Where there’s a wheel, there’s a way to biker friendly roads

Raleigh, N.C. — With gas prices inching higher and higher, more Raleigh cyclists are hitting the pavement. The city's roads, however, are not that cyclist friendly.

“It's my transportation way of life,” cyclist Daniel Osborne said. “I ride three or four times a day. I'll ride downtown to catch the bus to go to Wake Tech to go to school."

Osborne is among cyclists WRAL spoke with Sunday about Raleigh's outdated bike plan.

“They definitely need a bike plan. I don't really know if they had one before,” Osborne said.

Raleigh's bike plan was established in 1991.

“Since that time, the city has grown quite significantly,” said Eric Lamb, with Raleigh's Public Works Department.

City officials have partnered with the state Department of Transportation to study biking. Their goal is to come up with a newer plan for cycling on city streets.

There are only two roads in Raleigh with bike lanes, officials said.

“Most cyclists want to ride more than 10 miles, and two roads, that's not gonna be enough,” cyclist Daniel Page said.

“People have to change their attitudes towards bikes too,” Osborne added.

“I think we can figure out how to all be on the road together if there's more education (for) drivers that don't cycle,” cyclist Erin Drake said.

“Our goal is to figure out how to make it less scary,” Lamb said.

The bicycle study is costing the DOT and Raleigh about $180,000. A public workshop on the bike plan was held recently, and more are planned for the summer.

Officials said they hope to have the study complete and suggestions in place by next year.