Dear Editor,

Bicycling fits into the urban fabric of New Orleans better than most American cities. We have a dense interconnected street grid, flat terrain and a climate that allows nearly year-round riding. Despite the city’s lack of on-street bicycle facilities, New Orleanians have long embraced the bicycle as a practical, affordable and healthy mode of transportation.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 3.1 percent of the city’s population uses a bicycle as their primary means of commuting. This is well above the national average of one percent and places New Orleans in the same league as Seattle, (3.4 percent), a city widely recognized for its efforts to encourage bicycling.

Large institutions such as Loyola University are well-suited to take an active role in promoting bicycle transportation amongst students, faculty and staff. They can serve as a resource to educate people on safe riding habits or provide incentives to encourage more people to leave their car at home.

The Greater New Orleans Pedestrian & Bicycle Program offers a variety of programs to help address safety through education and outreach. A new program launching this fall is the Create a Commuter Program, which will look to partner with large employers such as Loyola to provide people with the knowledge and skills to safely and conveniently use their bicycle for transportation.

As energy and environmental concerns continue to affect our lives, people will reexamine their transportation options. As a city and region, we have an opportunity to incorporate bicycles into our transportation network and provide people with greater transportation choices.

So go get involved. Participate in NolaCycle mapping events, ride in the Tour de Jefferson this November, join the Metro Bicycle Coalition and tell your elected officials that bicycling is important for our community.

Sincerely,Dan JatresProgram ManagerGreater New Orleans Pedestrian & Bicycle [email protected]