by Keith L. Martin | Staff Writer
With the record price of fuel these days, commuters might want to consider dropping the gas pump and picking up an air pump.
That’s part of the message behind Friday’s Bike to Work Day 2008, an annual event sponsored by the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, to promote bicycling as an alternative to driving that increases health and air quality while decreasing traffic congestion.
The association will have 26 ‘‘pit stops” in the region where commuters can learn more, including the MARC station on East Street in Frederick.
‘‘It’s about getting folks to try [commuting by bicycle] once ... and see if it is feasible for them to do,” said John Thomas, Frederick County’s transportation planner. ‘‘If it is, they might be able to peddle to work once a week or even once a month. It is tough to pull it off every day, but one bike trip means one less car trip. From my point of view, going from zero to one time a month is good.”
Upon accepting a position with the county last year, Thomas and his wife looked specifically for a home in Frederick city so he could ride his bike to work. Selling one of their cars, Thomas said they were able to buy ‘‘more house” with the savings by not having to pay insurance, maintenance, gas and other expenses for one of the vehicles.
‘‘In my everyday job, I’m tasked with dealing with transportation and traffic, one of the biggest issues in the county,” he said. ‘‘It is hard to say biking is a valid transportation option if I don’t do it myself.”
For the last six months, Thomas has ridden from his home on the north side of the city to Winchester Hall, carpooling with his wife on days of heavy rain or snow. He also uses his bike to go from his county office to meetings in the city. ‘‘For me, it is about health and gas savings,” he said.
At the Bicycle Escape on Kingfisher Drive, co-owner Tom Rinker said gas prices are the big reason customers cite in looking at commuter bikes, like the popular Breezer line.
Rinker said he has seen more bicyclists on his daily commute to the shop and said people are conscious of the benefits for the roadways and themselves. ‘‘There’s incredible efficiency with our busy schedules these days to work exercise into our day versus around our lifestyles,” he said.
Tim Davis, transportation planner for the City of Frederick, admits that while he is not on par with Thomas’ daily dedication, he too is an avid biker who commutes from his home in Ballenger Creek to the city’s Municipal Annex on West Patrick Street as much as he can. Davis said his longtime love of bicycling and health aspects drive his commuting, as the 8-mile trip does not eat up that much gas. But another benefit, he said, is the ability to take in more of the city to assist his planning duties.
‘‘On a bike, you see so much more,” he said. ‘‘You see traffic and observe other modes [of transportation] from walking to biking to buses. You get a better view of that from a bike.”
Davis said the city’s Shared Use Path Plan is helping to create more off-street recreational bike paths as well as link existing paths around the city, including county paths. The city has also committed $1.5 million to ‘‘Rails to Trails” program that turns former railroad tracks to recreational paths.
Next year, he said, the city will undertake the development of a bicycle plan and network map for on-road streets in the city.
Mayor W. Jeff Holtzinger (R) said downtown can be ‘‘hectic” for bicyclists, but education for motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians can help them share space.
‘‘We are not saying that [downtown streets] need to be 100 percent bike lanes and rip out a lane [for cars],” Holtzinger said.
Thomas said about 1 percent of county residents bicycle to work, according to the U.S. Census. ‘‘If we get to 5 percent, would that result in significant changes to our roads? Absolutely,” he said.
special events
6:30 to 8:30 a.m., Friday, at TransIT Center, East Street MARC station
Bagels from Market Street Bagel and Deli; raffle of a bike from Bicycle Escape
Free TransIt bus rides for cyclists all day
