Becoming a Bicycle-Friendly Community

A few observations from last night's "Becoming a Bicycle Friendly Community" reception at the Town Hall in Old Shawnee Town.

- The representative from a company that sells tons of bikes in this country is happy to talk about the great things they do for Americans, and apparently think that if they say "American" enough, we won't notice the "Made in China" stickers on the front of most their bikes. To be fair, though, they have a worthwhile "get on a bike"-type project and are throwing lots of cash at worthwhile organizations.

- Roeland Park Mayor Steve Petrehn noticed the attention Shawnee is getting for their recent "Bicycle-Friendly" designation, and he's determined to be the next city ("of the nine" - his words) between Shawnee and KC, MO, to get the same notice. (The Kansas City Star had a note on this last week in a City Council wrap-up.)

- Shawnee Mayor Jeff Meyers backs up something I've been seeing in recent months: Meyers, a teacher and head football coach at Olathe East High School, said that in the past month or so, five teachers at his school have begun commuting to work on scooters. (IMO: Scooters are a GREAT option for people who can't or won't ride bicycles for whatever reason, but want to leave their car parked. If you can swing an electric scooter, that's even better.)

(The Marshall Tucker Band (June 5) and Foghat (June 6) are playing the upcoming Old Shawnee Days, too, Meyers noted, so mark your calendars. And RIDE YOUR BIKE, or scooter, or carpool or take the bus there, because parking is a mess during that event.)

- Andy Clarke, President of the League of American Bicyclists (the host/reason for this two-day workshop), pulled no punches in noting the differences between Overland Park and Shawnee, even though OP "kicked off" the local bike-friendly vibe "back in the day." Maybe he didn't say "terrified," but Clarke DID notice the difference in bicycle-friendliness between OP and Shawnee. "I could see this works (in Shawnee)," he said.