Safety > Cycle > Growth > happy

During the Triathlon America conference there was an interesting panel called "One Less Car" about the importance of cities investing in cyclists.  I'm a little biased in the importance of cycling safety because I took a horrible fall a few months ago (which still has me timid of train tracks).  The panelists had some interesting points about building a better bike world; some were:

• If you enable cycling (by adding bike lanes, etc.) you can increase business to local businesses - think about it, more people who cycle need more gear (bike, helmet, lights, etc.) and go into bike shops and online to get it
• Cycling helps de-stress a lot of people
• If we have safer places to bike, more people may be inclined to get outside and get active (which is an important thing to me - especially after researching the obesity rates a bit)
• Creating a safer cycling environment helps the masses get out vs. just the hard core roadsters

Here's a happy video I found on peopleforbikes.org:


I asked the panel the tough question of "critical mass - help or hurt?" and there were mixed feelings on this.  All in, though, I'm encouraged that people are pushing people and cities to provide a healthier space to get folks outside.