I often wonder why people do not get around by bike more often. Why someone would want to drive one mile in order to spend 10 minutes looking for a parking spot is beyond me. Winter aside, I continue to be amazed at how car dependent people are. How hard is it to walk or bike a mile or two? That said, It is unfortunate that cities put up so many barriers to alternative transportation. Here is an example:
My 4 year old has been saving up for a remote control snake for a couple months. Today we went out to buy one. We first stopped at the local toy store - which was a very relaxing one mile bike ride. This store did not carry r/c snakes so we continued biking another two miles to Target. Our first bike obstacle was a bridge that only offered a sidewalk on one side. It was barely wide enough for a Burley to fit between the oncoming cars and the the cement railing. At the end of the bridge we had to cross the street and found that the city did not offer sidewalk cutaways for the direction we were heading. Crossing a very busy street with a burley child trailer in tow with no sidewalk cutaway is a dangerous scenario. You end up being stuck in flow of traffic hoping the cell phone using driver is paying enough attention to see your trailer stuck in the street while I have to dismount and pull the trailer over the curb. (these were high curbs) The next block offered sidewalk cutaways but the city placed power poles in the middle of the sidewalk blocking access for a trailer. Again, I found myself having to navigate slowly in the middle of a very busy street. I should mention that the Target we went to is on the frontage road to a major highway interstate so our street options were very limited. Fortunately, we do not shop at Target very often. If I did, I do not think I would bike there again with a child. What idiot designed these sidewalks? It is obvious they never got their fat ass out of the car and used them.
