TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - It may seem a little hot for it now, but Tucson is working to make it easier for you to ride a bike wherever you go.
Tucson is looking to expand what it calls Bicycle Boulevards, streets and special crossings designed to make riding much safer.
It can be tough, tricky, and even death defying to get around on a bike.
At Broadway Bicycles, Bryan Cowan says, “I've been clipped and hit three times. So yeah, a little more protection would be great."
The city's plan for what it calls Bicycle Boulevards has more protected crossings where prime bike routes through residential areas cross big busy streets, and features like speed bumps to calm down car traffic on those neighborhood streets.
Tucson has two bike boulevards now, seven more under construction, and plans to bring the total number to 64 for 193 miles of enhanced bikes paths.
The total cost would be close to 32 million dollars.
Andy Bemis, Tucson's Bike and Pedestrian Planner understands drivers might want that all money to go into roads but says the city's obliged to take care of cyclists and pedestrians too.
“So far the vast majority of funding that we've put into developing bike boulevards has come from funding sources that are restricted to bicycle and pedestrian improvements."
More bike boulevards gets a thumbs up from Bryan Cowan over at Broadway Bicycles.
“That's probably the biggest thing we hear from most of our customers is the concern about cars, distracted drivers, just the fact of being in traffic and if we can have more designated areas just for cycling and pedestrians, that's a great idea.”
The city's just released a new plan for these bike boulevards and it's looking for your comments.
