Portland: Attracting or Converting

There was an interesting article in Boston.com that discusses Portland, the apparently self-annointed Bike City USA.

One question: “Is [Portland] just filling a niche and attracting bicyclists from elsewhere, instead of changing the habits of residents?

According to Metro Councilor Rex Burkholder, “We’re not draining the world of people who like to ride bikes. It’s facilities that make people switch over, not philosophy.’’

But perhaps the best quotes are from Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in response to George Will.

Even if they could be replicated, however, the city’s policies have also made it a lightning rod for criticism from conservatives, who have derided the administration’s embrace of the city. Newsweek columnist George Will referred to Portland as “the P word’’ in a column in the spring and accused officials of pursuing “behavior modification’’ to coerce people out of cars.

In an interview with the Globe, LaHood said that such critics were “living in the past’’ and that continuing to build more highways was also coercive. “We’ve created a system that requires people to get in their cars if they want to get anywhere,’’ he said.

Cyclists and pedestrians have lived through over 80 years of coercion. It took a while, but the pendulum is swinging back a little.

Portland: How much for a used bike?

One side effect of more Portlanders taking up cycling is their used bike prices have increased.

Thankfully we haven’t heard of a similar price rise in Detroit. Such an increase could keep many Detroiters from jumping into the sport.

New York: Biking on the rise

WCBS TV has quoted  City Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan saying biking is New York City’s “fastest growing mode of transportation.”

And article continues with:

The number of cyclists has jumped by 80 percent in the past decade — to 185,000 among the more than 8 million city denizens.

City officials say they’ve worked to make the city more biker friendly. They note the hundreds of miles of marked bike paths created in recent years, safety awareness campaigns and handouts of free helmets to unprotected cyclists.

Over that time, bicycle accidents have fallen more than 40 percent.

Unfortunately we do not know the number of cyclists on the road. The only information we have is from the Census Bureau. They keep track of the percent of people who bike to work. The percentage is low enough to not be very useful. In addition it does not include those cycling for transportation outside of work or for recreation. Children and seniors are also not included in the Census numbers.

Given the economy and proposed bus cuts in Detroit, the fastest growing mode of transportion in the city might be biking or walking.

Detroit is Lonely

Brian Kennedy is a former Detroiter now living in Chicago. And he’s a cyclist.

He recently visited Detroit and wrote this interesting ride report.

There are some updates to his story:

• Comerica Park has or will soon install two bike racks near the stadium
• Secondhand sources say that DDOT buses will have three-bike racks by Spring 2010. There had been some debate between the two- and three-bike racks, which are from different manufacturers.
• Through my job with MTGA, I have been in contact with Brian and the Active Transportation Alliance about getting roll-on service for Amtrak trains running between Chicago, Ann Arbor, and Detroit. (“Roll-on” means you can roll your bike onto the train without having to disassemble or box it.) With the great cycling environment in all three cities, this seems like it could become very popular.

Brian also plans on returning for the Tour-de-Troit next month — and he plans on riding the Dequindre Cut and visiting the Honey Bee Super Mercado, too.

Back in January, we reported on one of President Obama’s urban policy goals, which should push our local road agencies and elected officials to build more bike-friendly communities:

Build More Livable and Sustainable Communities: Our communities will better serve all of their residents if we are able to leave our cars to walk, bicycle and access other transportation alternatives.

In March, the Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood further addressed livable communities in his blog by saying, “One of my highest priorities is … to help promote more livable communities through sustainable surface transportation programs.”

LaHood reiterated that message at the National Bike Summit since livable communties are bikeable communities and Complete Streets.

Again from his blog:

The upcoming reauthorization of DOT’s surface transportation programs provides an opportunity for us to feature bicycling as part of a new American mobility within livable communities.

Now more recently, LaHood outlined six livibility principles that “help us coordinate federal transportation, environmental protection, and housing investments at our respective agencies.”

