While I commend Spokane’s leaders and the biking community’s efforts to encourage people to pedal more often than drive, many of our city’s biking lanes are hazardous. I ride on the Assembly/Northwest Boulevard route multiple times a week, which has a great biking lane. However, I often am forced to dodge debris such as pieces of wood, weeds and shrubs that are overgrowing onto the lane, a lot of broken glass, and recently a real estate open-house sign.

The debris in bike lanes is equivalent to the potholes in car lanes. Debris forces cyclists to either ride in the lanes with cars (remember, cyclists do share the roads) or on the very outside edge of the bike lanes.

So, whose responsibility is it to keep bike lanes consistently clear of debris and thus safe? The cyclists? The home and business owners who have bike lanes in front of their properties? The city’s road maintenance department? All of the above? If Spokane truly wants to become a bike-friendly city, then we not only need safe bike routes but clean and hazard-free bike lanes.