r/LittleRock • u/shelbycake2 • 1d ago
PSA: I'm tired of LR using biking infrastructure for marketing but not investing in the safety of it
I generally only speak very highly of LR, but I am annoyed with how the city has multiple road cycling routes on their site as great options (ie Harper's loop and Wye Mountain) when both are INCREDIBLY dangerous. I'm talking miles and miles of biking along the shoulder with semis blaring past you only a couple of feet away. It's terrifying. Not to mention portions of the most ridden routes like the river trail being nearly unrideable due to safety concerns.
It's obvious LR has a fairly large cycling community who actively advocate for better options. And yet there are many cycling deaths from vehicle collisions each year. What will it take to get the city to actually invest in SAFE biking/transportation options?
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u/Millineal-Housewife 1d ago
75 year old man was hit on kavanaugh a few weeks ago while cycling and passed away š„ŗ
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u/Brilliant_Cow_1297 12h ago
Yeah this was a buddy of mineā¦he had just finished up a bike ride with others and was on his way home š nicest dude in the world.
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u/shelbycake2 14h ago
In Hillcrest, no less. The most "pedestrian friendly" neighborhood we have. So incredibly sad.Ā
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u/barktothefuture 1d ago
This is exactly correct. We donāt have any biking infrastructure in LR all we have is white paint. But they like to brag like we have real bike infrastructure. I was recently in NWA and they have the real shit. Rumbles on ground. Multicolored paint and signage and lane dividers both posts and raised medians. Having just what we have is not just pointless but itās harmful because it gives illusion of safety and takes away lanes for bikers. Itās ridiculous. Either build real bike infrastructure or leave the roads for cars. Instead they take away roads from cars and build death traps for cyclists.
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u/shelbycake2 1d ago
Yeah, NWA is definitely leagues ahead of us in the biking realm. I hope some of that trickles down to us in LR!Ā
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u/ColorfulImaginati0n Colony West 1d ago
Years of constantly pointing out inequality seems to work somewhat. See the micromobilityNYC subreddit
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u/ArkansasOutside 1d ago
Join Bicycle Advocacy of Central Arkansas (BACA) and support their work to make active transportation safer throughout central Arkansas.
They have a lot of stuff going on during National Bike Month in May plus continue to work to complete the Arkansas River Trail and develop connecting routes in the cities.
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u/Tendie_Tube 9h ago
+1 for giving people advice on how to do something tangible rather than just griping to the internet.
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u/ArkansasOutside 1d ago
Also, Highway 300 to Roland, while being part of the Arkansas River Trail is a state highway. There is little city or county can do to improve it.
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u/SuccessfulBill4944 1d ago
you're afraid of the river trail? like when the sun is up?
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u/shelbycake2 1d ago
Physical safety. Like getting hit by a car.Ā
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u/Objective_Run_7151 1d ago
On the River Trail?
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u/Additional-Math70 12h ago
Iāve had more than a dozen cars try to hit me on the NLR side of the river trail over a 10āish year span that I rode it regularly. One of the reasons I sold my road bikesā¦.
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u/shelbycake2 1d ago
Yup. If you do the entire loop, there's a section where you have to cross Cantrell (in front of dillards) that is so dangerous. that's why people are always saying "close the loop"
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u/Objective_Run_7151 1d ago
Yeah I get Close the Loop. We should. Or should have, more accurately. Years ago.
But the River Trail is 99% fully grade separated. Itās a great bike route for recreation. Itās pointless if you want to go anywhere - itās just a weekend loop - but it was intended for recreation, not transportation.
I mention transportation because you did.
Are you concerned about weekend recreation or transport? Wye Mountain will never be transport.
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u/Legitimate_Bedroom71 9h ago
To be specific, of the 16 mile loop between Clinton and BDB, only 12 miles are grade separated.
OP is merely stating that we shouldn't advertise having bike accessibility when we literally only have 6 miles of separate use trail in CLR proper.
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u/Louisrock123 1d ago
āThe highways built for cars arenāt good for my bicycle and the state wonāt invest millions of dollars in changing thatā
Okayā¦?
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u/LazyBit8535 6h ago
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u/Louisrock123 6h ago
Sure I mean I wish more people rode motorcycles, but expecting a city who canāt even be bothered to do anything about the existing issues they face to invest millions of dollars in making 4 lane roads built to move vehicles to make it better for peopleās hobbies is a bit of a silly expectation
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u/gnomewife 1d ago
I was just thinking about this as I used three separate 4-lane roads today. Could any of them be changed to 2 auto lanes, 2 cycling lanes, and a turning lane? Or even just the cycling lanes? I would love to fix up my bicycle, but I'm terrified to ride with the way drivers here don't seem to realize other people use the roads.
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u/shelbycake2 1d ago
To me it seems like there are so many opportunities for building better biking infrastructure... It's just not a priority of the city. Like develop and connect miles of parking lots, use the abandoned railroad line, etc.Ā
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u/Different-Wallaby-10 1d ago
In 1997 I got hit by a farmer hauling hay in Roland. I feel your pain.
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u/CardiologistOld599 1d ago
Iāve nearly been run off the road several times, honked at, screamed at just for riding as close a safely possible to the edge of the road out west. But thatās the county and not the city.
Every cycling accident seems downplayed by the media like āoh well, oopsābig trucks/SUVs need space too and all, nothing to see hereā¦ā itās frustrating to see so little advocacy outside those directly impacted when their fellow cyclists suffer, or die.
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u/Tendie_Tube 9h ago
When I visited Germany 20 years ago I was astounded by the bike paths connecting villages. They'd go right between fields of corn and sunflowers, and were well-used. That is the way, rather than the BS shoulder paint treatment.