Bike Lanes Sound Cool Until You Take Away Somebody's Parking.

I'm not anti-bike. I'm anti-making decisions that affect somebody's everyday life without even asking them.6ix

So I'm reading about a proposal for bike lanes on portions of Dual Highway, and my first reaction wasn't 'that's stupid.' Safer roads for people on bicycles? Cool. More ways to move around without needing a car? Cool. That's not the part I got a problem with.

What caught my attention was that on-street parking could be taken away, and it sounds like a lot of the people who would deal with that every day ain't fully in the conversation yet.

Two things can be true at the same time

Councilman Kristin Aleshire raised concerns reported by LocalNews1 about how much parking would disappear and whether the state has really heard from the people relying on it. He specifically brought up disabled residents, nighttime parking and people who can't easily pay for another parking option.

That's not a crazy concern. We can act like everybody should just park farther away and walk, but life don't look the same for everybody. Some people are older. Some have mobility limitations. Some get off work late. Some live on those streets and aren't trying to make their whole night about finding a parking spot.

At the same time, I don't wanna ignore the other side. A road that feels unsafe to ride on isn't serving everybody either. If the bike lanes could reduce dangerous conflicts, that deserves a serious look. I just need to see an actual plan and what it does to each block.

Don't tell me after the paint is already down

Aleshire also questioned how lanes would work in snow and how traffic restrictions would actually be enforced. Those aren't tiny details in Western Maryland. And he warned that residents might not realize the change is coming until they try to park somewhere they've always parked.

That's why I want a public explanation: which stretches lose spaces, how many spaces, where people are supposed to go, and what the safety studies say. Let the residents and businesses react while their feedback can still change the design.

We ain't gotta turn every transportation conversation into cyclists versus drivers. That's lazy. Design a road that works, tell the people what you're changing, and don't treat their everyday problems like an inconvenience to the plan.