Friday, February 29, 2008

RRR Helps In The Effort To Widen LMR

Dear Coach Ilg,
Your writing is poetic and lyrical and the letter looks great! Thanks
again so much for writing it. I think the support and enthusiasm of the
local cycling clubs will certainly strengthen our application.

Martin Ince
Multi-Modal Planner
Flagstaff Metropolitan Planning Organization/City of Flagstaff
Flagstaff, Arizona 86001




***

February 27, 2008



Mr. Kevin Burke, City Manager
City of Flagstaff
211 West Aspen Avenue
Flagstaff, Arizona 86001


Mr. Burke,
I am writing in support of the City of Flagstaff’s application for an Alternative Transportation on Parks and Public Lands grant to help fund the construction of shoulders on Lake Mary Road in Flagstaff.

Red Rock Racing is Flagstaff’s native and only remaining cycling team that is 100% local-sponsored. With nearly 40 devout racing and recreational cyclists on our Team, we remain devoted to promoting a positive image of cycling to all those who interact with us. We are focused on creating the conditions necessary for riders to improve their fitness and cycling skills in a positive environment.

We use Lake Mary Road (LMR) as a precious part of our Mission Statement. LMR is to us what a yoga studio is to yogis; that slice of heavenly road is our sacred gathering place. LMR is the site of our informal training rides, regular club rides, and is the esteemed venue of the Arizona State Road Racing Championships! Each Saturday morning, our training ride attracts 10-80 cyclists given the time of season. Many cyclists travel from out of town and spend a lot of money in Flagstaff each weekend in order to partake of our LMR rides.

Adding shoulders to Lake Mary Road would be a tremendous benefit to cyclists in Flagstaff. The shoulders would significantly improve safety for the cyclists who already use Lake Mary Road, and it would allow more cyclists of all levels to use the road safely and comfortably for fun, training, and commuting. Currently, scores of cyclists that are too afraid of the shoulder-less section of LMR waste gas and increase traffic load by driving out to “the mailboxes” in order to alleviate the likelihood of car vs. bicycle accidents; an all-too-frequent effect of the current condition of LMR.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment.

Sincerely,



Steve Ilg, Chairperson
Red Rock Racing




***

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I am writing in support of wide shoulders on LMR, as a Flagstaff triathlete and cyclist I am afraid to ride the section from Flagstaff to the mailboxes as it seems very unsafe. I'll continue to drive to the mailboxes until this road has wide shoulders.
Flagstaff has a sizable cycling population and I'm sure it would continue to grow with safe wide roadways within easy reach.

Curt Johnston