HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The cycling community in Huntsville is pretty tight knit. "So, the cycling community is very fun, and Huntsville is very tight knit," Jacob Hell of Huntsville Urban Bike Share Coop shares." I'm always finding new people to ride my bicycle with.
Member of The Huntsville Bicycle Advisory and Safety Committee Dario Gonzalez shares there is room for improvement. "I think Huntsville is a great place to bicycle," Gonzalez shares. "It's somewhat small. We do need some bicycle improvements. We need some infrastructure to make bicycling safer for everybody."
Cyclist in Huntsville say while the city is a great place to bike, this lack of infrastructure poses a safety risk. "The city has made a few big changes for a city in Alabama," Hell shares. "For example, Huntsville was the first city in Alabama that had a protected bike lane, which was pretty big. However, there's still a lot of improvements that could be made because the cycling infrastructure network is definitely not connected. You will find often on roads that bicycle lanes will just end very dangerous and inconvenient areas."
Larry Mason of Huntsville Urban Bike Share Coop shares that that causes stress for riders. "Basically, a stripe of paint that is all between you and the cars," Mason shares. "The other places are protected bike lanes and the way you put a bike infrastructure together will make it more or less stressful. So, it's not really just a matter of how many miles of bike lanes you have. It's a matter of how stressful those bike lanes are or how much do you feel comfortable in those bike lanes."
A big component of being comfortable is feeling safe and when asked, Gonzalez isn't confident in the safety measures as they stand. "I want to say no," Gonzalez shares. My oldest girl has trouble making decisions when bicycling on the road by herself, but you really have to be like a 30-year-old adult to be able to negotiate safely on Huntsville's roads when you're traveling somewhere that's not just on a greenway."
They all say the city has been receptive, but there hasn't been noticeable improvement. "There are individuals in the city council who are, you know, very interested and very committed to improving cycling infrastructure in Huntsville," Hell shares. "As a whole, though, you know, I don't see as much momentum and as much energy into building more and safe cycling infrastructure."
"I have seen some small steps forward, but the pace of improvement is minimal compared to the pace of crashes going on," Gonzalez shares. "We will never get to a place where everybody, including my kids, can bicycle and walk safely if we continue at this pace."