I won’t be participating in this promotion to encourage Reginans, for the week of May 15-19, to ditch motor vehicles as their principal means of getting to work in favour of bicycles.
It’s not that I’m not a fan of cycling. Far from it. I don’t own a car, and for over 20 years now a bike has been my principal mode of transportation in non-winter months. So I’m a huge fan of cycling. But I live across the street from where I work, and if I was to cycle to work I’d technically be breaking the law as you’re not allowed to cycle (or skateboard) on the mall.
I suppose I could walk my bike back and forth across the mall as an expression of solidarity. But then I’d have to rely on the elevator at my place to get down to the main floor instead of just taking the stairs and that would inflict a needless hit on the environment.
You, on the other hand, can do the environment a real plus by leaving your car at home this week and getting to work via a bike (or walking, or even taking the bus, I’m sure organizers are flexible).
We’ve heard a lot of complaints about traffic congestion downtown during the revitalization process. Here’s a perfect opportunity for people who work in the area to think outside the box for a bit and start to buy into a vision that needs to be realized if Regina is to continue to grow and prosper.
And the health benefits … by the end of the week, you’ll feel them. Guaranteed. But one warning. If you do start cycling you’re likely to find it highly addictive. I know I did.
If you visit www.bike2workregina.ca you’ll see that a kick-off for the week is planned for 1-3 p.m. today on the front lawn of the Royal Sask Museum. There’ll be info sessions on how to do simple bike maintenance and how to attach a bike to the handy-dandy racks on the front of city buses. Then on May 19 (Thursday) at 5 p.m. there’s a Wrap ‘n’ Ride wind-up that gets going at 5 p.m. on the south end of the Scarth St. Mall and will include a bike parade around the downtown.