Tyrone, I wasn’t trying to attack you for sharing these comments from our city leaders, I just wanted to clarify whether or not they are the rule or the exception. So rather than reacting to the MPO and Council member Christiensen with “wow, these guys are idiots, why are they in charge?” I would rather focus (in my hippy-dippy way) on “what do we have in common that we can work with?”

You’ve said before that the perception in the Grand Forks city government is that bicycles are for fun, not for work. I would add an additional perception that commuting by bicycle or walking (not driving to work, or not driving to the store, or not dropping you kids off at school in the minivan) is a sign of lower socioeconomic (or even criminal) status. It’s a sad thing when people who commute by bicycle are asked “so why’d you lose your license?” or are automatically assumed not to have a car at all. The point is that people in this community who have made different transportation choices are labeled as unimportant or defective in some way–ironic in a state that breeds its fair share of libertarians and supporters of personal responsibility.

How do we help people accept our choices as non-motorists, or part-time motorists? I (like many cycle commuters and perennial pedestrians) own a car, drive it sometimes, and understand what it’s like to be behind the wheel. The difference is that many of the people leading our city have not had an equal amount of experience commuting by bicycle. Nearly everyone has ridden, I’m sure, and some perhaps enjoy going out and riding along the Greenway on the weekends, but how many ride from home to work even once a year? How many walk to the corner store instead of driving across town for milk? How many have tried getting anywhere in a wheelchair (not even in the winter; you know some of the sidewalks are not up to par)? The people we need making transportation decisions for the city are not motorists, or cyclists, or pedestrians, or bus-riders, or the differently abled, but people who understand ALL of these transportation modes from firsthand experience. Finding one cyclist, one motorist, one bus-rider, etc. to sit on a committee is one thing, but encouraging all of them to utilize all transportation modes available in Grand Forks would be a step toward a greater appreciation of all residents, not just the ones behind a steering wheel.