The Borough Council discussed the potential Allen Street bike path last night.  Will the idea become a reality?  Well, they only decided to continue the discussion.

“Bicycle-watchers” monitored bike traffic between 7 am and 6 pm on a number of streets for several months before deciding on Allen Street and Waupelani Drive for the proposed path.

To create space for the bike path, the borough would subsequently remove on-street parking spaces.  (Think production possibilities curve: bicycle lanes vs. parking spaces).

According to the Centre Daily Times, many folks with homes and businesses near the proposed bike lanes seem irritated at the potential loss of handy parking spaces.

In the words of Scott Barbara, a resident of Allen Street, “I’m just waiting for a bike to get crushed… This borough is just catering to bicyclists.”

Don’t expect to see Mr. Barbara at Webster’s anytime soon.

Bicyclists need to feel safe on the road, and a bike path would accomplish that goal.  We have constructed modern America to satisfy automobiles.  Where can we park our cars?  How fast can we drive our cars from here to there?  How can we make driving a more pleasant experience?

Why cars?  Why not bikes?  Interstate travel aside, let’s use our muscle power to get from here to there.  Let’s refashion our society away from the automobile and towards the bicycle.  At the least, we can build a couple bike paths.

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