Cyclists take back Mexico City streets

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Mexico City was rolling on Sunday as an estimated 10,000 cyclists responded to the call of the capital’s mayor to take back the storied Paseo de la Reforma - if only for a few precious hours.

From 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. the stately boulevard was blocked to automobile traffic in a 10-kilometer loop running from Chapultepec Park to the Zocalo. It’s part of the plan by Mayor Marcelo Ebrard to promote bike usage to ease gridlock and improve air quality.

Mexico’s Federal District has a long way to go before it’s Amsterdam, where cyclists and pedestrians reign supreme. Yet on Sunday one could catch a fleeting glimpse of how a slightly saner transportation policy could significantly boost quality of life in this smoggy, congested capital.

Toddlers on tricycles shared the road with spandex-clad speed racers, joggers and in-line skaters. Yuppies showed off nifty folding bikes and fancy touring models. Teenagers cruised on choppers with long handle bars and banana seats. A unicyclist turned his mount on a dime. The rust on some bikes was exceeded only by that of their wobbly riders. But no matter the experience of the cyclists or the condition of their wheels, wide smiles were standard equipment.

The city is also looking to extend its network of bike paths to encourage more cycling. It’s installing racks in the subway and on public buses and contemplating ways to get bicycles into the hands of low-income people.

But the biggest barrier is sheer terror. Mexico City drivers mow down hundreds of pedestrians and cyclists every year. Re-educating them to share the road will be tougher than teaching those preschoolers on Reforma to graduate from their training wheels.

Posted by Marla Dickerson in Mexico City