i had a dream

The P.F. Chang's Rock n' Roll marathon was held today in Tempe/Phoenix, AZ, and as a result many of the streets were closed to automobile traffic to clear room for the estimated 37,000 runners and 5,000 volunteers. The race course traveled around the area in which I live, potentially rendering me house-bound for most of the morning...but only if I wanted to drive. I hopped on my aluminum steed at 9 am this morning to traverse the 5 miles to church, and had 4 lanes of road all to myself since the race had not made it that far just yet. The street I rode had been blockaded and even had motorcycle cops making sure no clueless drivers ended up on the wrong side of the orange cones. I stopped and chatted with two of the cops and they told me to help myself to the road that was the race course, since the runners were 40 minutes behind me. I happily complied and enjoyed the dash down vacant streets on a beautiful, sunny Sunday morning.

When it was time for me to go back home, the race was still going in this part of town, but I was still allowed to travel along the race course, inside the barricades, so long as I stayed out of the way. At this time, it was mostly the people who were walking that I encountered, but they only used 2 of the 3 lanes, leaving me plenty of room. One lane had been opened to auto traffic, but they weren't really going anywhere. I thoroughly enjoyed riding past all of the cars as they impatiently waited for the 100 people in front of them to progress through the next traffic light.

And this got me thinking: first of all, I would love it if this situation would happen more often, with 3 of 4 lanes of road being designated for pedestrian and bicycle traffic. But what a dream that is! At the same time, I realized that is somewhat selfish in that people who legitimately need cars (handicapped, elderly...but it's all grey territory) would be greatly inconvenienced by such a system.

But then I thought that this might be the kind of situation that is required to impact great transportation reform - and by that I do NOT mean "build more roads." If people were forced (I tread VERY carefully here) into realizing how cycling (or even carpooling since 9 out of 10 cars I pass have A person in them) is a more efficient form of transportation, they might just be more willing to try it. But as long as our urban infrastructure and layout make it more convenient/easier to drive, I am sure people will be content doing just that, no matter how much gas might cost.

But I guess the major problem would be finding a mayor who would willingly close down 3 out of 4 lanes of traffic to let cyclists roam free. But then again, we all have to have dreams, right?