One great quote from Congressman Earl Blumenauer.

It’s important that people have choices. They shouldn’t have to burn a gallon of gas to get a gallon of milk. Half of the trips that are taken everyday in America are within 20 minutes on a bike. A quarter of them are a 20 minute walk.

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I was attending this wearing a two main MTGA hats: Detroit Greenways Coordinator and Michigan Airline Trail Ambassador.

My highlight was Thursday morning. We had a group breakfast for last minute legislative updates and some cheerleading prior to our Congressional office visits. I was waiting behind this older gentleman for coffee. Being a bit impatient, I asked if I could cut in front. He poured my coffee and I said “Thanks”. It was then that I realized Congressman James Oberstar — one of the key bike supporters in DC and chair of the House Transportation committee — had just poured my coffee.

It was going to be a great day!

Overall I visited nine Congressional offices and met with the lead transportation legislative staffers. We also met with Congressman Gary Peters and Congresswoman Candice Miller. And, we were even invited to ride a century with Senator Carl Levin’s chief of staff who will be celebrating his recovery from a knee replacement.

The Detroit bicycling message — Complete Streets, Active Transportation grants, Urban Parks funding — was very well received.

We brought Ginny Sullivan from Adventure Cycling to our meeting with Senator Levin’s staff to discuss the U.S. Bicycle Route System and Underground Railroad Bicycle Route. She really drove home the message that we have a major blockage: getting bicyclists across the Detroit River. We noted that it was probably easier for freedom seekers escaping slavery to get across the river than it is for bicyclists today. We brought this issue up with staff from Senator Debbie Stabenow and Congresswoman Kilpatrick too. But perhaps the biggest connection on this issue was with Congressman John Conyers staff given Conyer’s long, storied history in the civil rights movement.

We did discuss the Michigan Airline Trail with the Michigan Senators, as well as Peters and Miller. Congresswoman Miller has played a key role in finding funding for the Macomb Orchard Trail. We are hoping she has equal enthusiasm for continuing that trail east through St. Clair County as part of the Michigan Airline Trail.

I did pull on my volunteer hat to discuss the potential rail with trail project in Royal Oak with Congressman Peter.

The North Country Trail was brought up and it was a shame there was no one from the Michigan Mountain Biking Association to talk about it. I was able to discuss the IMBA talking points I’d written for last year’s Summit with some legislative staffers.

Also, I snuck in a brief conversation with Congressman Earl Blumenauer of Oregon. He never ceases to impress me. I mentioned I was from Detroit and he immediately brings up the recent M1 Rail TIGER grant.

Another very, very impressive bicycle support is the Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. He gave a rousing end-of-summit speech and once again told us we have a partner in him and the U.S. DOT. I did get the chance to thank him directly for the M1 Rail TIGER grant that Detroit recently received and how we will make sure works multi-modally with bicyclists and pedestrians. The Secretary has posted his National Bike Summit perspective as well, including this:

Today, I want to announce a sea change. People across America who value bicycling should have a voice when it comes to transportation planning. This is the?end of favoring motorized transportation at the expense of non-motorized.

We are integrating the needs of bicyclists in federally-funded road projects. We are discouraging transportation investments that negatively affect cyclists and pedestrians. And we are encouraging investments that go beyond the minimum requirements and provide facilities for bicyclists and pedestrians of all ages and abilities.

To set this approach in motion, we have formulated key recommendations for state DOTs and communities:

• Treat walking and bicycling as equals with other transportation modes.
• Ensure convenient access for people of all ages and abilities.
• Go beyond minimum design standards.
• Collect data on walking and biking trips.
• Set a mode share target for walking and bicycling.
• Protect sidewalks and shared-use paths the same way roadways are protected (for example, snow removal)
• Improve nonmotorized facilities during maintenance projects.

Now, this is a start, but it’s an important start. These initial steps forward will help us move forward even further.

The networking opportunities here were significant. I spent some time speaking with a software engineer that developed the Google’s bike routing. There are a number of issues that I don’t believe they have considered that I will be following up on. I also said that since the Google Trike is coming to the Detroit Zoo, it might as well create Streetview images for the Dequindre Cut and RiverWalk. That might be possible. We’ll see.

