Right now it is the best of times and the worst of times……….
Back in the early 1900s, rail systems, steam ships and the automobile were the major modes that dominated transportation. Life was grand! Transport was becoming faster, more efficient and more comfortable. By 1917, thousands of cars and 20-25 freight trains used the Harahan Bridge to cross the Mighty Mississippi from Memphis to Arkansas safely each day. Employment patterns, social interactions, infrastructure and goods distribution have been forever changed by the introduction of these modes of transportation. Just think where we’d be without the services like those of the trucking companies in bc that help to mobilize businesses’ products and get consumers the things that they need and want.
Inevitably, there are setbacks to increased mobility though, such as air and noise pollution, accidental deaths, urban sprawl and obesity.
Fortunately, the next revolution in transportation is happening RIGHT NOW!
There is an UPSURGE in the interest of cycling!
To accommodate the skyrocketing interest across the country, towns and cities are adding bike lanes, trails and crossings to their community plans, increasing the connectivity of existing roads between neighborhoods and destination spots in hopes of building a more bicycle friendly America. Ranking 17th in the country as a bike friendly state, Tennessee is constantly on the move to be even better.
At this point, it is the best of times….the cream of the crop for bicycle advocacy! Tennessee and Arkansas are leading by example with the Main Street to Main Street Multi-Modal Connector Project, also known as the Harahan Bridge Project. Through this 10-mile adapted re-use of the bridge’s old roadway, a newly formed multi-use bicycle and pedestrian trail will not only increase alternative transportation options, but jobs and revitalization will occur in both communities affronting the River.
At this point, it is also the worst of times……currently, the connectivity along the Mississippi River Trail (a 2,300-mile biking trail that extends from Minnesota to Louisiana) trailing from Memphis to Arkansas along I-55 is very poor and is not recommended due to the narrowness of the Memphis-Arkansas bridge crossing for the cyclist. These issues will be alleviated with the construction of the Harahan Bridge Project, which is scheduled for completion by 2014.
So, I encourage all of you River Citizens to go check out a piece of the Mississippi River Trail and take a good book with ya! Read it on the banks while you soak in the River’s mystique. Charles Dickens is not a bad read or Mark Twain’s “Life on the Mississippi” would be the perfect companion for your next River excursion!