Former reality TeeVee show competitor, sometime lumberjack, and noted taxpayer-funded RV-vacationer Sean Duffy takes his role as the US Road Ruler very seriously:
“Out of all the sins of the Trump administration — wars, ICE raids, anti-vax lunacy and the return of measles, the empowering of Kash Patel and Stephen Miller, and so much more — Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy declaring war on “DEI bike lanes” is surely a small thing. But it’s also such a monumentally stupid act, so counterproductive, so anti-MAHA as to be completely maddening. NPR recently reported that staff at the Federal Highway Administration have been asked to purge any references to bikes and bike lanes from the agency’s website.“
Wait. What? DEI bike lanes?
“What bike lanes have to do with DEI is unclear. Likely this is the Biden administration’s fault for some admittedly political language touting the infrastructure bill’s grants. The Biden team announced they would “consider how projects can address climate change, ensure racial equity, and remove barriers to opportunity.” Which could be seen as lofty goals when many Americans were desperate for pot hole and bridge repairs. But that’s not really the issue here. If the Biden people were for something, then the Trump people must always be against it. This is a ridiculous calculus, counterproductive, and why voters are so sick and tired of our broken political system.”
I guess the assumption is that bikes are for poor people (and if you ever price check bikes, not even electric ones you will see how ridiculous this is), and therefore DEI, because we all know that poor people are not our kind (as rich white people used to politely say when being racist and /or classist).
Car-driving commuters say that one less person on the road makes their commutes better.
Seattle drivers are notoriously passive-aggressive and openly hostile to bikers at least according to bicyclists. And even the bike-riding hoards agree that our bike lanes are dangerous the way that they share the road with cars. A single car door opening inopportunely can send a biker to the hospital or morgue and turning right on red lights without looking for bikes is probably even worse.
So maybe better bike lanes might be something for Sean Duffy to think about the next time he gets in his behemoth RV for another taxpayer-funded Road Trip? Bikes are not going away nor are cars so maybe Duffy can see this as an opportunity to improve commutes or just getter around for everyone. The more people out of cars, the better and the funner:
“[My bike] gave me the freedom to not only get to places, but to access things that otherwise would have been out of reach. Even now, riding a bike makes me feel like a kid again. There’s nothing like feeling the air on your face and that freedom to just ride.”
—LeBron James
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