We are glad to see the city making a commitment to promote Prestonsburg as a “bicycle-friendly community” this week, and look forward to some of the changes that will result.

The city is holding bicycle-safety workshops for local kids, and renovations to make the Garfield Trail more attractive to area cyclists should improve its popularity.

But these are just first steps, and there are a few others we would like to see come about.

• Bicycle lanes — Painting bicycle lanes on city streets would go a long way toward improving safety for cyclists and motorists alike. The lanes, which would simply designate an area of the roadway for cyclists, rather than widening the road and creating new lanes, would serve as a reminder to motorists to be on the lookout for bicycles, and would give cyclists some guidance on where to ride in the roadway. And there could be no better way to advertise the city’s commitment to providing a bicyle-friendly community than to have such lanes throughout town.
• More trails — The Garfield Trail is a good start, but the 1.1-mile trail is of woefully inadequate distance for serious cyclists, who look for places they can spend an entire day on two wheels. Given that the city has an abundance of undeveloped land around Stonecrest, there should be ample opportunity to create a system of mountain biking trails that could connect with the city and Jenny Wiley State Resort Park.
• Cycling events — Prestonsburg has a long history of supporting athletic events in the community and is home to a number of walks, runs and fitness events. Why shouldn’t those events also include something for cyclists?

The city has made a good start, and we hope they continue to follow through on this solid beginning.

— The Floyd County Times