We love living in a community that values time spent outside and where walking and biking are a safe, comfortable, and easy choice for many people.

This month, data counters will register 1,000,000 trips on the pathway network in 2022. This is the second year in a row to reach a million pathway user counts in one calendar year. In a community of our size, even when you factor in tourism, this is something to celebrate. The growing pathway network in Jackson makes getting around by bike or foot often more convenient than driving. And when you travel outside the car, you meet your community face to face, in real time. It’s the ultimate social network.

In addition to Jackson’s improving pathways network, the emerging technology of e-bikes has created a whole new demographic of people using the pathways. Love them or hate them, e-bikes have skyrocketed the number of people taking to two-wheeled travel.

Stop in front of the middle school this fall and you will see about 150 bikes parked outside, many of which are e-bikes. That’s 150 kids who traveled to school with some fresh air time, a few calories burned and independent of their parent’s car. It’s also 150 kids who could potentially zoom past you at 20 mph and ruin your day. E-bikes are terrific or terrifying depending on the behavior of the user. So how should we move forward as a community, recognizing the good and not so good that youth on e-bikes presents?

We certainly don’t have all the answers, but here’s what we’ve done so far:

In spring 2021, Friends of Pathways staff, the Jackson Police Department, and staff from the town and county instructed a bike safety course to about 30 kids at Jackson Hole Middle School. The kids rode on the pathways and practiced how to pass, use proper speed, etc. It was a great class, but we only reached a small number of students. It was a start.

In spring of this year, Friends of Pathways along with Jackson Police Department officers and Teton County Sheriff’s Office deputies went back to the middle school and presented assemblies for sixth, seventh and eighth graders, reaching about 750 kids that day. We showed a funny bike safety video with middle-school aged actors and set up a bike skills course outside. By all accounts the kids were engaged and the day was successful.

But does one day of instruction really stick? People still call our office distressed about kids’ behavior on e-bikes. It’s clear that more work needs to be done.

This year, the middle school is working to integrate bike safety messaging in the classroom. Friends of Pathways will return soon with bells and bike lights and put that safety equipment on every bike that needs it. Moving forward, we hope to develop a curriculum for the physical education class so that all kids get bike safety education at least once a year, every year, in sixth, seventh and eighth grade.

Ideally, with a pathway system as robust as ours, and with the correct education and community support, Jackson Hole should be developing the most experienced and educated youth cyclists in the world. But there will be growing pains; building a culture of bike etiquette takes time.

The Jackson Town Council will have a workshop on pathway safety and e-bike usage at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 19.

Education, regulation, and pathway infrastructure improvements will be discussed including increased middle school education, bike shop outreach, 15-mph speed limits in town, age limits to carry passengers, dismount zones, chicane gates, speed calming in congested areas, and etiquette signage.

We encourage everyone who uses the pathways to attend the workshop, or watch a replay of the meeting and submit your comments. Parents — especially those with kids who bike to school — please get involved. Have that helmet and bike etiquette talk with your kid and make sure they aren’t adding to FOP’s complaint hotline.

The pathways are public space for everyone to enjoy. While more people on the pathways may mean slower speeds at times, it also means more opportunities to be nice and say hi to your fellow fresh-air travelers. It takes a few extra seconds to reduce your speed, ring your bell and make someone’s day. And in our small community, that person might be your boss, your teacher or your relative.

We live in such a beautiful place, why not slow down and enjoy the ride?

Katherine Dowson is the executive director of Friends of Pathways. Brian Schilling is the pathways coordinator for the Town of Jackson and Teton County. Guest Shots are solely the opinion of their authors.

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