Riding the Sidewalks and Risking Death: The Plight of Las Vegas Cyclists

Anyone not in a car competes for too-narrow strips of sidewalks, on which most bicyclists ride and into which bus shelters are somehow shoehorned, along with boxes of pamphlets for the city's ubiquitous "escort services." It's not uncommon to see someone riding a motorized wheelchair in the traffic lane, hugging the curb as cars pass fast and close.

There is very little bike infrastructure here -- or even streets that can be reasonably navigated by a solo rider. A few disconnected bike lanes were built, one or two blocks at a time, on quiet streets that don't need them. There was once a bike lane on Tropicana, one of the main drags, all the way out to Red Rocks, Heather tells us. The lane was paved over when the road was expanded to add more car lanes.

"If you build bike culture, more people will ride, too," I say hopefully. Vegas has this -- one new group attracts 80 participants to its weekly night rides. But a woman at the back of the room raises her hand. She isn't having it. "We need bike lanes here," she says. "People won't ride otherwise. It isn't safe."

She's right. Vegas needs more than a temporary, if exuberant, bubble of safety around a defiant biweekly ride. I can't help but think of the Interbike show, which will soon descend on the Strip, as it does every year. Vegas has willing bicyclists, but they need help to build a bikeable city. There's a whole convention center full of potential allies there this week. How many are ready to look up and take notice?