I have noticed that in my neighborhood, there are no bike lanes. People are forced to either bike on the sidewalk or in the street. Sidewalks are very crowded. They are filled with families taking strolls or people walking their dogs, and therefore pose a challenge to the cyclist. Biking in the street is very dangerous and difficult, especially for adolescents, because we are less experienced. If the city installed bike lanes, the biking experience would become much safer and more convenient. I believe that if we installed bike lanes, it would make people much more motivated to bike. The lanes are not cluttered with pedestrians and offer a safer and enjoyable alternative. If everyone starts to bike more, it would help reduce the carbon dioxide emissions that are very negatively impacting Earth and its inhabitants, and thus give us a greener city and a greener Earth.

Riley- As a community, we should do more to incentivize using sustainable practices. This includes creating safer bike lanes; however, a problem that I have seen in crowded places such as New York is that many people block the bike lanes, making them inaccessible, forcing people to take more dangerous routes. If we want people to take these alternatives, then we must enforce safe practices. Further, I believe that we could provide a greater incentive for people to use green energy by subsidizing solar panels or giving tax credits for those who use solar. Other ways we can create a difference include awareness campaigns, like our school’s Students for Sustainability Club, which increases public knowledge about global warming through activities and games.

Riley, I liked your analysis concerning the problems your city faces with the use of bike lanes. It is obvious that not having bike lanes at all, having lanes that are crowded, and the danger involved with biking in the street all make it very difficult for bicyclists to commute around the city. I agree with your claim that if your city implemented safer bike lanes, more people would consider using bikes as transportation over the use of cars. To add to your comment, I believe that a more sustainable city would include not only bike lanes, but more sidewalks for pedestrians to walk and more opportunities for public transportation. My city, Orinda, California, has a great system of public transportation and paths for bicyclists and pedestrians. Even though I have my own car and live nearly two miles from public transportation, it is very easy and convenient for me to walk there because of the many pedestrian walkways. Therefore, when considering a more sustainable  city, I think that it is very important to consider the use of pedestrian walkways and public transportation so that the people have more opportunities to get where they want than just driving there by themselves.

In order to try and be more environmentally friendly and cut down on their carbon footprint, our city, Walnut Creek, California, has taken small steps to help encourage people to make “greener” decisions. Two years ago, our city issued a ban on retailers providing plastic bags without a fee. Now, if you would like a bag from a store, it costs an extra 10 cents. This encourages people to start bringing their own reusable bags to carry their purchases. If you are interested more about it, here are a few resources: http://www.ci.walnut-creek.ca.us/plasti … egulations

    Another way our city has made an effort to be more green is by joining MCE, a not-for-profit service that helps cities use cleaner energy more efficiently. It is being planned to be initiated sometime September 2016. The current idea plans on raising the amount of renewable energy from 30% to 52% by joining MCE. To learn more about MCE visit http://www.walnut-creek.org/departments … gether/mce

    Walnut Creek also has a free bus that runs in a residence area and a majority of downtown 7 days a  week, throughout the day. Having the bus helps reduce the amount of people needing their cars. A majority of parking garages in the downtown area also have electric car charging stations. Electrics cars are more green and a good way to go. If biking or walking to school or work is something that people need to do, our city also has a safe and efficient way. There are many bike lanes and safe walking trails to get to where you need. The two major middle school and high school in Walnut Creek are both easily accessible by the bus, walking, or biking. Walnut Creek uses alternative ways rather than taking a car to help reduce our city’s carbon footprint.
http://www.walnut-creek.org/departments … on/transit

    As much as we are already trying to decrease our carbon footprint and make our city more environmentally friendly, there is more things we can do to help. What does your city do? Do you personally do anything different?

I also agree and like your concern about bike lanes. We should have more put in out cites. But the other day I can across an article about city bikes. I think city bikes would be great to install not only in my city but in many more. They'll encourage more people to ride bikes instead of driving there car and it would be fun to go out with your friends.

I agree with this idea for your community, and I hope you get it implemented as soon as you can. In Guatemala, where I live, we have very few bike lanes, but it is not as necessary since citizens rarely choose bicycles as their mode of transportation, and I doubt that if they were built, this number would increase.

I think that is a very interesting proposal, adding bike lanes could incentivize people to ride their bikes and reduce the use of cars. I live in Guatemala and even though there are a few bike lanes around the city I do see bikers in the streets sometimes and worry for their safety due to careless drivers, I think that placing bike lanes, at least on the most common streets or the streets with the most traffic would make people feel safer in their bikes and could increase the population that uses their bikes instead of public transportation or personal cars.

If people have access to bicycle lanes they will start using more bicycles instead of cars. The bad thing is that in my city it is far to get from one place to another so bicycles are not the best option also it may be dangerous to move around in bicycles.

I agree, Riley, that cities need to install more bike lanes! Biking is an extremely beneficial aspect to lowering our carbon footprint. The bike itself has been renovated by different companies as well. In fact, Organic Transit has built the ELF, a pedal-powered and solar-powered tricycle; it's considered a bike, and it requires no gas at all!
The solar power addition is used to give a boost of power whenever the rider needs it; other than that, the driver can pedal on her own. ELF can climb low hills and even travel over 25 mph.  Using an outlet, it takes 2-3 hours to charge; however, the sunlight usage depends on your location. They are a little pricey, but these tricycles are a good step in the right direction for eco-friendly transportation!
Source: http://www.alternative-energy-news.info … ar-hybrid/

Riley, I agree with your proposal to install bike lanes. My community has no bike lanes, which forces me to make a choice between the environment and my safety. Biking places would decrease the amount of car use in my family, but it would also mean that I would either have to bike in the street with other vehicles or on a crowded sidewalk. A designated place to ride bikes would make biking safer, but I still fear that people would rather drive in a car even though it may raise their carbon footprint than go out of their way to ride a bike.

Riley, I do think the addition of bicycle lanes would be very important and efficient. My neighborhood lacks these lanes as well, making it difficult and unsafe to ride bikes around my neighborhood, especially on the main roads-where traffic tends to go faster and is more congested. As you said, bike lanes would potentially encourage people to ride their bikes more often. The lanes would make them feel safer-allowing them to go to different places that they would normally use their car to travel to; for example, the neighborhood park, nearby grocery stores, and for some people, their relatively close jobs. By doing this, you are decreasing the amount of transportation of motored vehicles, in turn reducing the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere. Based on information by OHPI (office of highway policy information) provided by the U.S department of transportation, the average annual miles per driver in the U.S. is 13,476. According to the U.S department of energy, 1 gallon of gasoline produces 20 pounds of carbon dioxide. Also, the Washington Post reported  that in 2013, the average mileage per gallon, in the U.S., was 23.6. This means that each car will use about 570 gallons of gasoline per year. That’s 11,400 pounds of CO2 per year! Riding bikes would greatly reduce this emission and create a better environment for people. The lanes would also contribute to the people’s health as riding bikes is a form of exercise. In addition to lanes for bikes, I think it would be a good idea to add these lanes for mopeds and motor cycles. Mopeds can average anywhere between 80-150 miles per gallon. They may cause more CO2 emission than bikes, but they definitely emit less than cars due to their smaller size and engines. Also, this would provide a way of transportation for those places that are too far to travel on bicycles. So, I believe bike lanes would efficiently contribute to our community.
SOURCES:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/climate.shtml
http://evsroll.com/Car_pollution_facts.html
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/onh00/bar8.htm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp