Bogota: an experiment in social integration
Tucsonbikelawyer is altruistically traveling to Bogota, Colombia next week to investigate for you all what it is like to live in a city that is run by a bona-fide bike advocate who not only talks the talk but pushes the pedal. The former mayor of Bogota, Enrique Peñalosa, has completely transformed his city and has instituted bike-friendly practices that make our bike corrals look utterly pitiful and embarrassing.
For example, he has closed much of the city to automobile traffic once a week. And once he closed the entire city to automobile traffic for a day. A Thursday.
He has built over 300 kilometers of cross-town, separated bicycle paths. And he continuously says things like “A citizen on a thirty dollar bicycle is equally important as one in a thirty-thousand dollar car.” He talks constantly about the need for children and all people to feel safe on the street. He says things like, “we can have a city that is friendly to cars, or we can have a city that is friendly to people. We cannot have both.”
So, I’m heading south on Monday to check it out. You owe it to yourself to listen to the above interview with Mr. Penalosa. Maybe there is hope.
–Erik Ryberg
October 23rd, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Google will now forever associate your name and Web site with “kilo of blow.”
Safe trip.
October 24th, 2009 at 11:33 am
E you never told me you were going there! That’s awesome have fun!
October 25th, 2009 at 3:45 am
Wow. What vision Enrique Penalosa has! He puts everything I’ve thought about transitioning to bike culture to words and makes it all seem so easily doable. The only real challenge is breaking that car habit.