I usually try to avoid driving down main street in Springfield as much as possible.  The road construction is unbearable.  Living on the west side of main street, we usually head down to 1st Street to cross Main if we need to get over to the east side, like if we’re jonesing for say, Three Layers.

This weekend while on a nice little neighborhood bike ride we asked ourselves if we wanted to try and venture along main street and check out the progress.  But the lack of a bike lane along any part of main street quickly quelled the thought.  So, why aren’t there any bike lanes along Main Street?  It seems Springfield and it’s proximity to downtown would allow for bicycling commuters as much as possible.

Then this morning, I came across this Inhabitat post about the work of Peter Gibson, a.k.a. Roadsworth.  The two images below drew me in…

This is the first time I’ve seen any of Roadsworth’s work, but he began making news with his creation of extra bike lanes, illegally, along the streets on Montreal in 2001.  The video below gives you some excellent information on his work and his arrest in November of 2004.

What began as a form of activism rooted in a desire for more bike paths and justified by the rationale outlined above eventually grew into an art project that, to a certain extent, continues today. Fuelled by a sense of righteous indignation I also felt empowered by the expressive and creative outlet that street art afforded me. Instead of feeling like a helpless passenger on a train headed for disaster I felt that I had created a voice for myself amid the noise of the city. This may smack of self-righteousness to some and I am aware of how most people bristle (and rightfully so) when confronted with “preachiness.” This is one of the reasons I resorted to a form of iconography that I feel is closer in spirit to satire than it is to protest.

- Roadsworth

I find myself wondering how an artist like Roadsworth and his work, would be viewed here in Jacksonville. Urbismus is probably the closest thing we have in Jacksonville right now. Am I wrong, am I not paying close enough attention? Do we have more social and environmental artists creating public art in Jacksonville?