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CREATING A
CYCLING COMMUNITY W
hile some communities just spin their wheels, Conway has gone the extra mile for bicyclists. The city was recognized in 2012 as a Bike Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists, a national organization. Since then, Conway has added amenities to serve bicyclists of all ages and abilities. “I think Conway’s got a little bit for everybody,” said Wesley Pruitt, a member of the Conway City Council. “You’ve got everything from really fun, difficult mountain biking to ‘Hey, my 5- and 6-yearold can ride on this trail.’” He should know — the married father of five and his family all ride bicycles. Pruitt was a member of an initial task force that developed a bicycle master plan and worked to gain the bicycle-friendly designation. Pruitt also is an assistant coach on the youth National Interscholastic Cycling Association mountain-biking team, which Terry Coddington of Conway founded two years ago.
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Coddington has been a driving force in the cycling community since he moved to Conway in 2011, and he praised the city’s efforts. “More and more people are coming to the sport; that’s a testament to what the city is doing,” Coddington said. Bike trails have been created in city parks, bicycle lanes have been painted on miles of streets, and yellow Share the Road signs have been posted. Cyclists are considered in planning new developments, such as wide sidewalks and buffered bike lanes. The city launched a bike-share program in 2017 and cruiser bikes for rent are conveniently placed throughout Conway, and the University of Central Arkansas implemented the same program.
Coddington said the bike rentals are popular, especially in the warm weather. “It’s a great thing to do for the community, and it’s one less car on the road,” he said. Having plenty of places for people to ride is key to creating a vibrant bicycle culture. “We want to do more connecting trails … and connect different parts of the city with trails. That’s the vision we have — more or less to get more folks out riding their bikes.” Some of the newer bike trails include a pump track at Gatlin Park, and Coddington said it’s perfect for beginners or advanced riders. “You can do circuits or laps on it, and it has these technical features and berms. The object is, you can build up speed until you don’t have to pedal anymore,” he said.
With designated biking trails and a bike-share program, Conway has gone the extra mile for cyclists.
