June 16, 2015 – Carlton Reid, the author of the book “The Roads Were Not Built for Cars”, will be speaking in Salt Lake City on Saturday June 20, 2o15.
Reid’s book illustrates the influence and history that cyclists had on road construction and public policy. From the book,
The president of the UK’s Automobile Association, Edmund King, has urged “we must get past the dangerous them and us mentality.” Optimistically, he concludes: “When we release our grip on the steering wheel or handlebars, the differences disappear.”
He’s right. Historically, at least. Cyclists and motorists have far more in common than many people realise. Early motoring was highly reliant on the cyclists of the 1890s. Not only did motorists later benefit from the improved roads first lobbied for by cyclists, but those motorists were often the same people who had originally done the lobbying. Cyclists and motorists of the late 1890s and early 1900s were not from separate tribes – they were often the exact same individuals.
The talk will focus on the book, and the history of bicycles and roads.
More on the book,
“‘Roads Were Not Built for Cars’ is a history book, focusing on a time when cyclists had political clout, in Britain and especially in America. The book researches the Roads Improvement Association – a lobbying group created by the Cyclists’ Touring Club in 1886 – and the Good Roads movement organised by the League of American Wheelmen in the same period.”
The talk will be held from 5-6 pm at the Impact Hub (150 S. State Street), 5-6pm, in Salt Lake City, Utah and is presented by the Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective and Bike Utah.
For information, and to RSVP, visit:
