As much as we love those men in uniform, Madison can't get enough of the jolly fellows patrolling the streets via pedals. Yes, Madison has a love for the diligent and forceful bike police who make it top priority to catch and ticket any criminals illegally zipping through Library Mall at record speeds. This safety squad is just one small portion of Madison's extreme efforts to create and uphold a more bike friendly city.
While Madison is currently one of the few cities throughout the country to maintain a ""Gold"" level for its accessible and convenient biking system, there exists one rank that The League of American Bicyclists has yet to award: Platinum. The desire to reach that level, along with the economic benefits biking brings to the city, fueled a recent expedition to Germany and the Netherlands.
Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk and nineteen other participants, including UW-Madison's Associate Vice- Chancellor for Facilities, Planning and Management Al Fish, were sponsored to travel to Europe by the 20BY2020 campaign. This initiative aims to make biking 20 percent of the transportation within Madison by the year 2020. The primary objective behind the excursion was for participators to ""identify best practices surrounding the development of infrastructure, policy and education that support the growth of bicycling."" While the intentions surrounding the trip appear humble and progressive, the notion that biking interest groups managed to fund and organize the tour seems a tad worrisome. Members of Saris Cycling Group, Bikes Belong Coalition, and the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin realize that these are the politicians to schmooze.
Much like lobbyists bribing legislatures with free trips and accessories, sending Mayor Dave across seas for an enjoyable biking expedition completely mirrors biased intentions behind the tour's funding. These cycling organizations understand that, in order to implement more in-depth biking requirements and to install various amenities designed for cyclists throughout the city, they need to target those on top. Sending particular government officials on a fully funded excursion was the way to do it.
While it may be hard to argue against initiatives aimed to create a friendlier biking community across Madison, the techniques behind these ambitious efforts should not stem from interest groups and organizations. While sending various Madison officials on an international excursion may have reaped some benefits and innovative ideas for cycling techniques, the true motives behind the trip were nothing short of extravagantly pleasing and informing top dogs in office.
Whether or not the intentions behind these organizations remain genuine or not, providing anything free shows a level of influence that no interest group should have over government officials. Although Madison could benefit from more effective biking programs, funding should not come from biased cycling organizations. In the future, we would appreciate it if lobbyists would simply stick to lobbying, instead of gifting thinly veiled vacations under the pretense of fact-finding expeditions.
