Blog
Promoting Cycling in our Cities
By Sean Mann
Cycling can play a key component in the desirability of a community and the overall quality of life of its residents. Increased access to cycling and other forms of non-motorized transportation has been linked to reductions of road congestion and parking problems, better health and greater utilization of public spaces.
79% of Americans rate "sidewalks and places to take walks" as a top consideration in choosing where to live. Recent college graduates from Michigan schools say that safe streets and neighborhoods, walk-able streets, and affordable living are their top factors in choosing where to live. Studies have shown that businesses that provide opportunities for employees to walk and bicycle during the workday report a 28% reduction in sick-leave absenteeism, 26% reduction in use of health care benefits, and 30% reduction in worker's compensation claims and disability management.
Unfortunately all too often communities and departments of transportation are slow to enact ordinances and policies that encourage, or the very least support, non-motorized transportation. Even worse, drivers' ambivalence to the rights of cyclists to use roadways, can create a dangerous and all too often deadly environment for non-motorized transportation.
That is why it was so great to see some 2000 cyclists come out to the Motor City on a Saturday morning for the 8th annual Tour De Troit.
The purpose of the event is to raise awareness of biking as a mode of transportation, to publicize the growing greenways network in the region and to raise funds for the Corktown-Mexicantown Greenlink in Detroit, a project to establish bike paths and green spaces along the neighborhoods bordering the western portion of the Detroit riverfront.
The event was a leisurely, 30-mile, police escorted bike ride, which allowed bike and city enthusiasts to explore Detroit's historic areas and most breathtaking sights free of cars and traffic signs.
Events like Tour De Troit across the state and efforts to pass complete street ordinances, as was recently accomplished in Lansing, are the little steps necessary to promote awareness of non-motorized transportation and ultimately develop more desirable, livable communities.
To find out more about Greenlink initiatives across the state visit the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance or about other advocacy efforts at the League of Michigan Bicyclists.
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