According to reports...

parking in bike lanes is now illegal in Nashville. So it stands to reason that Biking in the Car Lane will also soon be illegal. This is a legal and perception war that I am confident the biking population will not win until automobiles are extinct, prohibitively overpriced to operate, or hell freezes over. We(?) may have won this battle, but.... actually, I am not sure I won this battle. I do like to ride my bike in bike lanes, but I have no issue with going around a parked car nor detouring onto a less traveled road.... And I do tend to drive my car at times (often) and find myself needing park at times (often).

One thing I do see happening with this new law is more consideration given to whether parking should be now eliminated in favor of striping a new bike lane. Bike lanes may not be so liberally appropriated. Additionally, it is at the whim of police officers (and concerned citizens indirectly) to write tickets and enforce this new law. If they choose to not enforce consistently, then I dare say we(?) are in worse shape than before.

Don't get me wrong, I do understand the motivation and the spirit of this effort, but I also believe that the last thing we need is another law to govern how we get around and exist in this town. This all started because of a small stretch of bike lane along Eastland Avenue in East Nashville that was often blocked by parked cars due to inadequate parking for the local eating establishments. Personally, I think a better solution would have been to widen that road enough to provide space for both parking and bike lanes (such as on music row). Whether that was possible, I don't know; but get the establishments who stand to benefit from the additional parking to pitch in or find other parking options for their patrons.

I like bike lanes. I have used them a lot for transportation myself. I prefer roads with bike lanes to roads without for riding my bike, but I think there is a bigger need in Nashville than for more and clearer bike lanes. I believe there are too many roads with no sidewalks whatsoever in Nashville. Bikes are viable modes of transportation on the roads, but walking on roads is just hazardous. I think that sidewalks should be a higher priority than striping roads. It may be a bigger expense, but I think it does more to make Nashville a more livable city.

That's my soapbox. If you care to comment back in opposition, have yourself a beer first. You can bet I had one before writing this spiel.

Cheers.