Professor Tony Prato
By Dr. Laura McCann
Professor Tony Prato walks the walk, or perhaps bikes the walk is a more appropriate phrase. He is a professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics specializing in natural resource and environmental economics. He is also the Co-Director of the Center for Applied Research and Environmental Systems (CARES). He is passionate about environmental issues in both his work and his private life and is an avid cyclist.
Tony has been a bike commuter for over 24 years, in Portland, Oregon, Moscow, Idaho, and Columbia, Missouri. It all started when he had a 30 mile one-way commute in Washington, D.C. and vowed never to do that again. In Columbia he commutes five miles to work, primarily along West Broadway. While he liked the fact that he wasn’t burning fossil fuels even during the period when gas prices were low, his main reason for commuting by bike is that he enjoys it. He enjoys the physical nature of biking and the fact that it “gets the juices flowing” and he bikes to work even when it is bitterly cold. The only time he doesn’t commute is when snow and ice mean that there is no longer a shoulder to bike on. Tony bikes to meetings on campus since it is faster than either driving or walking and also commutes for many appointments in other parts of Columbia. As the photo attests, Tony also bikes for recreation. The photo was taken a bit west of Columbia, in Glacier National Park.
Since Tony arrived in Columbia, he has noticed that the traffic has gotten worse. He suggests trying to miss rush hour traffic and usually bikes to campus before 7:00 a.m. He recommends that new commuters be sure to have reliable bikes, appropriate gear, and comfortable clothing that wicks away moisture, and he always wears a helmet. He hopes that the Federal Highway Administration's Non-Motorized Transportation Pilot program funding can improve cycling safety by creating bike lanes and shoulders on roads but feels that more generally, biking needs to be integrated into the design of roads as well as housing and commercial developments.
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