Have you ever read “Horton Hears a Who”?

The Dr. Seuss book teaches many lessons. One is “A person’s a person, no matter how small.” Another is just because you cannot see or hear something, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

The book really is an allegory of the U.S. post-war occupation of Japan. It has been co-opted for many other ongoing debates, from abortion to deity existence.

Allow me, if you will, to co-opt it for one other debate.

At the end of the book, the Whos — who live in Whoville, which is on a speck that Horton hears — make their existence known to a sour kangaroo and a bunch of bad monkeys by repeatedly shouting “We are here! We are here! We are here!” The additional voice of little JoJo puts the volume over the top so they are heard and thus avoid their speck being boiled in “beezlenut oil.”

The tale makes me think of bike riders in Albert Lea. We are here and we like bikes, but we don’t make a big fuss. We bike quietly on the side of streets or on residential sidewalks.

However, there is political momentum to add bike lanes to some streets in Albert Lea, but there are some doubters in positions of city and county government. Perhaps now is the time for bike riders to holler: “We are here! We are here! We are here!”

Call your Albert Lea City Council members. All of them.

Mayor Mike Murtaugh: 377-2590

Vern Rasmussen: 377-1540

Larry Baker: 377-1397

Ellen Kehr: 377-8643

Reid Olson: 373-2769

Larry Anderson: 377-2392

Al “Minnow” Brooks: 373-9024

Plus, it helps them when you call key city staff, too.

City Manager Victoria Simonsen: 377-4330

City Engineer Steven Jahnke: 377-4325

For Bridge Avenue issues, a key player is Freeborn County Engineer Sue Miller. Call her at 377-5188.

The few who represent the many truly like feedback. They will appreciate your calls. They need to know there are people in Albert Lea who want bike lanes. Even if the lanes don’t all connect, having some would be a start. Fountain Street, Lakeview Boulevard and Bridge Avenue are prime possibilities.

The past three weeks I made many points on what Midwest cities need to do to grow when they aren’t in a metro area. I’ve told stories of places I’ve been that grew without many new jobs. I’ve explained why quality of life and healthy living matters a lot to people who move. I’ve asked that this AARP/Blue Zones Vitality Project be more than one summer of good public relations, that city leaders actually seek what the project calls for, even after the project is over.

At the end of one column, I wrote: “Jobs are key, yes. Jobs are the best way to grow, yes. But smart cities don’t make jobs the only bet. Smart cities offer a diversified portfolio, and quality of life ought to be on the front cover of that portfolio.”

I’ve read a book recently called “Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (And What It Says About Us)” by Tom Vanderbilt.

Vanderbilt notes that the Dutch have fewer bike fatalities per mile than we Americans. The reason, he says, is because there is safety in numbers. The more bikes drivers see, the more they will be looking for bikes. The same goes for noticing motorcycles, horses, rickshaws or whatever form of transportation.

“The ‘safety in numbers’ theory also holds for comparisons within the United States — in Florida, for example, Gainesville, a college town with the highest cycling rate in the state, is in fact the safest place to be a cyclist. The lesson: When you see more of something, you’re more likely to see that thing.”

He asks if you have ever been looking so hard for a parking spot that you failed to see a stop sign. It’s a good example. When you pull to a stop, you look for cars. If a driver pulls out in front of a motorcycle, chances are the motorcycle was in view but the sight of the motorcycle didn’t register in the mind.

If we build more bike infrastructure, there will be more bike riders and the city streets will be safer for bikers. (Safer for our children, too.)

In 2004, the Minnesota Department of Transportation issued a report called “The Benefits of Bicycling in Minnesota.”

The report defends recreational bike riding by noting that much auto traffic is ultimately recreational in destination. It notes that bike use, however, is not a substitute for automobile use; it won’t lessen congestion. But the report also says the question isn’t bike versus auto. The report does greatly tout the economic and health benefits of bikes. It says the benefits are very large compared to the expense. Moreover, the report has an interesting point about the appeal that bikes have.

“Bicycles appear with a surprising frequency in advertising of other products, as a symbol intended to increase the appeal of the product being advertised. It is perhaps ironic that bicycles are used so often in advertisements for autos and trucks; the value of the vehicle is apparently enhanced by the fact that it can facilitate biking. Bicycles also appear regularly in brochures and advertisements for vacation spots as well as new housing developments, as a symbol of a good quality of life. These observations are not trivial. They indicate that the appeal of cycling is much more extensive than can be seen by simply observing how much actually takes place.”

The Department of Community Development for Cambridge, Mass., citing various studies, concludes: “Bike lanes help define road space, decrease the stress level of bicyclists riding in traffic, encourage bicyclists to ride in the correct direction of travel, and signal motorists that cyclists have a right to the road. Bike lanes help to better organize the flow of traffic and reduce the chance that motorists will stray into cyclists’ path of travel.”

I look forward to seeing bike lanes on a few Albert Lea streets.

Tribune Managing Editor Tim Engstrom’s column appears every Tuesday.