Give Dani Simons credit for practicing what she preaches. Simons, neighborhood programs coordinator for Groundwork Providence -- part of a new initiative promoting a bike to work day this Friday, May 17 -- frequently rides a hybrid bike from her home near Broadway to Groundwork's office on Washington Street. "I'd say, like 95 percent of the time, there's no problem," she says. "There are times when a taxicab will yell at you," but after catching up with them at a light, "I let them know that bicycles are actually allowed on the road. I try to keep my anger down and use it as an opportunity to educate people."

As previously reported in the Phoenix (see "Battle of the bikes," News, June 21, 2001), efforts to create a more bicycle-friendly city have made halting process since Ray Alexander, director of advocacy for the Narragansett Bay Wheelmen, introduced a plan in 1992 to bring bike lanes to Providence, Cranston, and Warwick.

But Simons, who acknowledges that efforts to promote bike use need to be sustained over time, touts the advent of Bike Downtown, a new effort of the City of Providence, the Providence Foundation, and Groundwork Providence, as a positive development. Groundwork Providence will use $50,000 in state funding to promote bike use among downtown companies and hold workshops on maintenance and finding safe paths to navigate. The city also plans at some point to add bike lanes to major roads, and a related Web site, www.bikedowntown.org, is scheduled to launch at the end of May.

The program on Friday, May 17, will include a free continental bicycle breakfast, from 7-10 a.m.; a lunchtime bicycle celebration, from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.; and an information fair at the Fleet Skating Center. Secure parking will be offered that day, and bicycle commuters who register at either event will receive a card good for a lifetime discount at a local bicycle shop. Organizers hope to attract between 150 and 200 cyclists and, as Simons notes, even getting a small additional number of people onto bikes would have a salutary effect.

Meanwhile, the Providence faction of Critical Mass, the anarchistic bicycle group that uses direct-action tactics to challenge the hegemony of cars on local roads, is again staging a monthly ride. The next one is slated to gather at Garibaldi Park (by the pineapple) on Federal Hill on Friday, June 7, at 4:30 p.m.

Ian Donnis can be reached at idonnis[a]phx.com.

Issue Date: May 17 - 23, 2002