Last year, Detroit Public Television aired a half-hour segment on greenways and trails in the Metro-Detroit area called “Pathways for People.” It’s a well put together look at trails and their importance. If you have the time, you can now watch that video on-line. Pathway for People

Congratulations to M-DOT, the GreenWays Initiative, and the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance for their award and much-deserved recognition from the Federal Highway Administration.

MDOT honored for leadership role in GreenWays Initiative in Southeast Michigan: “A 100-mile network of non-motorized trails and greenways in southeast Michigan has been honored by the Federal Highway Administration.

Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) Director Kirk T. Steudle accepted the award for ‘exceptional environmental stewardship’ at the Nov. 29 State Transportation Commission meeting in Lansing. ‘This award reflects our commitment to making non-motorized trails available as a transportation mode,’ said Steudle. ‘Trails are a part of the transportation mix that is essential to protecting the health and well being of Michigan residents, and greenways contribute to enhancing quality of life.’”

metromode’s recent interview with Robert F. Kennedy included a question on bike infrastructure investment. (Thanks, Kelly!)

mode: There are other environmental initiatives in Michigan right now, such as the Greenways Initiative, which is investing millions of dollars into a network of trails and bike lanes in Southeast Michigan. Can you speak to how such investment can spur economic development and whether or not such an investment is prudent in a time of recession and high unemployment?

RFK: Let me say this: Good economic policy is, 100 percent of the time, good environmental policy. Conservation produces many more jobs than does the exploitation of virgin resources. If, on the other hand, we treat the planet as a business in liquidation for a few years of pollution prosperity, for an illusion, our children are going to pay for our joyride. It is deficit spending — our prosperity on the backs of our children.

We are not protecting fish and birds here. Nature is the infrastructure of our community. If we want to meet our obligation as a generation, as a nation, as a civilization and provide the next generation with the community that our parents gave us, we have to start by protecting our environmental infrastructure. This is our lakes, bike ways, rivers — the landscapes that connect us to our past, our history, and provide a context to our communities. They are our source, ultimately, of values, virtues, our character as a people.

Investment in the environment does not somehow diminish our nation’s wealth. It is an investment in infrastructure, like telecommunications and roads. It ensures the economic vitality of our generation and the next generation.