Shane Farthing is the executive director of Washington Area Bicyclist Association, and is a lawyer, policy analyst, weekday bicycle commuter and weekend recreational cyclist. What types of things does WABA do for the Washington region?
Regionally we’re working on improving a regional network of bike facilities as well as insuring that cyclists are safe while they’re riding. In some cases that means improved facilities, in other cases it means improved laws and improved enforcement of laws.
Can you tell me a bit about the expanded bicycle outreach in Ward 8?
In recent months we’ve heard and seen news stories that folks in Wards 7 and 8 were not interested in biking or were reacting negatively to bike lanes. We hear from people all the time who are looking for better bike facilities and getting more folks on bikes in the area. We decided to concentrate a lot of our efforts this spring and summer during the riding season in Wards 7 and 8 by having a staff presence over there and doing a lot of mobile bike shops. There are a lot of folks over there who have bikes but there aren’t really functioning bike shops over there.
What are some less obvious benefits of bicycling?
Some of the overlooked benefits are the personal freedom benefits ?– not having to sit in traffic, not having to put money into your gas tank. Another benefit that often gets overlooked is the ability to see the community from a new perspective, to interact with your surroundings while you’re on a bike.
How is WABA participating in the National Cherry Blossom Festival this year and have you participated before?
We’ve frequently done a bike valet on the weekends of the Cherry Blossom Festival, and this year we’ll be doing the same thing. We’ll be doing all-day bike valets all three weekends near the Jefferson Memorial. – Erica Redmond
