more bike lanes... we need more bike lanes

an article from a paper in canada had me thinking

we need more bike lanes

yes, we need more bike lanes
but we need more than bike lanes

we need a mass education
there needs to be an education for drivers on how to drive
there needs to be an education for drivers on how to behave around bicycles
there needs to be an education for drivers on common sense and common courtesy
there needs to be so much more than bike lanes

there needs to be a section of driver's education that pertains to bicycles
there needs to be a part of the licensing for professional drivers on how to respect the rights of cyclists
there needs to be a stress on the law protecting cyclists instead of punishing cyclists
there needs to be an education to the law on how cars should behave around bikes
there needs to be some for of education at an early age that tells the next generation of drivers how to behave around cyclists

things need to happen on many levels
city planners need to factor in the presence of bicycles
designers of citys need to look at other cities
see what is working
correct what is not

schools should have a course pertaining bikes and cycling
just as there is a manditory class on sex and health
such a class could teach people to ride who may have never learned to ride
such a class could teach people to make repairs and adjustments that would normally cost them money
such a class could not only teach people to become cyclist
such a class could teach people to respect and understand cyclists

there is much room for improvement
so much room for improvement
sadly
from where I stand
things are not getting better for the bicycle
things are getting worse
the door is closing
change is happening
we need to stick our foot in the door jam and stop that door from closing in front of us
we need to be active in making change

we don't need to be activists
we just need to be active

active in our community
active in our actions

everyone just has to contribute on some level
some will contribute more
others will contribute less
we all need to contribute