Becoming a bicycle friendly Louisiana

The Great Outdoors

[3 Comment(s)]

By John Cross

Bicycle riding in Baton Rouge has come a really long way. There are the Baton Rouge Advocates for Safe Streets (BRASS) and the initiative by mayor Kip Holden to add 67 miles of bicycle/pedestrian connectivity. I predict that Baton Rouge and Louisiana will be a much more bicycle friendly place to live over the next five years.

The community of cyclists has been growing ever so stronger over the past decade and the turning point to a bicycle friendly Louisiana is finally here. There are vast amounts of cycling activism in New Orleans, Acadiana, and north Louisiana.

Although we lack connectivity, there has been quite a bit of change since the 1990s. The activity of private, non-profit, universities and government has grown quite extensively regarding bicycling. For example, in Lafayette there is now a bike lane along Johnston Street near the university. The lane is fairly narrow, but 10 years ago it was not there.

Then there is also critical mass. Critical mass is an effort to organize people for mass bike rides in protest of sorts to demonstrate the need for more bicycle friendly communities. These unorganized yet organized groups have been growing in numbers all over Louisiana.

If you have never been on a critical mass bike ride I would recommend the experience. Being in a large group of riders and owning an entire street lane is a very liberating experience. Especially when it's rather relaxed and community oriented like critical mass.

In Baton Rouge, there is a critical mass bike ride the last Friday of the month with the meeting location at the clock tower on the LSU campus at 5:30pm. In Lafayette, there is one the second Friday of each month at 5:30pm with the meeting location in downtown Lafayette at Parc Sans Souci. The Critical Mass in New Orleans meets on the last Friday of every month at 6:00 pm with the meeting location in front of Jackson Square.

Critical mass is also active on social networking websites allowing cycling enthusiasts to stay connected in their unorganized yet organized fashion. Check them out on the web.

For the more die hard cyclists and environmental activists, might I recommend the annual acorns of hope ride across the entire Louisiana coast. This event was started by Bob's Tree Preservation in Church Point Louisiana and entails not only Louisiana cycling activist, but also people from all over the country and the world.

This ride is planned hand and hand with reforestation along our coast as Bob's hosts, funds, and plans the events. In response to the devastation of coastal Louisiana's oak ridges from hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Bob has donated 10,000 live oak trees to be planted at 2000 per year over the next five years. Plantings take place on the coastal Louisiana bicycle ride the "Tour Des Trees" with the next one being planned for fall 2009. Anyone can attend and volunteer. The tour is a unique and enthralling way to experience Louisiana's communities, culture, and coast.

For more information on these events and groups please visit www.brsafestreets.org (BRASS) or www.criticalmassbatonrouge.org (Critical Mass) or www.acornsofhope.org/default.asp (Acorns of Hope).

Originally Published: Issue 804 - June 17, 2009

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