Biking it : From the morning commute to police patrol, some people prefer pedaling over driving.
Posted on Sunday, September 21, 2008
Sunday photograph by Charles Fowler Bentonville patrolman Jason Beeler rode along the North Bentonville Trail on Tuesday.
BENTONVILLE - As far as Daniel Hintz is concerned, he burns enough fuel every weekday morning, driving 30-plus miles from his home in Fayetteville to his office in downtown Bentonville.
When he arrives, Hintz - who is executive director of Downtown Bentonville Inc. - tosses his car keys on his desk and hops on his trusty 1972 Schwinn.
"I'm all over the downtown area all the time, so when I first started, I walked everywhere," Hintz said. "The problem was I needed to get from meeting to meeting quicker, so I got my trusty bike out of storage. I took it to the guys at Phat Tire Bike Shop, and they had respect for the bike. They fixed it up and got me rolling."
From appointments with potential downtown investors to the popular Bentonville Farmers Market on Saturdays, Hintz rides his old Schwinn proudly. With gas prices soaring again following Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, Bentonville's downtown guru is certainly saving more than a few bucks by pedaling the downtown area. But it's not just about saving money and getting exercise.
"When we're recruiting people who are thinking about investing in the downtown area, they don't ask about traffic counts," Hintz said. "They ask about pedestrian counts. When people ride their bikes or get out and walk, it makes Bentonville more competitive. It makes downtown more viable and vibrant."
Hintz isn't the only person putting his car keys on the shelf and getting the bike out of storage, even outside the downtown area.
Centerton resident Dane Poyfair rode a mountain bike around campus when he was in college.
"But it kind of went into storage until recently," said Poyfair, who dusted off the bike and has been riding to his job at the Wal-Mart Home Office in Bentonville for the past three months. "Gas is ridiculous, and I was already working out, so I figured why not get some of that exercise in and save gas money at the same time ?"
Tim Robinson, coowner of the Phat Tire Bike Shop, used to ride his bike to work from his home in Rogers once in a while. He recently moved to Bentonville, which created an opportunity to ride more often. Phat Tire has been working to promote bicycles over cars, particularly for trips of two miles or shorter. According to Robinson, it's as much an environmental thing as it is promoting a healthier lifestyle.
Gary Vernon, who works in Wal-Mart's Environmental Services Department and often commutes - by bike - from his home in Bella Vista, agrees.
"I ride my bike in about two mornings a week," Vernon said. "With Wal-Mart announcing it's going to install showers at some of its corporate buildings, people who ride their bikes will be able to clean up and get ready once they get here. That's going to be a big help. By the time I get here, I've been riding for 45 minutes, so I need somewhere to clean up."
Wal-Mart was not able to provide any additional details.
Phat Tire started a Bentonville Bicycle Advocacy Group in the spring. In addition to trying to get more people riding bikes, the group has been working to draw up potential on-street bike routes in some sections of the community, provided the proper signage is posted to warn motorists that they are sharing the road with bicyclists.
"It's legal for people to ride on the roads," Robinson said. "Bentonville actually has a good trail system and has been very open to listening to suggestions for how to become more bike friendly. We've been working hard to define some not-so-busy roads for bicyclists to get to and between those existing trails."
Corvalis, Ore., has set the standard for communities to follow in an effort to become truly bike friendly. According to statistics provided by Corvalis, a community of 55, 000, 97 percent of the city's collector and arterial streets have on-street bike lanes, and many traffic signals are even set up to allow for the free flow of bicyclists. The community boasts 113 miles of on-street bike lanes, in addition to another 23 miles of green or off-street bike trails.
But these things take time; Corvalis has been growing its bike trail system since the 1970 s. Fayetteville established an on-street bike lane earlier this year, becoming the first community in northwest Arkansas to do so.
According to Troy Galloway, Bentonville director of community development, the city is working to determine safe and appropriate streets for bicyclists to use get to important destinations, such as city parks and employment centers. Southeast C Street, Bella Vista Road and several other roads are currently being considered. It is the city's goal to place signage along those streets for bikers and motorists, and Galloway indicated that striping some on-street bike lanes is being considered in the future.
Bentonville has gone as far as to use a recent grant to keep one bike patrol officer riding the city's pedestrian trail system. Officers with the Bentonville Police Department have been patrolling parking lots at high school football games and other community events on bikes for years. Four months ago, a rotation began to have the trail system patrolled by bike.
"We're trying to engage the bike community and have a police presence on the trails so people feel safe," said Sgt. Joe Falcon, who coordinates the bike patrol. "We've even been out there helping kids get their helmets adjusted properly and helping change flat tires. We're in the infantile stages, but the city is being very proactive with this. There are a lot of things we can do and places we can get on a bike that we just couldn't in a patrol car."
Steps outside the traditional trail system will likely take some time.
Poyfair sees opportunities for bike friendliness.
"Having grown up in Washington, where there were a lot of roads that don't even have shoulders, let alone a designated area for bicyclists to ride, I think the couple feet of shoulder space along (Arkansas ) Highway 102 is at least something to work with," Poyfair said. "But there are some spots where it gets pretty skinny, and I'm riding the white stripe. It could be better, particularly in town.
"Still, there are some big advantages to biking to work," Poyfair said. "People might think I'm crazy to ride (Arkansas ) 102, but during the school year when things get backed up, I normally beat the cars to work. It's refreshing to start your day off outside, rather than sealed inside a car. I get some fresh air before I start my workday."
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