Seriously? One hundred bikes for citizens to pedal around town over the next two years? How many people — man with their more than 25 percent body fat — can pedal the city's hills on a single-gear bike?
If Nashville wants to really “go green,” the city should take a look at the cycle program Paris instituted for its citizens: a metered point-to-point program that Parisians actually use. Then Metro would have to make its immediate downtown area a no-private-car zone limited to commercial vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists and those mostly empty Metro buses we see every day. That is, if you wanted more than a symbolic gnat effort thrown out as Nashville being a more “bicycle friendly” community.
A stiff Davidson County gas tax for non-commercial vehicles would help as well if you really wanted to change commuting behavior and create a more green image.
Reid Barwick
Nashville, TN 37201