I went to dinner with Kelli Kavanaugh (Wheelhouse Detroit), Karen Kavanaugh (Governor’s office in Washington DC — not related to Kelli), and Ginny Sullivan (Adventure Cycling.) It was a great opportunity for exchanging bicycle advocacy information.

I spoke with Gary Fisher about coming to Detroit for an urban ride. He’s never ridden in the city and I think I had him convinced he needs to. I believe he was wearing tweed throughout the entire Summit — totally dapper.

The biggest disappointment? The National Bike Summit remains an event mainly attended by white adults. This lack of diversity perpetuates the stereotype that bicycles are white cultural phenomenon. There was a moderately interesting session on promoting diversity that relied largely on the efforts of the presentation by the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. Perhaps the best recommendation came from Keith Holt (Active Transportation Alliance.) He suggested groups start by diversifying their boards — a great suggestion for the League of American Bicyclists who organized the summit.

The biggest positive? MTGA getting a $15,000 grant to help Detroit become a Bicycle Friendly Community.

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He recently listed what the US DOT had in the works for this year, including (emphasis ours):

More safety: I am not about to lay down on this; whether it’s distracted driving, impaired driving, or driving unprotected by seat belts, expect to see more from us on making our roadways safer for everyone.

More livability, sustainability: …in 2010 the TIGER grants we award will include as criteria the project’s contribution to sustainability and livability. Also in 2010, the Obama Administration’s Partnership for Sustainable Communities of DOT-HUD-EPA will continue to align our efforts to promote the Three E’s of economic development, environmental protection, and equitable access to transportation.

Making roadways safe for all users… More livability… More sustainability… These goals all favor bike friendly transportation projects.

Now if only we could Metro Detroit state, county, and local governments working on the same. DOT’s emphasis on livability might force Metro Detroit governments to progress beyond post-WWII concepts of transportation and into the 21st century.

And in conjunction with this new federal emphasis, the House created the Livable Communities Task Force this past fall.

Every community in America — regardless of its size, geographic location, demographic composition, or economic base — aspires to become a place where families are safe, enjoy personal and environmental health, can select from a range of housing and transportation choices, and have access to educational and economic opportunities. These are the building blocks of livable communities.

The Livable Communities Task Force recognizes that federal policies — from transportation to tax incentives to environmental regulations and everything in between — have a profound effect on the livability of communities. This Task Force seeks to identify the ways in which the federal government can affect community livability and improve Americans’ quality of life. This includes reducing the nation’s dependence on oil, protecting the environment, improving public health and investing in housing and transportation projects that create jobs and give people more commuting choices.

Congressman Earl Blumenauer chairs the task force of 20 members, but unfortunately none are from Michigan.

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This meeting was actually about more than just this new project.

It was hosted by the Brookings Institute and featured Bruce Katz. Katz recently wrote the interesting article, The Detroit Project: A Plan for Solving America’s Greatest Urban Disaster. In DC, Katz spoke of the major upcoming debate on transportation policy. He emphasized the critical importance of advocates continuing to push non-motorized transportation during this period of change.

David Bryne

The next presenter was David Bryne, the front man of the Talking Heads. While he’s been cycling around New York since the 80s, he’s more recently become a bicycle advocate. The League of American Bicyclists summarized Bryne’s presentation.

Byrne began with a photo of Columbia, Md. where his elderly parents now live and are stranded due to the autocentric design of the community. He then went on to highlight some of his favorite books including: Twenty Minutes in Manhattan, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, and The Timeless Way of Building. He continued with a photo diary of memorable scenes – both good and bad – of public spaces from his travels around the world on his beloved folding bike.

Bryne’s book, Bicycle Diaries does briefly recount his ride in Detroit. In a recent National Geographic Adventure article, Bryne’s listed Detroit among his eight favorite biking cities in the “Great rides where you least expect it” category.

So when speaking with him in DC after the event, I invited him to return to Detroit and provided our Detroit Greenways Brochure to spark his interest. We’ll see.

