EDITORIAL: Continue support for local cycling efforts

Published 8:30 am Tuesday, August 20, 2024

More than a thousand bicyclists will converge on Walter B. Williams park next month as part of the Georgia Cycling Association’s fall youth racing series, where they’ll compete on a newly constructed bike trail.

That trail would not have been possible without the countless hours of work, spearheaded by Tom Glover, put into clearing brush, putting down gravel and constructing bridges to create the more than five miles of track.

Thanks to donations, volunteer labor, and the green light given by the Baldwin County Commissioners, the course is coming together in time for the first race next month. Organizers say upwards of 5,000 visitors will come to the community as part of the event. That includes racers, their coaches and family members.

That’s quite an economic impact, a welcomed sign.

Bicycling is growing in interest locally, with active cycling groups and programs throughout the community. Several years ago, Milledgeville was named a Bronze Level Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists.

The new trail will only help solidify cycling’s foothold in the local community.

The completion of this trail is just the first phase of a bigger project that will not only draw visitors to Baldwin County but also continue support for local young bicyclists. The goal is to complete a multi-use trail for walking and biking. This will be an added

Studies indicate that communities with safe and convenient bicycle paths attract businesses, retain property values better, and have an overall higher quality of life. Getting more school-age children to bike to school has been shown to lead to healthier children who perform better in school.

According to the advocacy group Georgia Bikes, bicycling events, retailers, and manufacturers are a growing and important sector of Georgia’s economy.

Thank you to all of the volunteers who have worked diligently to see this project to completion.

We encourage local elected officials in both the city and county to continue supporting this endeavor of creating a multi-use path at Walter B. Williams. This project not only has tourism and economic benefits as the path will draw visitors to the area for races but it also adds to the overall quality of life for people living here, potentially attracting others who may want to call Milledgeville and Baldwin County home.