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Monday, March 12, 2007
From today's New York Times (emphasis added):
"CHARLESTON became a new city in 2005. Once choked off from its northern suburbs by a pair of dangerously obsolete trussed spans, residents can now zip over the Cooper River along the new Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge — a 3.5-mile-long, eight-lane wonder. More than a traffic shortcut, the Ravenel Bridge has fundamentally altered Charleston's psychology. Nowhere is this more true than on the bridge's wide bike-and-pedestrian lane. Suburban moms from Mount Pleasant rub elbows with families from gritty downtown Charleston. And Lycra-wearing cyclists whiz past iPod-clutching joggers from the bustling Citadel and College of Charleston. It's a perfect symbol for Charleston, straddling the Old and New South."
Sigh... why am I pretty sure that the press and almost all readers will think the mix is charming... tho' frankly, when we're talking about a bridge, I think it's a better alternative than shrinking the road down for the overpass and wishing peds and cyclists didn't exist. I just wouldn't *whiz* on such things (or off such things, but that's a different story...) ... tho' of course, what the reporter calls whizzing (8 mph?) and what I'd call whizzing (18-28 mph :0) are prob'ly two different things... and I cringe at the thought of the ipod-immersed... I'm not even a mom...
"CHARLESTON became a new city in 2005. Once choked off from its northern suburbs by a pair of dangerously obsolete trussed spans, residents can now zip over the Cooper River along the new Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge — a 3.5-mile-long, eight-lane wonder. More than a traffic shortcut, the Ravenel Bridge has fundamentally altered Charleston's psychology. Nowhere is this more true than on the bridge's wide bike-and-pedestrian lane. Suburban moms from Mount Pleasant rub elbows with families from gritty downtown Charleston. And Lycra-wearing cyclists whiz past iPod-clutching joggers from the bustling Citadel and College of Charleston. It's a perfect symbol for Charleston, straddling the Old and New South."
Sigh... why am I pretty sure that the press and almost all readers will think the mix is charming... tho' frankly, when we're talking about a bridge, I think it's a better alternative than shrinking the road down for the overpass and wishing peds and cyclists didn't exist. I just wouldn't *whiz* on such things (or off such things, but that's a different story...) ... tho' of course, what the reporter calls whizzing (8 mph?) and what I'd call whizzing (18-28 mph :0) are prob'ly two different things... and I cringe at the thought of the ipod-immersed... I'm not even a mom...
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Sounds a bit like the Golden Gate Bridge. The west side of the span is reserved for cyclists -- it's a neat mix of all kinds of cyclists: lots of touring folks, a ton of out-of-shape tourists who rent a bike for the day just to ride across the bridge, fast recreational cyclists in full lycra kit, "folk" cyclists on their beater bikes just getting across, and -- during the week -- plenty of commuter bike traffic. Here's a photo I took while cycling across the GGB with my family.
A new route combined with improving weather conditions.
That bridge may become very crowded at first. Things will settle down in a couple of months.
See you around the bike journals.
capejohn
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That bridge may become very crowded at first. Things will settle down in a couple of months.
See you around the bike journals.
capejohn
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