Everett can do much more to promote bicycle use

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, April 5, 2023

The lack of proper bike infrastructure in Everett is a significant problem hindering the city’s progress toward being truly bike-friendly. While there have been efforts to improve bike safety and accessibility, more needs to be done to provide protected bike lanes and separate bike paths.

Many streets lack bike infrastructure altogether, leaving cyclists to navigate busy roads alongside cars and trucks and creating a dangerous situation for everyone. Moreover, the current bike lanes in Everett are disconnected and fail to provide adequate protection for bikers. Therefore, it’s difficult for people to use biking as their primary mode of transportation, and this deficiency also hinders tourism and economic development.

By neglecting bike infrastructure, Everett sends a message that cycling is not a priority.

However, cycling has numerous benefits for individuals and the community, including reducing traffic congestion and air pollution, promoting physical fitness and mental well-being, and being an environmentally friendly way to travel. Therefore, improving bike infrastructure is necessary for safety reasons and for promoting a healthier and more sustainable way of life.

Everett must prioritize bike safety in its planning and budgeting and invest in protected bike lanes while improving existing infrastructure to solve this problem. To cultivate a cycling-centric culture, Everett needs to incentivize individuals to choose cycling as their primary mode of transportation and organize events and campaigns that emphasize the advantages of cycling. Through these efforts, Everett can establish a more secure, healthier, and eco-friendly community that benefits everyone.

Colton Davis

Everett