Dear city council and staff,
A saying goes that perfect is the enemy of good, meaning I think we sometimes have to compromise in order to actually get things done. Last year I wrote congratulating you for demonstrating forward thinking in opening the first stage of the Nelson Bridge to Rosemont bikeway, while continuing to work on the next two sections through downtown and up into Rosemont.
A year later, Nelson is becoming a vibrant bike commuting town, thanks in part to the e-bike boom. However, the shortcomings of the Third-High Street bikeway have become increasingly obvious to me. It’s now time to recognize that merely ‘good enough’ is the enemy of possible.
We will likely only need one designated AAA (All Ages and Abilities) east-west bikeway — there are other options such as Rail Trail and Nelson Ave.-Front St. for the more adventurous — so let’s make the move and invest now in a safe, comfortable and segregated crosstown bikeway that will really open up cycling to everyone.
Bike-friendly speed bumps on Third St. would help calm vehicle traffic on this bikeway. No vehicles should have to travel on Third Street for more than a block or so, there are plenty of other streets to use for longer journeys, so the bumps would be a minor inconvenience for locals.
It’s time to return to and act bravely on the original idea to make High Street one-way for cars, with the other, physically segregated and maintained, for safe two-way cycling. Parents are understandably afraid to ride this, the only designated bikeway, into town with young children in its present configuration.
The existing bikeway compromise is not good enough. We can and need to do better.
George Chandler
Nelson