Santa Maria is not the world’s most bicycle-friendly community, a fact that has been made abundantly clear in the recent debate over a bike/car incident in which a rider was killed.

The reality that emerged from that spirited discussion is that there isn’t a lot of cooperation between those on bicycles and those in motorized vehicles. Both feel entitled to their share of the road, a conflict that too often ends in tragedy.

The Santa Maria City Council has an opportunity to mitigate the disagreement, beginning with a public hearing at 6:30 tonight on the proposed Bikeway Master Plan, the first update of the city’s bikeways strategy in more than 17 years.

The plan would take what is now only a handful of dedicated bike routes, and expand the system to a total of 139 miles, including 59 miles of bike paths, 64 miles of striped bike lanes, and another 16 miles of routes.

Developing such a network is not cheap, a fact our elected leaders will need to take into account. But they should also consider a future in which fuel prices will only get higher, prodding more and more Santa Marians into either walking or biking as a primary means of transportation.

In that context, a comprehensive bikeways systems makes a lot of sense.

Meanwhile, and until such a network of safe lanes is available, how about motorists and cyclists making a greater effort to just get along.

November 17, 2009