Bicycling and Walking During a Time of COVID

by Bill Young

With two-thirds of 2020 now done, so many are trying to make the best of things, and often to make sense of things. We are among intersecting flows of COVID-19, systemic racism, and economic and social impacts. These things have caused life patterns and assumptions about day-to-day life to be disrupted and changed for many, at least for the near future and perhaps long term.

I hope that with time, healthy practices, and vaccines, COVID-19 can be managed and become much less of a serious health issue and risk for so many. COVID-19 has put the spotlight on a variety of problems and disparities that were already present, and some became much worse. I hope that economic recovery will include some fundamental changes to eliminate those disparities, and that racism’s hold on us and our society can loosen and be overcome.

A long standing, pre-COVID-19 observation about cycling and pedestrian advocacy across our nation is that there has not been enough attention and focus on the issues of those with the most needs. I think that it is accurate and that there is a long way to go toward strong diversity, equity, and inclusion. One place to start is the safety and welfare of those persons who walk and bicycle, especially when it is all or a large part of their essential transportation.  

“One place to start is the safety and welfare of those persons who walk and bicycle.”

So far this year more than 40 people have died while walking or cycling in Connecticut, almost all in crashes with motor vehicles. That doesn’t include the many people who were injured in crashes, and did not die from the injuries. Each person’s death is a tragedy, and last month it happened just a few hundred yards from the Bike Walk CT office on Wethersfield Avenue in Hartford when Luis Daniel Rodriguez was struck and killed while riding in an unprotected bike lane.

As we move toward the last part of 2020 and into 2021, there is the opportunity to renew and reinvigorate our important walking and cycling advocacy work, both at the local and state levels. I hope that the learnings from 2020 won’t be easily forgotten and that they can inform the priorities in our towns and cities, and at the state level.

Later this fall and in early 2021 there will be the opportunity to participate in and influence the Connecticut legislative agenda for 2021. Please participate.

Bill Young, an avid cyclist for many years, is Board President of Bike Walk Connecticut and a resident of Hartford.  Bike Walk Connecticut is the only organization working at the state level to make Connecticut a better place to bike and walk, with a mission to change the culture of transportation through advocacy and education to make bicycling and walking safe, feasible, and attractive for a healthier, cleaner Connecticut. This piece first appeared in the Bike Walk CT newsletter.  National Bike to Work Week is September 21-27.