that promising experiment.

Now, Bill DeBlasio's new administration in New York City is making traffic safety its highest transportation priority and is looking closely at what Stockholm (no surprise in that) has done to make motorists smarter, safer drivers.

Our friends at It's Modern Art on W. Chestnut St. have the right idea.

More people getting on their bikes, we believe, will help the roads become safer -- but it is only one piece of a complex set of strategies.  We're certain of this: safer, calmer, bike friendlier streets and roads make communities more pleasant, more attractive and more productive.  That, and always wear your helmet.