Readers discussing yesterday’s article on organic farming note that South Dakota’s narrow-minded focus on industrial farming prevents our state from diversifying into and capitalizing on organic farming. South Dacola reports a similar narrow-mindedness in Sioux Falls city planning. In an open letter to Mayor Paul TenHaken and other city officials, Falls Area Bicyclists complain that less than half a percent of the money budgeted for “active transportation”—modes of getting around where people aren’t just sitting on their keesters but are using their muscles to make the earth move under their feet:
…Sioux Falls is truly blessed with a trail system that rivals any municipality. However, we are not writing to you today about trail funding. We are concerned about the lack of dedicated funding for safe and connected on-street routes for bicycling, walking, and other active transportation modes.
Our analysis of the $67 million budgeted to streets and highways in the 2023 CIP indicated a mere $300k is allocated to pedestrian and bicycling improvements.
The need for safe on-street routes to ride a bike, skateboard, walk, or use a scooter has never been greater. The increased popularity of electronic bikes, scooters and other e-devices are creating dangerous conflicts on our sidewalks. However the use of bicycles and other active modes in the street feels dangerous to all but the most confident. High vehicle speeds and distracted drivers only highlight the need for a network of safe easy to use routes [Jeffery Mersch and Art Holden, Falls Area Bicyclists and co-signers, open letter to Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken and other city officials, South Dacola, 2022.08.10].
FAB notes that active transportation infrastructure costs less to build than roads for motorists. Making streets safer for foot and pedal travel would entice more people to walk and bike, reduce motor travel, and thus reduce spending on repair and expansion of motor lanes. Investing in more active transportation would also meet the health and environmental goals of lots of interested civic groups:
We ask you to meet the expectation of our Complete Streets policy and fund active transportation projects. We are not alone in calling for making active transportation a priority in our future transportation funding.
- Go Sioux Falls 2045 Long Range Transportation Plan(MPO) calls for transportation that considers all users.
- The Sioux Falls Health Department’s Community Health Improvement Plan states that active transportation options are essential to reduce chronic disease.
- The Sioux Falls Sustainability Program calls for improvement in multi-modal transportation to protect our environment and combat climate change.
- Downtown Sioux Falls advocates for bikeable and walkable streets because it boosts profits and economic growth.
- Neighborhood associations, the American Heart Association, SD AARP, and many more organizations call for walkable and bikeable communities to support their missions [Mersch and Holden, 2022.08.10].
Investing in people-friendly transportation makes for a healthier, safer community. Give more people the chance to safely walk and bike their town, and you folks who have to drive may find fewer cars and trucks congesting your motor lanes.
The Denver Moves plan, which aims to increase access to “high comfort bikeways” throughout the city is actively adding 270 more miles of bikeways, bike boulevards and separated bike lanes on streets to make it even safer and easier to scoot around town or cycle into the foothills and enjoy biking and mountain biking in Denver Mountain Parks.
Sioux Falls would benefit from a concerted effort to increase non-automotive transportation. Build a light rail and build more bike trails. Be a city.
Sioux Falls at least has safe bike/walk pathways currently. Teton County WY has over 65 miles of pathways, Fort Collins CO, Bozeman MT, Washington DC and on and on. Growing up in SF in the 60’s my friends and I could safely ride the streets but I can’t imagine the implications a bike lane would pose to the majority of automobile drivers paying attention to cyclists. Lots of elderly drivers along with others distracted by cell phones, let alone some who really dislike sharing the road. Visiting family in SLC biking lanes are prominently labeled along their LDS planned wide streets (designed to turn an oxen cart around) hundreds use them. A massive Share the Road campaign would be greatly needed in SF. Good luck, Debbie Downer.
I agree completely that bike pads on the side of the street, with no separation from the flow of the traffic are not as safe as bike pads separated with dividers or Boulevards or some other safety measure. Part of making any bike infrastructure and pedestrian infrastructure work, of course, is Changing the automobile culture to include keen attention to all the other modes of transportation besides automobiles.
speaking of promoting active transportation, the Sioux empire fair has a terrible lack of non-motorist accessible infrastructure. If you come from the south and enter from 12th St., there is no sidewalk or safe lane for people on foot or bike or scooters or wheelchairs to get to the main gate. I don’t even think there’s a marked shoulder to the pavement anywhere from 12th St. all the way up that long snaking Road to the parking lot by the grandstand and the main gate. An event this big should be easily accessible to kids and adults who are not driving their cars.