University, city employees celebrate Bike to Work Day
Posted on Saturday, May 17, 2008
Friday morning started out a little differently for Fayetteville Parks and Recreation Director Connie Edmonston.
Instead of waking up and getting dressed for work, she donned her cycling gear and went for a bike ride with her husband, Craig.
The pair cycled about seven miles from their home in west Fayetteville to Jammin’ Java on the Fayetteville Square to commemorate Bike to Work Day. The event is part of National Bike to Work Week by the League of American Bicyclists, a national advocacy group founded in 1880.
The Edmonstons on Friday gathered for coffee with employees of the University of Arkansas Intramural / Recreational Sports Program and the Fayetteville Parks and Recreation Department before cycling off to work.
Craig Edmonston, director of the Intramural / Recreation Sports Program, said a group of employees from his department encourage biking through an initiative they started called Cycling for Students.
“ We’re doing different races around the state and even in bordering states to show students that they can be healthy and still have fun, ” he said.
Edmonston said he occasionally bikes to work during the week but finds it difficult without a complete trail system.
“ The streets have to be part of our transportation, too, and they’re not real conducive to riding, ” he said. “ On certain ones, you really take your life at risk. ”
However, he said, more cyclists are starting to ride on the roads and drivers are getting used to seeing them.
Some of the university employees bike to work more regularly. Tiffany Gaulke said she tries to bike to work at least once a week to save money on gas.
Jeremy Pate, director of current planning for the city of Fayetteville, also biked to work Friday.
Pate said he usually walks to work because he lives nearby.
“ It’s good to get the oxygen flowing before work and since my job involves late meetings, it’s good to calm down every night, ” he said. “ I also enjoy not having to get in my car and deal with traffic. ”
Connie Edmonston said she would bike to work more often if there were more trails.
“ Once Scull Creek Trail is complete, we can do it more, ” she said. “ Scull Creek is major for a lot of bikers. ”
Scull Creek Trail roughly follows Gregg Avenue from the downtown area to the Northwest Arkansas Mall area. Construction is underway on the support structures for six bridges that will carry foot and bicycle traffic over the creek. The completed trail is expected to open in October.
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