Urban Cycling:

Community
Support, Economic
Development, and
Healthy Outcomes

2011 Michigan Bike Summit

 City of Detroit
“A city built for the automobile that
finally grew to embrace bicycles,
greenways and better public transit.”
Mayor Dave Bing, 2011 State of the City address

“If I hear another person tell me that bike

lanes are going to save this city, I’m
going to strangle them.”
Anonymous city official, 2011
 Detroit Food & Fitness Collaborative

Funded by Kellogg Foundation

Focus on Food, Schools, and
Built Environment
Goals include building
greenways and having
Complete Street policies
Detroit Greenways Coalition
•Michigan Trails & Greenways Alliance (including staff position)
•Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan
•Community development corporations
•Other Non-profits
•Greening of Detroit
•City Year
•Gleaners Food Bank
•City of Detroit staff
•Traffic Engineering
•City Planning Commission
•Planning Department
•Health and Wellness Promotion
•Councilman Ken Cockrel Jr.
•MDOT
•SEMCOG
•Wayne State and others
 Public-Private Partnership

City of Coalition
Detroit Members
Estimated non-motorized staff
~1 FTE 30 FTE
Off-road trail funding, development,
operation, programming, and * √
maintenance
Off-road trail security
√ √
On-road bike lane development
√ √
On-road bike lane maintenance
√ ?
Detroit Greenways Coalition Accomplishments

$
 Number of Greenways in Detroit

2005

2010

Future

0 5 10 15
Miles of Bike Lanes in Detroit

2005

2010

2011

0 20 40 60
 Why this is so important

Low cost mobility

Environmental justice
Health
Public safety
Safe Routes to School
Enhance transit
Green jobs
Economic development
Quality of Life
 Plan for Gen Y, Boomers, and $5/gallon gas

“The suburbs have lost their

sheen: Both young workers
and retiring Boomers are
actively seeking to live in
densely packed, mixed-use
communities that don’t
require cars—that is, cities or
revitalized outskirts in which
residences, shops, schools,
parks, and other amenities
exist close together.”
Harvard Business Review
 Whites Stripes of Gentrification

Who are we
building this for?
The existing
community?
 Perceptions of Bicycling in the Motor City

Bicycling last choice mode

of transportation
New perception: Healthy,
green, money saver, fun
Detroit Works Project

Benefits today’s
communities and
tomorrow’s
 Other Steps to Build Diversity

Bicycling in Detroit brochure

•Black, Hispanic, Arab-American, and
immigrant populations

Underground Railroad Bicycle

Routes & brochure
Improve bike access and
repair in the community

How to better diversify

Detroit Greenways
Coalition?
The multi-million dollar challenge…

SUSTAINABLE?
 A New Model?

Detroit Greenways Coalition

Detroit Parks Coalition
Complete Streets Workgroup
Land Conservancy

Private Foundations
Membership Greening of Detroit
Donations Detroit
Hamtramck
Highland Park
Wayne County
State of Michigan
Federal government
We Hope For Better Things;
It Shall Rise From the Ashes