1. Providing more transportation choices;
2. Expanding access to affordable housing, particularly housing located close to transit;
3. Enhancing economic competitiveness, giving people access to jobs, education and services as well as giving businesses access to markets;
4. Targeting federal funds toward existing communities to spur revitalization and protect rural landscapes;
5. Increasing collaboration among federal, state, and local governments to better target investments and improve accountability;
6. Valuing the unique qualities of all communities–whether urban, suburban, or rural.

Clearly, at least for most of Metro Detroit, the federal government is taking the lead promoting livable communties. How that filters down to our local level remains to be seen, but certainly transportation funding will play a major role.

And for now, it seems bicycle advocates need to start using the terms “livability” and “livable communities” when we push for Complete Streets, bike lanes, etc.

We have friends and support in Washington D.C.

We need to take advantage of that as we try bringing Metro Detroit’s transportation priorities into the 21st century.

State Representative Marie Donigan recently traveled to Washington DC to meet with Ray LaHood, the Secretary of Transportation.

She went to discuss transportation funding, including transit. She also took copies of our Detroit Greenways Network brochure to share our vision for a more walkable and bikeable Detroit.

As it happened, she met with three of LaHood’s deputies who, according to Donigan, “loved the brochure and the project — having greenways and walkable communities is essential.”

Donigan is now trying to get them to Detroit for a visit in July. She hopes that visit can include a tour of the RiverWalk and Dequindre Cut.

We know Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood is a friend to bicyclists.

Today he posted a pro-biking entry on his blog entitled Bicycling is only healthy when you ride safely.

It’s clear that bicycling is good for the environment…when it takes vehicles off the road. It’s also clear that bicycling is good for your health…when you practice safety.

May is National Bike Safety Month. As this Administration works to develop environmentally-sound transportation options, making our streets more bike-friendly is high on the list. Our roads and communities must be built to allow people to get around safely outside of their cars, on bike or on foot.

But, as more people take to bicycling, that idea can only be sound when drivers and cyclists help each other share the roads safely.

That’s great to read from the head of the Department of Transportation.

He also included these tips.

Motorists should:

• Recognize that bicyclists have a right to ride on the roadway;
• Stay alert and keep distractions to a minimum;
• Make a complete visual check for bicyclists before entering or leaving a lane of traffic.

But, bicyclists have an obligation as well. They should:

• Ride on the roadway, rather than on sidewalks;
• Follow the same rules of the road as other vehicles;
• Wear a bicycle helmet every time you ride;
• Make yourself visible, day and night.

And because we welcome this pro-bicycling message, we’ll let him slide on the helmet “obligation”.

In a recent interview with the Washington Post, our new Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood said:

The president wants to create opportunities for people to live in communities where they don’t always have to be in an automobile to get where they’re going.

That sounds great to us.

Then on Earth Day, the Secretary put a post on his Fast Lane blog about bicycling. Here’s an excerpt:

Of all the Fastlane entries over the first days of this Administration, the one that has generated the most responses is the one on my address to the National Bike Summit. We all know that bikers are passionate about their wheels; we also know that bicyclists are vulnerable to automobiles and need secure lanes and greater awareness from drivers. On Earth Day, it seems appropriate to talk about bicycling, not only as recreation, but as an environmentally sound commuting option. And, about what the DOT is doing to improve the cyclist’s commute.

The upcoming reauthorization of DOT’s surface transportation programs provides an opportunity for us to feature bicycling as part of a new American mobility within livable communities. As I said today in testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, this includes fostering communities where bicyclists feel both safe and welcome on the roadways. Bike-friendly development also has the potential to contribute significantly to the revitalization of downtown districts and offer an alternative to sprawl and automobile-focused commuting.

In an ideal world, we’d fly Secretary LaHood to Detroit have him meet with our local road agencies (e.g. RCOC) that don’t share this committment and vision for creating safer roads for cycling.

That would be an interesting discussion.