We live in a culture where driving cars is so ubiquitous that people have become accustomed to personal transport to the point of carelessness. It has led to a dangerous environment in which drivers show complete disregard for the safety of cyclists, pedestrians and even other cars. At times anti-cycling sentiment reveals a deep-seeded disdain for anyone who uses roads for anything besides driving.

Past generations have led us down a course towards this. At one point, we had all but abandoned urbanization for suburban sprawl. This brought about the crippling and sometimes destruction of once strong public transportation systems and made alternative forms of transportation such as walking and bicycling difficult, if not impossible.

I’m afraid the path towards becoming a bicycle-friendly city is going to be an arduous one. One that will require more than just new paint on pavement, but rather, a radical change in public attitude and awareness. I hope that the tragic death of Lanie Kruszewski is the beginning of such a change. I hope that the city of Richmond ditches hip labeling for real action and I commend any activists and city officials who are helping to spur this change.

Mike Gasser
Richmond