Congressman Earl Blumenauer

Our premier bicycle advocate in Congress spoke next and started with his standard question: How many people are stuck in traffic right now on their way to ride a stationary bike in a health club?

Blumenauer gave a brief timeline on bicycle advocacy. What was once considered “desireable” have become “important” and is transitioning to “urgent” and “critical.”

In conjunction with that transition, introduced his Active Community legislation for the upcoming transportation bill. The original push from the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy was for an Active Transportation 2010 program where 40 U.S. cities received $50 million over 6 years to increase biking and walking. Detroit applied for this as did Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids. However, according to the congressman, that program smelled too much like earmarks and didn’t make it in the transportation bill.

His new Active Communities legislation would be a competitive $5 to $15 million grant program with a focus on mode shift — getting more people walking and biking.

Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan

The NYC DOT Commissioner presented next primarily on the Cities for Cycling project, much of which we’ve already covered.

Some additional Cities for Cycling goals we forgot to mention the first time include

• Hosting workshops around the U.S. next year
• Making sure the next MUTCD is designed for 21st century cities and not just highways
• Streamline federal regulations for active transportation projects
• Double active transportation funding

Khan also said that building for bicycles is a matter of customer service and that bikes lanes are a transformative change for cities which benefits more than just cyclsits.

Questions and Answers

A little Q & A followed the three presentations. One person asked if there was still opposition to active transportation.

Blumenauer: Not much, but there are three factors.

1. People are nervous about change
2. The current political process is dysfunctional
3. We need to unleash greater grassroots support for cycling. Cycling advocates are too quiet.

Khan: The fight is one parking space at a time. It’s difficult to reduce the traditional priority on cars and bring a greater balance to transportation.

A bicycle advocate added we’re not outside of the mainstream. We’re undoing mistakes and doing the sensible thing.

Katz: We need to provide the opposite of the Le Corbusier’s urban planning vision.

The question of whether or not cyclists should pay bicycle-specific user fees was raised. Blumenauer spoke about a possible Pittman-Robertson solution, before flipping it around. He said it could be argued that cyclists should be paid to ride. After all, bicycling is the single most cost effective means to free up road space.

Afterwards, we had the opportunity to speak with Ms. Khan on a number of topics, including automated bike rental systems. In her opinion, these systems will transform U.S. cities and get more people on bikes. While we’ve discussed this in Detroit, such a system really makes most sense if it were designed to complement the Woodward Light Rail plans.

Additional Event Coverage

From Bikes Belong:

“The launch of Cities for Cycling shows that big-city mayors and transportation leaders see bicycling as a cost-effective urban transportation solution,” said Tim Blumenthal, Bikes Belong Executive Director. “The group will quickly become a respected voice in the growing movement to make bicycling safer and more convenient coast to coast.”

From Citiwire.net:

Can you imagine several hundred of this capital city’s policy wonks turning out for a two-hour discussion of bicycling?

A decade ago, it would have been unthinkable.

But the new buzz about cycling is clearly a mark of the times. You can credit snarled traffic, ennui with driving, rising oil prices and/or concern about greenhouse gas emissions. Then there’s growing popular desire to revoke the monopoly control cars and trucks have on our streets and public spaces. There’s a clear tie to the Complete Streets movement, advancing the ideas of shared urban turf long espoused by such groups as Partners for Livable Communities and the Project for Public Spaces.

The scene’s also been set, though, with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood declaring “livable communities” a priority goal of his department. And – important to the policy making set – there’ll be opportunity to enrich the 2010 reauthorization of the federal transportation program with bike-friendly provisions.

The idea’s a sort of watershed – cyclists starting to qualify not just as recreation supplicants but serious players in America’s transportation decisions. It’s about time.

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U.S. Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) plans to introduce a new bill to Congress next week that would create a $2 billion grant program that would hasten investment in biking, walking, and other “active transportation” options.

Blumenauer’s office sent out a one pager and a PDF of the bill today, saying that the proposed legislation has already been vetted with national organizations and leaders. The bill would look to increase mode share for biking and walking through “concentrated funding for active transportation networks”. “It is time for the federal government to support communities’infrastructure investment,” the statement says.

