My Letter to the Editor

Today, the Washington Post ran a letter to the editor that I wrote:

Regarding the Oct. 1 Metro article “Law to protect bicyclists gets underway in Md.,” about a new law in Maryland to keep drivers at least three feet from bicyclists on the road:

As a biker, I applaud the intent of this law. However, we continue to fail to address the true problem: Our cities are not designed to facilitate bicyclists.

For the most part, a bicyclist is stuck in limbo. Pedestrians see the sidewalk as their domain; motor vehicles see the road as theirs. In the few places where a bike lane is present, more often than not, a double-parked car is there as well, forcing the bicyclist into the traffic lane.

We need to rethink how to make biking in our cities safer and easier to understand for everyone involved.