YES! I would like to see Route 66 developed as a Bicycle Corridor through Oklahoma.
I support the efforts of the Oklahoma Bicycling Coalition and the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation in seeking a Bikes Belong grant to achieve this goal.
The Oklahoma Bicycling Coalition is partnering with the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation to write a Bikes Belong grant proposal that will be submitted for consideration in May. The goal of the grant is to develop Route 66 as a bicycle corridor through Oklahoma.
Bicycle tourists will be able to link with the ODTR website to get turn-by-turn directions of where-to-go and what-to-see along Route 66 from a cycling standpoint. Since Oklahoma has the most continuous, rideable miles of Route 66 of any state in the nation, this corridor will become a very important bicycling attraction.
The grant will also fund Public Service Announcements aimed at educating drivers of the rights and responsibilities of bicyclists. These PSA's will be a continuation of the Share The Road philosophy.
The third goal of this grant is to fund an economic impact study to determine exactly what bicycle touring means to the state in terms of dollars. Once this study is made, it will provide the information needed to seek other grants providing funding to promote bicycle safety and enhance tourism in our state.