This sounds much like the Active Transportation funding program Rails-to-Trails tried getting in to federal transportation bill. They were unsuccessful apparently because “it looked too much like earmarks.” The city of Detroit had submitted a $50 million request under this proposed program. That funding would have built 400-miles of bike lanes and countless miles of greenways.

This new legislation from Blumenauer’s office would be different in that it’s a competitive grant program (with a two-year application cycle). The grants would range from $5 to $15 million for five years.

Conveniently enough, $15 million was the estimated cost (in 2006) of adding 400 miles of bikes lanes across Detroit.

Next Tuesday is a Brookings/ National Association of City Transportation Officials bicycling event in Washington DC. Congressman Blumenauer is a guest speaker and may likely discuss this new funding opportunity. (Yes, David Bryne will be there as well. I’ll invite him to ride in Detroit again.)

Fortunately I was able to attend this event both as the Detroit Greenways Coordinator for the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance and a media representative from this web site.

Learning about the event after registration had closed, I successfully made the following pitch:

Whether I can attend or not, I would suggest that bringing a Detroit perspective to the discussion would be invaluable. Detroit is not Portland or Chicago or New York. The city of Detroit has gained its high level of bike friendliness as residents (and their vehicles) have left. We are at our pre-WWI population levels with a post-WWII street infrastructure. Our 40 square miles of vacant/abandoned land provides unique challenges and tremendous opportunities for non-motorized transportation growth and designs.

Perhaps this New York Times op-ed provides a window into what we have in Detroit and in other Rust Belt communities.

But while the infrastructure is accommodating, the Motor City culture in many ways is not. Though it’s beginning to change, many still see bicycles as a last choice mode of transportation. We are exploring ways to turn that around.

Certainly, getting the funding to build 400 miles of bike lanes would be great, but how where would the money come from to maintain (e.g. repaint) them? It seems it will be all the more critical that we advocate for changes to SEMCOG‘s Congrestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funding formulas so make sustainable funding dollars available for any bicycle facilities we build.

Look for a follow up report after Tuesday.

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And this probably is the next best thing to being there.

Perhaps the best is of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood:

What a striking improvement over the former Transportation Secretary Mary Peters who tried re-defining “transportation” and “infrastructure” to exclude biking and walking.

Other videos from the Summit include:

• US Representative Earl Blumenauer
• US Representative Daniel Lipinski
• US Representative Doris Matsui (Complete Streets)

You’ll also want to check out this video from the Iowa Bicycle Coalition. Blumenauer’s breakfast speech beginning at :40 seconds captures a great moment from this event. Congressman Tom Petri of Wisconsin also provides some interesting commentary.

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I didn’t need to provide much background.

He immediately noted how his cycling city roll-model Portland is different in that it’s a growing city, whereas cities like St. Louis, Detroit, and others are dealing with shrinking populations, jobs, vacant land, and more.

I spoke about the collective effort with the support of Mayor Cockrel to reinvent Detroit as a green city, where biking and walking are a strong component. I noted our non-motorized plan, greenways network vision, and our application for Active Transportation 2010 funding.

He added that we need to make sure our bike solutions at the federal level are not one-size-fits-all.

Although it seemed longer, it was perhaps only a minute of conversation. Still, it was one of the most rewarding minutes during my stint at this summit. It was very good to know that one of the primary congressional leaders in biking and walking advocacy was already on point with urban non-motorized perspectives outside of the Portland’s and Boulder’s of the world.

After our discuss, Congresssman Blumenauer addressed the entire group on his new Multimodal Commuter Credit legislation. It basically addresses some flaws in the current implementation of bike commuter tax credit and provides more flexibility.

Why was the bike commuter act flawed from the start? BikePortland.org asked Blumenauer’s staffer Tyler Frisbee that question.

Frisbee said the reason is that it was passed as part of the financial bailout package, “instead of a more orderly process.”

We reported on this back in October. Blumenauer’s bike commuter bill was added to the bank bailout bill perhaps to garner his vote — it didn’t work. He voted against the bailout and the commuter language was flawed.

Fortunately the Congressman’s commited to correcting these flaws.

