Sorry it’s been a little slow around here in the last couple days. We promise things will get back to normal in the next day or two. Meanwhile, here’s the news.
- The numbers on the Cordish bailout just don’t add up (Page One)
- Meeting on Veterans’ Hospital site set for Monday (Business First)
- Butchertown, city keep a close watch on Swift plant (LEO)
- New Pakistani restaurant opens on Preston Street (Lou HotBytes forum)
- J. Gumbo’s making changes to strengthen brand (Lou HotBytes)
- More on the restaurants opening at Slugger Field (Fox 41)
- Jazz Factory reopening for 2 months with new owners (C-J)
- More on the new awning taking shape on St. James Court (Keepin’ It Real)
- Stimulus to fund $1.8 million downtown bike station (C-J)
- But some still think people don’t actually ride bikes (Valley Report)
- Bridges project bill in Indiana stalls along with Kentucky (C-J)
- New sidewalks headed for Preston Highway (C-J)
- Obama signs High Speed Rail transit bill (the transport politic)
I didn’t say people don’t ride bikes. I was saying people ride more for enjoyment than for their main source of transpo. Louisville’s sprawl is not designed for bicycle transportation, and I wouldn’t feel safe trying to GET downtown from where I live. Until that happens, this is a waste of time, IMO.
I would much rather see a cycling infrastructure built that connects our Olmstead park system.
nice photo!
I will say I was sort of hoping for an April Fools post-perhaps a post glorifying the suburbs or the downtown bridge and an expanded Spaghetti Junction or the like. Ah well, maybe next year?
i’m not sure which makes me more nauseous on the rarity that I read them, The Valley Report or the people that comment at the Courier Journal…
Jimmy – The Valley Report gets my vote. At least the comments on the C-J are humorous.
Have fun with your bike station. It does absolutely nothing for my end of town since one cannot possibly expect to ride a bike down Dixie Highway.
My wish was for the city to use the stimulus money to create some jobs or build something that could be used by more than a few hundred fanatics. Maybe after it is completed you guys can ride downtown to 6th and Cedar to file for unemployment.
Brian, the point is not that building a bike station will suddenly make it safe and easy to bike from anywhere in Louisville to Downtown. It provides infrastructure that is a barrier to many riders in the many neighborhoods that it is now currently possible to bike from. In time, hopefully, Dixie Highway will be a pleasant road to travel by bike, but it’s not productive to wish away any progress on the Downtown front because it won’t benefit one area. Recreational biking is great and encourages people to be active (your proposal to connect the Olmsted Parks is a good one and would serve dually recreational and utilitarian users). It’s a positive way to introduce biking to more people who may in time find it opportune to take the next step and use it as an actual form of transportation.
Labeling all cyclists as fanatics also tears at the entire community. Bikers will be around in greater numbers in the future. There are certainly rude people who bike and who drive cars. If the proposal for commuter rail near Dixie Highway through to Fort Knox and beyond ever materializes, it will certainly be easier for someone to take a bike with them to a more bike and pedestrian friendly area.
In all actuality you can ride down dixie highway – I’ve done it multiple times. Every lane is a bike lane!
And I won’t be using to bike station, I enjoy riding in the rain, snow or whatever as well as arriving at work sweaty and gross… makes me feel like I accomplished something first thing that morning.
Since we can agree on the connection of Olmstead parks, let’s start there. It IS a positive way to introduce biking to more people who may eventually want to choose it as a way of getting around, and it is a beneficial starting point.
The city has the cart in front of the horse, here. You can’t build the destination until you build the way to get there.
And I didn’t say all cyclists were fanatics. Just the few dozen who are using this project to push an agenda.
That photo is Hill Street near 7th, right? 🙂