Kansas City Bike Lanes = White Privilege?!?

I'm not sure this mode of argumentation is effective . . . But it's entertaining nevertheless.

This passage offers a reference point . . .

In 2020, the advocacy group tracked a total of 6,500 pedestrian deaths, or nearly 18 per day—a 4.5% increase from 2019. Native Americans and African Americans, who are most at-risk of being struck and killed, were overrepresented on the list. Nine hundred and thirty two cyclist deaths were also recorded in 2020.

With America’s streets so undeniably dangerous for bicyclists and pedestrians, the resistance to bike lanes in urban areas can feel confusing and counter-intuitive. Why are certain communities so opposed to their construction?

The answer is complicated. Bike lanes have long been associated with gentrification, or the displacement of low or middle income communities–often Black and Brown–by the arrival of wealthier people – often white professionals and their families. Across the country, bike lanes have become a political flashpoint, leading to protests and push-back from local communities who are already feeling the pressure of higher rents and property taxes.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links from both sides of the equation . . .

What Bike Lanes Taught Me About Racism - Melanin Base Camp

Bike lanes won't fix the bigger problem of Black and Native American pedestrians dying at higher rates on U.S. streets. That's because of a couple factors.

In Chicago, cyclists in Black neighborhoods are over-policed and under-protected

In 2017, avid cyclist Johnny Harris received a ticket from the Chicago Police Department for riding on the sidewalk. A year after the incident, the Black cyclist told the Chicago Reader, he briefly dipped onto the sidewalk to avoid potholes while riding on the West Side of Chicago, in between the predominantly Latino neighborhood of Garfield Park and the predominantly Black neighborhood of North Lawndale.

Podcast: Are Bike Lanes White Lanes?

In this episode, Kea Wilson interviews Melody Hoffmann, author of Bike Lanes are White Lanes , which examines how the burgeoning popularity of urban bicycling is trailed by systemic issues of racism, classism, and displacement.

Addressing White Supremacy in our Movement

By Brian Wiedenmeier on July 7, 2020 To our members: I am writing this letter to all 10,000+ of you, but especially to our white members. While white people account for 53% of San Franciscans, they represent nearly 80% of our membership, according to our most recent membership survey.

Developing . . .