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Darned if I Do and Darned if I Don’t—Which is More
Dangerous?
Recently I read an article concerning the poor health of people who live in
areas afflicted by urban sprawl. Such people are more likely than those who live
in more compact communities to suffer from ailments including high blood
pressure, high cholesterol, breathing difficulties, obesity, arthritis, and
headaches. Why? Because they spend too much time driving and too little time
walking or riding bikes. So I should get up from the computer and hop on my
bike, right? Well ……..
While Evansville has many good places for hiking and bike riding they are not
easy to reach except by car. I live off Broadway just west of the city limits.
There are great roads for bike riding in the river bottoms, but in order to get
to them, I must either load my bike in my car—a chore that makes me much less
likely to go riding—or take my life in my hands by riding on Broadway and Red
Bank Road.
In September I vacationed in Lawrence, Kansas, and Columbia, Missouri. Both of
these cities are about ¾ the size of Evansville. Both have extensive systems of
bike routes and rails-to-trails type bike and pedestrian routes, as well as bike
lanes along major thoroughfares. In some places the passageways are quite
sophisticated with emergency call boxes, water sources, workout stations, etc.
In other places, they are merely leveled paths with fine chat surfaces. The
important thing is that they are accessible from many places in the community,
making it convenient to get out and get moving after work or even on a lunch
hour.
I applaud the development of the Pigeon Creek Greenway Passage, but it is
insufficient to meet the community’s needs, even if it were already complete. We
need to begin developing bike lanes along thoroughfares and trails to connect
popular areas for riding and walking such as Wesselman Park and the State
Hospital grounds, and we need to do it now. The Greenway Passage could be the
crown jewel in a system of hiking and biking trails that would make us all
healthier and make the community more attractive to businesses and individuals
alike.
But for now, my choice is to be a slug--bad for my health in the
long run, or risk riding my bike on the public streets--possibly very bad for my
immediate wellbeing. I'm darned if I do and darned if I don't!
Linda Cleek
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