Biking and guns

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

By Matthew Irwin

The demographic of Jackson Hole is changing, and it wants a more commuter-oriented, centralized infrastructure, which also fits the Comp Plan’s stated No. 1 goal, to protect wildlife habitat.

Being Bike Week (See www.friendsofpathways.org for event details) – now is the time to discuss the bike as the symbol of this new demographic.
Most days, I walk to work. I enjoy crossing town in the morning as it wakes up, taking my time to see things, mentally preparing for the day (i.e. wake up), maybe listening to music.

With summer nearly here, I take the alleys to avoid traffic, to let my dog run off his leash.

Other days, when in a hurry, I skateboard or bike, which isn’t as satisfying for me. Nonetheless, it’s a luxury that makes me appreciate Jackson Hole.

But it’s also a trend taking root in big cities – Boston, New York, San Francisco, Chicago and San Diego. People my age do not want to rely on cars, they don’t want to be tied to cars.

Critical mass bike rides, still fledgling in JH, are some indication of this trend, but I also see many young people looking to live and work within city (town, as it were) boundaries.

Even growing up in suburban Ohio, bike rides were a regular family recreation, the town paths being full on weekends, but otherwise inconveniently located for commuting.  We made fun of and worried about the bikers on our four-lane Central Ave., even as they passed us, stopped by traffic jams.

A couple weeks back, I went to the Rotary Wine Fest with some friends, then we biked to dinner at Trio and followed some other friends to masses of bikes outside the Silver Dollar, the Cowboy Bar and the Cadillac, never making it in because of the crowds, but we biked home satisfied that so many folks were out, on their bikes.

Many people my age prefer alternative transit, if not because the bike is more economical, hip and green, then perhaps because the car seems somewhat outdated, cumbersome and maybe egocentric.

What we want is a town with four stories, community parks and a regular bus system to get us out into the wild.

I speak of course for people in my immediate circle, perhaps a ring or two out – folks who don’t have the resources to waste, who like doing the work themselves and who appreciate many aesthetics, whether city or country. To keep their countries wild and their commutes short, these people are moving back into towns, and I’m of the age when a number of them have kids.

Some landowners in the county aren’t going to like what this means, but if folks want this to be a real town that tourists visit rather than a tourist town occupied by second homes, deals will have to be made. I suggest a wildlife habitat buy-back program, wherein landowners get the cost of their property plus inflation.
Please hurl manure . . . now – I could use it for my first vegetable garden.

                                            •

Here’s another crowd pleaser: I don’t care if you keep a gun. Keep 10 or 20, hell, but keep them in your effen house. Fine, bring them out for hunting season, but otherwise, I am not impressed.

Jefferey Wunsch didn’t have a permit, but he still brought out his Ruger, waved it around, fired it and threatened people. And he “has never been in anything violent before,” according to his lawyer in the June 9, Jackson Hole Daily.
And I’m supposed to feel safe with guns in the national parks?

I have to rely on gun-owners not to freak out during wildlife encounters?
People feed bears in GTNP, and how long has it been promulgated to not feed the bears?

The irony of relying on people’s good gun sense is if they had any sense, they wouldn’t bring a gun to a peaceful and public place, especially if the law prohibits it.

And now we want to invite them to bring their guns? JHW
PERMALINK:
Biking and guns | Planet JH News Article: Editorial

Leave a Comment