Out in the Streets

I needed a run tonight. I had to be at work early this morning and had to drive although it turned out to be a nice day, relative to what we've had lately.So I got home around 5:30 and changed clothes quickly and hit the roads, or the sidewalks to be exact.

Heading north on Troost Avenue where people were boarding ATA buses, walking home and buying groceries, it occurred to me as I saw a couple of men wrapping the handles of grocery bags on the handlebars of their bicycles that these are the people for whom we're fighting for bike lanes on the Paseo Bridge. Not for recreational cyclists, although recreational cycling is certainly a worthy endeavor. Fitness is a worthy goal. Staying active is important. But there are people for whom riding a bicycle is their only personal transportation. 25% of the population doesn't have a driver's license in this city. The percentage is higher east of Troost and the percentage of the population that does own a car is lower on this side. Car ownership is not necessarily a given anymore, not that it has ever been so. The people I saw riding wore no spandex, no special equipment, no helmets, for that matter. It just happened that riding a bike was their only option.