Wow

Today was rather remarkable here at Biking in Memphis.  Not only did we (read: I) shatter our (read: my) previous record for most number of visitors, but for the first time ever, I broke the 100-visitor mark.  In fact (accounting for some weirdness in how/when Google records visitors), today this blog crested 120 unique readers.  Truly remarkable, given that only a few months ago, I was barely in the low teens.  Of course, that was before I started publicizing my blog on my facebook profile, and before I became friends on facebook with many luminaries in the local biking scene.  But regardless, I’m happy for the traffic.

What makes me most happy about the increased page-views is raising awareness of what it means to be a bike commuter in Memphis.  As I said in my “About” page, that’s the primary goal of this blog.  But of course, it’s difficult to separate being a bike commuter in Memphis from all of the controversy surrounding the extension of bicycle facilities throughout Memphis.

I understand that Mayor Wharton will soon make a decision about whether or not to install bike lanes on Madison Avenue.  Obviously, I very much hope that he decides to do so.  While I respect the concerns of the businesses on Madison who are opposed to the bike lanes, it does appear that their concerns are unfounded.  For example, some have argued that installing bike lanes on Madison Avenue will result in a “bottle-neck” of traffic on that road.  Given that the road is currently operating at around 1/3 of capacity and that, even with bike lanes, the road will still be at less than 50% of capacity, that seems unlikely.  Plus, installing bike lanes on Madison will result in no loss of parking. Not one space.

If you’d like to read more about this, please click here or here.  I do ask that you maintain the highest level of respect, without compromising your passion about promoting sustainable transportation in Memphis, when approaching this issue.

And as always, thanks for reading.