Cleveland: Building Public Support With Pop-up Cycling Infrastructure

Decisions about cycling infrastructure don't really come down to money, or technical knowhow, or even the availability of street space. Ultimately, if you establish community consent and political will to make streets safe for cycling, the rest will follow.

Here's an interesting method to build the needed support: pop-up cycling infrastructure. This exercise in tactical urbanism was recently undertaken by a group of graduate students in Cleveland, Ohio. For one week, a downtown street was converted to a two-way cycle track -- the first ever on Cleveland streets.

Cleveland is especially ready for pop-up cycling infrastructure. The city recently adopted a complete streets ordinance, and what better illustration for city staff, as well as the general public, than a live demonstration of the desired outcome. Network blog Bike Lane Living shared the above video, as well as this account from the Kent State University Cleveland Urban Design Center, which led the project, about the lessons that came out of the one-week experiment:

Those involved with the project say many of the surrounding businesses are now advocating for the cycle track to be made a permanent part of the streetscape.

Elsewhere on the Network today: Extraordinary Observations points out that gas really isn't that expensive, compared with some of the other major costs of car ownership. Reno Rambler shares the inventive way (public shaming) a Russian organization is targeting people who park illegally in bike lanes and on sidewalks. And the Rhode Island Bicycle Coalition ponders its home state's 39th-place finish in the League of American Bicyclists' bike-friendly state rankings.