I am posting this entry from the Gila River Indian Community in Chandler, Arizona. This is where the W.K. Kellogg Foundation is having their annual networking conference. I am attending as a participant in Detroit Food and Fitness Initiative which is funded by the Foundation over the next three years. Part of that funding now covers my job as Detroit Greenways Coordinator for the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance.

Of course, Kellogg doesn’t just want to fund people and efforts.  They want to see positive changes that meet their mission of improving access to healthy foods and providing safe environments for active living — especially for children.

The Detroit-specific Food and Fitness objectives fall into three categories: food systems, schools, and the built environment. The built environment objectives include advocating for Complete Streets and making Detroit a more walkable and bikeable environment — including Safe Routes to School.

Perhaps what’s most exciting about this is how the Food and Fitness Initiative is the diversity and experience of the  collaboration working on these issues.

As for the conference, I’ve come away with a couple big takeaways.

First, we need to do a better job engaging youth in our advocacy efforts. Going before city councils to ask for betting biking facilities often fall on deaf ears. Having a room full of young adults asking for the same is far more powerful. We really need to engage Metro Detroit youth in these non-motorized issues.

Second, we should look at doing a baseline assessment of biking and walking in the city of Detroit. We don’t have data on how many people  chose these options for transportation. The American Community Survey data from the Census Bureau is in nearly  all case imprecise and of basically no value. (Despite that, groups like the Alliance for Biking and Walking use it to rank cities — not smart.) We need to know where we’re at now so we can celebrate our inevitable increases in the future (and justify greater public and private investment.)

— Todd Scott

The Southwest Detroit Business Association (SDBA) is inviting people to a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Cinco de Mayo marks the opening of the Pediestrian Bridge connecting East and West Mexicantown.

Come down to the MDOT Welcome Center on Bagley, May 5, 2010 to mark this historic occasion! Event starts at 1:00 PM, with the official opening ceremony at 2:00 PM.

Come to celebrate the historic opening, Stay for a margarita!

How can you saw no? This much anticipated bridge will be opening in Mexicantown on Cinco de Mayo.

As part of their Earth Day coverage, CNN’s article Pedal power is fueling green awareness mentioned the Cass Green Gym in Detroit.

At the Cass Community Social Services in Detroit, the residents who are homeless, in transitional or temporary housing, never expressed any interest in environmental issues before.

“Homeless people don’t care about polar bears,” said the Rev. Faith Fowler, the organization’s executive director. “They care about jobs and health.”

But this year, the center introduced 10 stationary bikes (purchased through a donor) that send power back into the building. Residents became hooked.

They started asking, “Can we start a garden and can we start composting?”

Ninia Cobb, a 43-year-old resident, said the bikes give her two goals: to lose weight and to give back energy.

“I’m not going to light up a whole building by myself,” she said. “I feel like I’m helping the energy thing when you ride it. It feels good.”

The bikes attracted local cycling enthusiasts and youth groups into the center too.

“They care about the planet, but they didn’t care about the homeless,” Fowler said. “They’re sitting shoulder-to-shoulder to someone who has been homeless for two to three years, they sit and talk, and they’re both acting as problem solvers.”

The residents may not care about polar bears, but they might be more interested in biking as a lower cost means of transportation.

Stories like this reinforce how cycling has diverse appeal and benefit.

A press release from Cass Community Social Services adds:

The Green Gym is the nation’s first workout facility created specifically for homeless men, women and children. The grand opening of the Green Gym will mark a revolutionary step by Cass to improve its carbon footprint, reduce its energy costs and improve the quality of life for Detroit’s most at-risk citizens.

Initially, access to the Green Gym will be limited to the 240 men, women and children who live in Cass facilities, Cass 100 staff members and the organization’s loyal volunteers. The Green Gym will be staffed by volunteers and open six days a week, closed on Sundays. Plans include offering fitness classes.

And it wouldn’t be surprising to hear about some group bike rides starting at the Gym this summer… Anyone in?

The US Department of Transportation released a study today — Earth day — on how we can curb greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within the transportation sector.

One item we especially like in their press release:

Reducing the number of vehicle-miles traveled through a combination of strategies, including improved public transportation, coordinated transportation and land use strategies, and greater opportunities for walking and biking practices emphasized in the Department’s livability initiative could reduce transportation greenhouse emissions 5 to 17 percent by 2030.

Within the strategy section, the study adds:

Non-motorized improvements, including construction of pedestrian and bicycle transportation networks through dedicated rights-of-way, as well as enhancements to existing rights-of-way that safely provide for bicycle and pedestrian traffic, have modest potential for GHG reductions. These measures would reduce GHGs by 0.2 to 0.6 percent by 2030, at moderate investment costs (less than $200 per ton), or a net savings when reduced vehicle operating costs are considered. While their GHG benefits may be modest, these strategies also provide significant cobenefits in the form of improved livability as well as mobility for travelers who do not drive. These improvements, especially those for pedestrian mobility, are closely linked to land use changes discussed in the next section that describe how our residential housing, transportation, and other infrastructure choices are linked.

That seems to say that investments in biking and walking infrastructure not only reduce GHG but produce a net savings because its a less expensive mode of transportation.

Link: Transportation’s Role in Reducing U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Today the Michigan State Senate gave a Special Tribute to the Michigan State Parks Advisory Committee, which replaced the now-defunct Citizen’s Committee for Michigan State Parks. The latter was a victim of the DNR and DEQ department consolidation.

The Committee received the White Pine Award for Environmental Excellence for over five years of work to make our state parks better. This work culminated with the recent passage of the Recreation Passport.

The White Pine Award is actually a white pine — Michigan’s state tree — which will likely be planted in a Michigan state park. Senator Patricia Birkholz, Chair of the Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Committee presented the award and hinted that the tree could be planted in her district.

As a member of the committee, it was very rewarding getting this recognition on the Senate Floor. My Senator John Pappageorge was on hand and was a key supporter of the Recreation Passport. We spoke briefly about the recently passed texting-while-driving legislation. He said he helped push that those infractions to be a primary offense — something we certainly agree with.

— Todd Scott

(Photos by Lori Rhodes)