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LaHood is the Secretary of Transportation, and although there was some hesitation in the cycling blogosphere when Obama nominated him. After today’s presentation, that hesitation should be gone.

He told the crowd at the opening session that we’ll build on our successes in pedestrian and bicycle promotion. He noted we’re on the verge of making more progress in doing the things America really wants to do. Creating livable communities is becoming the priority.

And finally, he assured us that we have a full partner at the Department of Transportation.

Congressman Earl Blumenauer

Blumenauer started with the rhetorical question: “How many people right now are stuck in traffic on their way to a health club to ride a stationary bike?”

He added:

• Families biking are an indicator species for livable communities
• With Congressman Oberstar chairing the transportation committee, the “table is set for us” when it comes to writing the next transportation bill.
• We need to be relentlessly bike-partisan. There are no blue or red bikes.
• There are currently 213 legislators in the bike-partisan caucus. 218 would be a majority — and that’s a Summit goal.
• The Commuter Choice act will be taken up in this legislative session. The gist is it adds flexibility to the commuter tax benefits and allows the mixing of modes, e.g. biking and transit.
• New Clean-TEA legislation would set aside 10% of a carbon tax to help communities reduce the carbon-footprint of their transportation, making it more sustainable in the long term. The justification? One-third of greenhouse gas emissions are from transportation. ?Cycling and walking can offset that. Clean-TEA would be an amendment to a climate change bill.

Also, Congressman Blumenauer biked to the Summit from the Capitol and was sporting a pant strap.

Congressman Dan Lipinski

Congressman Lipinski touted the fact that he’s not only a cyclist, but a card carrying of the League of American Bicyclists.

Lipinski did warn us that we must remain vigilant as there is still a mindset out there that bikes are not transportation.

Congresswoman Doris Matsui

Congresswoman Matsui spoke about the Complete Streets legislation that is on the verge of being introduced in the House and Senate.

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Why care about cycling now?
Right now, the U.S. consumes about 10% of the world’s oil supply just to get back and forth to work. If we are able to reintroduce the bicycle into our communities, we are going to make it easier for people to break our addiction to oil. I have cycled to work in Washington, D.C., for 12 years. I’ve burned over 300,000 calories and saved $94,000 in car costs, 206 gallons of fuel, and 4800 pounds of carbon dioxide.

Your city—Portland, Oregon —is very bike-friendly. What has worked?
We have expanded the number of bike lanes, established bike routes throughout the city, and turned major streets into “bike boulevards” so there is less through traffic. It’s making a huge difference. People in Portland use their cars much less than the American average. That translates into savings of more than $2500 per year per family. There should be a bicycle master plan for cities large and small.

How do you balance the competing demands of cyclists who want more lanes and drivers who worry about congestion?
It’s not about competition. Cycling actually helps improve traffic flow on roads. If all of those thousands of people who bike every day in Portland were to get back in their cars, we would have more traffic congestion and more frayed nerves. Cycling helps with parking, too—you can fit a dozen bikes in the space one car would take.

Link: A Greener Commute by Meg Massey

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Earlier this year the bike industry met with Senator Obama:

Stan Day, SRAM’s president, said that Obama “gets it.” He pointed out that Obama understands that bicycles can be part of a solution to issues as diverse as health care, obesity, energy and environmental policy. “He does his homework and he can connect the dots,” he said.

After winning the election, Obama’s team created a web site to discuss his upcoming term, its direction, and policy.  And it does discuss bicycling among its urban policy goals:

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. As president, Barack Obama will re-evaluate the transportation funding process to ensure that smart growth considerations are taken into account.

Yes, he “gets it.”

And, two of the names being bandied about for his Transportation Director are major cycling supporters: Earl Blumenauer and James Oberstar.  Both would be a huge boost for bicycling and Safe Routes to School advocates.

But we shouldn’t forget how absolutely awesome it was having a serious mountain biker in President George W. Bush.  That did wonders for the perception of mountain biking as a sport; it’s not just for young folks.

o how soon before Obama is riding mountain bike trails?  Certainly that question has already been asked at IMBA.

Stay tuned…

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