By Barbara Bradley - The Commercial Appeal -

Sunday, May 9, 2010 -

Memphis may trail other cities in bicycle friendliness. But change is in the wind.

MATA recently completed retrofitting its remaining 50 buses with bike racks, which means the entire fleet of 150 fixed-route buses can now haul two bikes on the front of each bus. (MATA began ordering new buses with racks in 2003.)

People didn't know what they were at first, said MATA spokeswoman Alison Burton, "but we're getting a lot of use out of them now. Just make sure you take your bike with you when you get off," she said. "It's happened." If you do forget, MATA has a place to hold them for you, she said.

Other improvements are underway.

The final reading of a proposed revision of the city's bicycling ordinance (most of which was written in 1967) is set for May 11 before the City Council, said Sarah Newstok, program manager for Livable Memphis, an advocacy group for walking and biking that has been working on it since the fall. The proposed ordinance would get local laws up to standard and in conformity with state laws and "make Memphis a competitive city for biking and walking," she said.

Among the changes is the elimination of language requiring cyclists to use available paths, such as sidewalks, whenever they are adjacent to the roadway. "That's critically important," said Newstok. "There should be no cases where bicycles aren't allowed on the road," (except in special circumstances where a sign is posted), she said. The new proposal "treats bicycles like they're a vehicle," she said, and will clarify proper behavior for cyclists and motorists when new bike lanes are created, as she believes they soon will be. It also mandates helmets for children under 16.

Bike lanes or shared road signs are under consideration now by city engineers in several parts of the city including along Cooper, McLean, Madison and Southern, said Newstok. Citizens can help by contacting livablememphis.org or e-mail sarah@livablememphis.org. Meetings on biking and walking are held the second Monday of each month at Otherlands cafe, 641 South Cooper, at 5:30 p.m.

Work has begun on a new bridge for cyclists and pedestrians across the Wolf River that will connect part of the planned Wolf River Greenway adjacent to Humphreys Boulevard to the trail system at Shelby Farms Park. The $1.85 million span, near where Shady Grove Road meets Humphreys Boulevard, will also eventually connect the Greenway to the Shelby Farms Greenline, a trail under construction between Shelby Farms and Midtown, along an abandoned CSX Railroad right-of-way.

A contract for 16 more Downtown bicycle racks designed by an artist is expected to be executed soon, with them delivered to the city within six months of the signing. The new racks have been modified to allow bikes to be more securely locked to them, according to a spokesman from the Division of Park Services

-- Barbara Bradley, 529-2370.