Plainville Wants To Be More “Bike Friendly”
The town of Plainville, Connecticut is hoping to be designated as Bicycle-Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists according to an article in the Bristol Press.
This story caught my eye because not only do I live fairly close to Plainville, but I used to ride through Plainville almost daily on my bicycle commute when I worked at ESPN, which is located just over the Plainville border in Bristol, Connecticut.
It has been a couple of years now since I changed jobs, but at the time it would have been nice to have better bike routes through the town. Many of the streets have wide lanes which are nice for bicycling, but striped bicycle lanes would have been great in some areas.
At one point a major road (Route 177) was being “improved” to add a traffic light, repaved, and restriped for more auto lanes. The problem is it took away the nice existing shoulder for riding without any consideration for bike lanes, and that was one of the few routes I felt safe riding my bike.
There are some abandoned railroad lines in the town that I hope are converted to a bike path as an extension of Farmington Canal Trail. When I was commuting by bike it would have been nice to use the trail to avoid some of the roads that have heavier auto traffic.
Jim Cassidy, chairman of the Bicycle Friendly committee said he would like to give people a chance to ride alongside an abandoned stretch of railway in the northern section of town. If the town purchased the railway and made it part of the bike trail, it could encourage Farmington to complete the part of their route that connects to Plainville, bringing bicyclists down a safe and quiet path to the center of town.
To be considered a Bicycle Friendly Community, I think you have to do more that think of cycling just for recreation, but think of building routes that encourage people to ride as transportation to work, schools, or other popular destinations.
Encouraging cycling for recreation is also important, because that can boost the local economy by bringing people to town to ride the trails or participate in cycling events. One example is the Plainville Spring Series, a local early season race series and a business park in Plainville.
Cyclists Ride In The Plainville Spring Series (BikeRide.com Photo)
At this point, no town in Connecticut is designated as Bicycle Friendly by the League of American Cyclists, but I would say there are certainly areas in Connecticut that are great for riding. The cycling culture here just seems to be more about cycling for recreation than transportation. There is hope though. In 2009, the Connecticut Department of Transportation passed a Statewide Bicycle & Pedestrian Plan.
If you are interested in Bicycle Advocacy in Connecticut the Central Connecticut Bicycle Alliance is a good resource.
By Bob Mionskie is a good resource for educating yourself about what the law say about your rights as a cyclist and how many bicycling laws are interpreted.
