All of us are active transportation users at some point along our journeys. That means we use either walking, biking, a wheelchair, or any other self-powered mode to move from place to place. What I love about active transportation planning is that these projects truly serve everyone in the community.
This women’s history month, the importance of bicycle infrastructure is cycling through my head. Why? Well, as Susan B. Anthony famously stated, bicycling “has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance.”
Fifteen years ago this month, my then-girlfriend and I were living in Washington, DC and found ourselves with three weeks to kill before starting new jobs. We had no car and basically no money, but we did have two bicycles.
September 22nd was World Car Free Day. Though many more days in the year can be car-free, people set aside this day specifically to travel by other means, including bicycling, walking, and using mass transit.
I didn’t know how to ride a bike for 26 years, despite growing up 106 yards from the Mount Vernon Trail! It wasn’t my parents’ fault—I have a twin sister who loves biking and even commuted on a bike when she didn’t own a car in Nashville; I simply wasn’t interested and gave up early.