At a New London coffeehouse, a local rock musician and a Republican city councilor have found some common ground on, of all things, bicycles.
Earlier this month Sean Spellman, the guitar player and lead singer in Quiet Life, a local folk rock group, started a petition to persuade the City Council to find ways to make New London more conducive to bicycle travel.
After all, with gas costing so much they might as well sell it at Bergdorf Goodman, bikes are no longer just for recreation and fitness, they are a legitimate mode of transportation.
And while biking destinations such as Barn Island in Stonington and Bluff Point in Groton are lovely and scenic, compact, dense New London is the most sensible place on the shoreline for increased bike use.
New London is walkable; it’s not a stretch to see it as bikeable.
Spellman placed the petition on the counter at Bean & Leaf, a cafe on Washington Street in downtown where he and other members of the local music scene often congregate.
In addition to serving its own coffee roasts, Bean & Leaf actively promotes all the environmentalist boilerplate, from recycling to sustainability. I’m not exactly sure what sustainability is, but most of my bearded friends in loose-fitting clothes assure me that it’s a good thing.
It’s the sort of place that has different recycling bins for the stirrers, cups, and the lids, as well as the bottles and cans.
Suffice to say getting the Bean & Leaf crowd to support more bike paths in New London is a relatively easy sell.
But it’s not just those who are saving up for their first Prius who are interested in promoting bicycle use in the city.
One of the signatories to Spellman’s petition is GOP City Councilor Adam Sprecace.
“I think it’s a good idea to make New London more accessible to cyclists,” he said in a phone interview last week. “It’s worth a look.”
Nationally speaking, the GOP tends toward policies that leave a Shaquille O’Neal-sized carbon footprint on the Earth, but local politics are different—you’re not expected to toe the party line as much.
So, funny enough, bike paths could be an issue that a Republican will get behind.
Only six months into his first term on the City Council, Sprecace has gained a reputation for pragmatism and a low-key demeanor.
And right on cue Sprecace told me that “there will be costs associated, obviously.”
“But it never hurts to ask some questions,” he said.
It’s a small thing, but seeing Sprecace’s signature on Spellman’s bike petition is a sign of what a different place New London is becoming.
Older generations from around the region always talk about how “New London used to be” and wax on about shopping at Woolworth’s.
But there is a growing group of people who revel in New London’s history but don’t know what the hell a Woolworth’s is and frankly don’t care. They love New London now and they want to love it tomorrow.
Improving New London’s bike-ablity is not going to be a cold glass of water for the city’s hiccupping economy, and neither Spellman nor Sprecace would argue that point.
But the fact that a hirsute rocker and a Republican in chinos are literally on the same page is a good blend for New London’s future.
This is the opinion of Times senior staff writer Stephen Chupaska.