EL NINO strikes down winter again

      Things are just getting good around here.  It's mid February in Michigan, the snow is gone (along with local skiing) the temps promise to be in the forties for the next week, I took the Hillborne out with regular tires yesterday.  Maybe Phil from wherever-I-can't-pronounce was wrong.  We know it's not global warming because that stopped on January 20th, but  warm weather crawls over the snow squeezing it out until the only ice left is near the snow mountains at the edge of the parking lots.  So I am going to switch out the studs on the Hunq and start really riding to work. 

   The fact that we have riding conditions at an odd time of year had not deterred the advocacy season from marching forward.  Renee and John (right and left) from out local bike club awarded our Mayor Hopewell (a cyclist himself) and the City Commission with the Annual "Friend of Cycling" award 
                                       

for approving the 5ft passing law.We all expected it to be difficult

 but the Commission passed it with a 100% vote.   

Along with that,  KATS, the area transportation study which dispenses federal funds,

held a Q&A opportunity for the public to provide comment and suggestions over their proposals.  I got there at the end but the crowd had been large during the day and suggestions for development of active transport throughout the area proved to thoughtful as well as various.

But despite it all we have run into this glitch, where a neighborhood in the student ghetto has stopped  the city's initiative to widen walkways and add bike lanes.  Ostensibly, they got upset to know that some trees were being removed, but there is a tavern owner who is worried about losing a few parking spaces for a few weeks.  They will probably go around in circles for a month or two before that work resumes.  Ultimately trees will grow back and more pedestrians and cyclists will spend more money than motorists driving past.