NEWS BLOG (WSAU) Caught. No, they weren’t caught in a compromising position in a hotel room… or stealing money from the treasury… but Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk have been caught on a wasteful government junket. They’ve been touring Europe looking at ‘bicycle friendly’ cities in Germany and The Netherlands, hoping to bring back some ideas to Madison.

Are you kidding? In these tough financial times this is what elected officials are doing?

The trip’s received more publicity because Cieslewicz and Falk were stuck at the airport in Amsterdam because of the volcanic ash clouds. Their flights were cancelled. They were supposed to return last weekend, ending a trip that very few people would have known about.

I ride my bicycle every day. I’m not sure if Wausau is considered ‘bicycle friendly’ or not. I don’t have any expectations about how government is supposed to make it easier for me to ride my bike. I don’t expect a huge trail network. I certainly don’t expect pedestrian bridges over rivers. I don’t need signs marking out bike routes. Just give me a bike lane on some of the busier streets and careful drivers, and I have all I need for a happy ride.

Making a city bike-friendly does not cost millions of dollars. It does not even cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. It certainly costs less than the cost of a European trip for two public officials. What a waste of money.

Chris Conley
Operations Manager, Midwest Communications-Wausau
4.21.10