Bicycling Magazine recently rated Memphis among the worst cities for cycling in the country. Memphis tends to top the wrong national lists, but the story is typically more complicated than these lists indicate.
Why is Memphis NOT among the worst cities for bicycling? Memphians had no problem identifying the problems associated with bicycling in the city, but why is Memphis actually a great place to ride?
Still, Memphis is a challenging place to bicycle. Bike lanes are often heralded as the fix-all for urban cycling woes, but besides a bike lane, what could we do to improve the city for cycling?
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May 19th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
We could certainly use improvements in the situation for bicyclists in Memphis. I haven’t bicycled in all the hundreds of cities rated better than Memphis, so I can’t make informed comparison. BUT, I am a fifty-five-year-old woman who bicycles everywhere I go in Memphis. I am able to bicycle to work, to church, to grocery shopping, to doctor’s appointments, to concerts and libraries and festivals and to just about anything I want to attend. It would be lovely to have marked bicycle lanes, but I am almost always able to take neighborhood roads, only occasionally needing to ride on roads with a lot of traffic. Winters are mild, and although our summers are hot, biking is at least as pleasant as getting into a car that has been parked in a 90-degree garage.
I wouldn’t want to squelch any impetus to improve, but I’m inclined to think that a city that allows comfortable biking by a fifty-something woman couldn’t be the WORST city in the nation?
May 19th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Routine honking and the yelling of obscenities has made me realize Memphis drivers are guilty of bicycle ignorance. In a city which has also topped the list of ‘most unhealthy cities’, Memphians have an obvious dislike for seeing those commuting, exercising, or in general enjoying the outdoors.
I feel the cheapest improvement, given the reluctance by city officials to create bicycle lanes, would be to petition for numerous ‘SHARE THE ROAD’ signs along the boulevards. Surely this would allow Memphians to at least consider that we are around and here to stay.
May 19th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
I’ve lived in Chicago (one of Bicycling’s top cities for bikers) and Memphis, and based on those two cities, I would say Memphis is a much worse place for biking than Chicago. The plus about biking in Memphis is that the streets are wider and paranoid riders will often pull way over into the other lane when they pass me (unlike Chicago drivers, who, because they are more used to bicyclists, miss me by inches). However, the absence of bike lanes, lack of racks for bikes, as well as honks and hollers from people in cars definitely outweigh the benefits of biking in Memphis. Often, I have to take roundabout ways to get to where I need to go because the main roads are not biker friendly (unlike Chicago, where one can bike on most of the main roads, even ones without bike lanes). In a pinch, I once had to bike for a block on a sidewalk on Poplar, and someone in a gas-guzzling car yelled at me, “That’s illegal!” Well, what other choice do I have if I don’t want to add 15 minutes to my commute?
May 19th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
I just read the Siracusa article in the CommApp.
With all due respect: I understand that you want to maintain your favor with the mayor for putting you on his committee as a token gesture to the biking community (probably a legal requirement), but what are you smoking??
Last time I DROVE down Walnut Grove there were surely no “bike lanes” or “bike route” or “be nice to bikers because they are humans, too” signs. Just one with a bicycle icon with the international symbol for “NO” superimposed over it.
Yes, they built a lovely and wide bridge, but Walnut grove is officially closed to bicycle traffic. Nice touch next to our “gem” in Shelby Farms. And, Anthony, you would know that if you ever went there.
Where did you get your love affair with Memphis roads? You have obviously not tried to bike on Walnut Grove, or Poplar, or Park, or Germantown Parkway, or Stage, or even Houston Levy, Forest Hill, or Johnson… You would not likely survive to write about it! Those roads are terribly designed for multi-use, in very poor repair, and Memphis drivers are quite hostile.
The absence of leadership by city government on this issue is nearly astounding, and fully characteristic.
May 19th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
I think that Memphis has improved greatly in how it treats cyclists. I see more people cycling and I get a lot more waves. I think If riders would learn how to ride consistently you’d get more respect.
Honestly, I don’t think bike lanes solve anything. With all the crap that ends up in the gutters, it’ll only give me more flat tires. I don’t think “Share the Road” signs help since the intelligent Memphis driver (we all know how well they drive) will think I’m not sharing the road if I’m not on the sidewalk.
No, the only way to improve things is to start calling the cops whenever you see them cutting you off or right crossing you. Learn their license plate number and inform them they’re committing a Class C misdemeanor according to Tennessee law.
If all else fails, sue them for everything (and I mean everything).
Don’t throw stuff at them just get their money; it’s infinitely more satisfying.
May 19th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Dear Bill:
“[Anthony], you have obviously not tried to bike on Walnut Grove, or Poplar, or Park, or Germantown Parkway, or Stage, or even Houston Levy, Forest Hill, or Johnson…”
No, your wrong. I’ve had the privilege of riding with Mr. Siracusa down Walnut Grove to a Greening Greater Memphis committee meeting at Shelby Farms. I can vouch that he is one of the more responsible cyclists I’ve seen. He and the rest of us are very sneaky because most of us choose to ride the lower traffic streets or the routes the City of Memphis has designated. I like to term them the “secret bike routes.”
Though I do agree with you that the higher traffic streets are not designed for cycling and that the city has dropped the ball, a positive outlook will eventually win folks over.
May 21st, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Memphis is a very ridable city if you have nerves as strong as a giant suv and are sneaky like a dick. Discovering and utilizing Memphis’ secret bike routes is a must even if it might be more time consuming for trips. The back roads provide better shade and scenery any ways. The problem though for me is if I want to head towards G-town, I have to take W.Grove, Poplar, or a maze of roads. This is a problem for people in cars because if I don’t have a bike lane, the right most lane becomes my bike lane and if it is too narrow, I don’t share.
My recommendation: take up lanes. you have just as much right to a lane as a car if the city is not going to provide them for us. I agree that bike lanes are not a fix all for the problems of biking in Memphis but we do need them. In Addition, listen to what Rachel Samuels said above and take their money. Seriously.
The best part about riding in Memphis is the confrontation with idiots in cars. Our city provides a unique challenge to those who decide to transport themselves by bike. I have person personnally found many motorists to be very courtious and respectful and recommend that all bikers be the same back but every biker knows that it would be too much to ask for courtiousness from everybody. Riding constantly on the defensive adds fun to the memphis streets…….
May 23rd, 2008 at 6:29 pm
Memphis and the surrounding area is definitely one of the WORST places for cyclists. When I discuss a subject such as, cycling to work, with my colleagues, they often ask me if I’m crazy. The traffic is heavy, even in the suburbs and drivers are inconsiderate or hostile to cyclists. This gives cyclists, recreational or serious, little opportunity to bike to work. It is just to dangerous.