Cycle commuting in the local news! (Comments: 7)

Erica Bryant from The Democrat & Chronicle, Rochester’s daily paper, wrote an article today on bicycle commuting. Here’s the opening:

Region making way for bicyclists

Erica Bryant
Staff writer

(October 18, 2007) — Like many Rochesterians, Peter LaDolce starts his morning with a 15-minute commute. Unlike most, he makes the journey by bicycle.

“If it rains, I’ll still be riding,” said LaDolce, who bikes about 3.5 miles from his Browncroft Boulevard home to his job at Barkstrom & LaCroix Architects on Chestnut Street. LaDolce, 40, has been commuting by bike for 18 years.

In 2006, a little more than 1,400 workers older than 16 in the Rochester area regularly biked to their jobs, according to U.S. Census data. The figure, less than 1 percent of the area’s 467,333 adult workers, is up slightly from the time of the 1990 census and 2000 census.

Local bike commuters say their ranks will continue to grow, with more people wanting to save money, improve their health and help cut pollution.

Municipalities such as Rochester and Brighton are trying to make travel safer and easier for them.

This spring, the city received a grant through the Genesee Transportation Council that will mean new bike lanes, signs and parking in Rochester. The city is determining how best to use this “bicycle enhancement program” funding, which will amount to $200,000 in federal funds and a $50,000 city match. City planners are considering colored bike lanes and neighborhood bike trail connectors. The program will also likely include signs reminding motorists to share the road and promote safe cycling.

The story also mentions our friends at Full Moon Vista … and lil’ ol’ RocBike.com:

Jason Crane, a Rochester resident, has started www.rocbike.com to spread information about bicycling and bike commuters in this area. On it, cyclists will find a gas calculator that shows how much they can save by riding a bike instead of driving. According to this calculator, Crane saves $600 a year in gasoline costs by using a bike to travel about 10 miles a day.

Crane, 34, says he appreciates the fact that cycling means less pollution and that he’s not isolated in a vehicle. “I like the idea of traveling quick enough to get someplace, but slow enough to see what’s happening and to interact with the world.”

• Read the rest of the article at the D&C site.