Bike Board Members,
 
It seems to me the biggest obstacle is engineering.  It very much reminds me of the difficulty with bus shelters.  They were never considered when public spaces were designed and engineered, meaning there is no public property to locate them (no adequate public property for bike lanes), no accommodation for their use such as curb cuts (no consideration of how bikes and cars could interact in places with steep grades), and no awareness or interest on the part of designers and engineers to include them in new projects (the new streetscape in Downtown Morgantown gets us both I think).
 
Without engineering, we don't have a product.  Without a product to sell, we have little to offer, to market, to educate, or to encourage use.  Without a good initial product for show and tell, it is a hard sell.  Before there was any streetscape in downtown Morgantown, Wall Street was redone.  Although small, it spurred imagination, created interest, and demonstrated what was possible.  15 years later, downtown streets are being redone.  The first piece of the rail-trail was 150 feet long.  Again, it demonstrated to the community what "could be" and helped people to imagine more (Hazel Ruby-McQuain's interest and financial support certainly helped as well).
 
Perhaps we need a Demonstration Project?  Probably one of the best candidate locations is outside the City of Morgantown.  Granville is interested in re-developing their main streets and sidewalks and would serve as a great demonstration project.  Is there a similar opportunity in Morgantown? 
 
David A. Bruffy
General Manager
Mountain Line Transit Authority
420 DuPont Road
Morgantown, WV  26501
Bruffy@busride.org
(304) 296-3680 - Administrative Offices
(304) 291-RIDE (7433) - Bus Information
Fax (304) 291-7429
WWW.BUSRIDE.ORG