While Idaho is considered among the most bicycle friendly states in the country and it could be argued that Teton County is one of the most bike friendly places in the state, thanks in part to programs and infrastructure that promotes cycling, not everyone is happy about public investment.

But is simply riding a bike a political statement in Teton Valley?

Teton County commissioner Sid Kunz agreed that biking, “does end up being political, but it doesn’t have to be.”

He said that when it comes to spending public money, it’s all about priorities. His priorities are roads, and he said he could understand if some people get irritated at spending on pathways.

“Bikes represent some kind of moving away from the western lifestyle, and when money gets spent on bike paths when they can’t drive on the roads without a 4-wheel drive [they could get angry],” he said.

County resident Ron Moeller, who challenged Kunz in the May primary, wrote in an editorial about biking as part of a bleak future for Teton County.

“In a worst-case scenario and carried to its logical conclusion, our valley could wither economically as our local farmers are forced out, and their fertile, productive land seized or sold to large agri-business for cents to the dollar. Those who do choose to move here would be required to live packed into our cities, forming an engineered skiing/mountain bike community that appeals to a segment, but not the majority of our citizens, thereby forever changing the character of our valley.”

Moeller was writing about the county’s comprehensive plan, which he felt was not in the interest of all county residents.

Talking about his editorial he said, “I really hate to generalize and stereotype, but again remembering this is a political op-ed piece, you see most of the people who are promulgating, putting forth and supporting the comp plan are very much into the two main recreation activities in this valley, based on season, whether its skiing or mountain biking.”

Moeller pointed to the bike path along Highway 33 connecting Driggs and Victor as an example of why some get upset when they see bikes. He said people driving by see a very nice bike path getting a shiny new surface while they’ve just driven to the state highway from their county road that probably wasn’t in the same sterling shape as the bike path.

“Naturally, they got very upset, and they got even more upset when they found out that a portion of the money to pay for that resurfacing by the county came from the road and bridge levy,” he said in an interview.

In fact, a portion of the supplemental levy that funds the county road and bridge department has been specifically earmarked for pathways by the Teton County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC).

But this isn’t the first time that bikes have been wrapped up in local politics. Pulling into downtown Victor for the first time, one of the things that’s most noticeable are the cars. They’re facing the wrong way.

In 2010, the Victor City Council voted to restripe the downtown to go from four lanes down to two with a turning lane. What really sparked outrage ,though, was that parking was changed from traditional head-in to the current reverse angle style.

Former Mayor of Victor Scott Fitzgerald said the main goal of the project was to keep people from passing other cars in Victor’s downtown. He actually didn’t even vote on the issue, since the mayor only votes in case of a tie and the vote was unanimous. That didn’t stop some from believing that the move was part of a biking agenda on Fitzgerald’s part.

“It’s not a dictatorship,” said Fitzgerald in 2010. “This is not the mayor’s decision; it’s the city council’s decision. The message isn’t getting across, and this issue is tearing our community apart. Some people in the community are not listening to the other side.”

Fitzgerald said he still hears from people who believe that the parking change was his idea and was made specifically to make bike lanes and encourage cycling.

This article appeared in the Teton Valley News on June 5, 2014.