❊ A Good Idea Whose Time Has Come

Riding bicycles is the ideal mode of transportation in Lebanese cities, and yet it’s surprising how very little people do it. It’s time for this to change.

Yesterday, there was an event in Tripoli called “El-Mina by Bike”. It was a nice, friendly event in which a group of people rode on bicycles to spread a message:

[We want] a stress-free lifestyle, a cleaner and health(ier) environment, and (a) cheap [means of] transportation. [Let’s] create a bicycle friendly city, raise awareness and introduce the concept to the residents and encourage more people to use bicycles in their daily movements.

This is one of those messages that are so compelling you sit there wondering why more people wouldn’t do it. I’m from Tripoli and I always asked myself why so many people use cars in that city. Tripoli is so small you can easily walk from any point to any other point. And yet, we still have what I can only describe as pointless traffic. People use cars to travel distances you can walk in 5 minutes.

Part of the reasons for that are cultural. Here are some I just got from the top of my head:

• Women wear high heels to work.
• Walking can expose Lebanese women to sexual harassment
• Men just like to show off their cars and women judge men by their cars
• Walking and biking to work is looked down at as something lower class people do
• Two words: Body Odor

You get the point. But there are also many compelling reasons for a mentality change. Forget about the airy-fairy talk of saving the planet because that won’t get anyone changing their habits. Traffic is the answer. It alone can drive change, as it is becoming so unbearable that a lot of people are seriously looking for alternatives. If riding bicycles becomes a cool and easy thing to do, many people will jump on the two-wheeler in a heartbeat .

Lebanese cities are ideal for bike rides. They are relatively small, dense and safe (from crime, not from motorists). If you live in Hamra and work in Verdun, you don’t NEED a car. You only need a car if you want to go from one city to another, or if you have a serious commute, like say from Rabieh to Hamra. In every other case, riding bicycles is the solution we have all been waiting for.

All we need is a small public and private push: Bicycle lanes from the municipality, locker rooms and showers in companies and universities, awareness campaigns — preferably with some celebrity endorsement — to make the practice cool and acceptable, even if it is sponsored by Coke.

We can do this, and the potential benefits are huge: Less traffic, better air to breath, less illnesses from sedentary lifestyles, and most importantly, more upbeat people who will hopefully start talking less about politics.

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Note: Posts with titles starting with an ❊ (asterisk) are my article and opinion posts. I used this system to separate long posts from quick links and comments.