Where there's a Will, there's a way

I got an email from the Springfield Bicycle Club about their proposal for a Springfield Bicycle Advisory Council (BAC). They're advocating for a council that would be created by the city with representatives from the public, plus the Springfield Park District, the Springfield-Sangamon County Regional Planning Commission, the University of Illinois Springfield or Lincoln Land Community College, and the Public Works Department. Lynn Miller's email says,

The BAC will promote cycle commuting routes on city streets as well bike trails, safe routes to schools and other infrastructure for cycling and pedestrians. The duties will include a comprehensive plan and is part of Springfield’s ‘Cool Cities’ initiative.

(Bettie P. Bike)

This is badly needed. I live near the new Walmart on South 6th Street. There are bike trails in the area around UIS, Lincoln Land, and further south to Chatham. The bike lane on 11th Street heading toward the city center goes right up to the newly built roads and stops.

The fact that they didn't extend the bike lanes along with the new roads in order to connect existing bike lanes with the city center irritates me on a weekly basis. It seems like it should have been an obvious thing to do. The BAC is needed to make sure that making room for bicycles in city planning isn't treated like a nuisance or distant afterthought.