Some advocates are willing to do almost anything to increase participation — including putting novices in danger.

There’s a “but”: It appears rather clear that the more people who ride bicycles in a given area the safer it is to ride a bicycle on the road (convincing novices that the riding in traffic is already safe requires education). A new study recently published in Environmental Practice reinforces the safety-in-numbers thinking and adds a bonus: More people on bicycles makes the traffic system safer for all road users.

There’s another “but”: It appears that bicycle lanes play a minor role in encouraging people to ride bicycles (hoo-ray for that). This new study suggests that narrow streets, a dense grid pattern, and traffic calming are the real keys in the American context (or, in the case of this study, the California context).

Today I want to discuss one of the findings: intersections per square mile. The study shows that safer, high-cycling cities have more intersections per square mile than do less-safe, low-cycling cities. Safe, high-cycling cities in the study averaged 114.2 intersections per square mile suggesting a dense grid pattern. The following graphic illustrates common street patterns. It’s easy to see why grids have more intersections and why grids would tend to calm traffic.

Now let’s take a look the square mile at the heart of downtown Springfield (defined by me as the area surrounding Park Central Square).

That’s a rough estimation using Google Maps. By my (very rough) count using this map, downtown Springfield has 127 intersections in this square mile. Further, the speed limit is 20 mph on most of the roads you see there (exceptions include Grant, Jefferson, Kimbrough, Benton, and Chestnut Expressway).

The four safest cities in the study share something else with Springfield, but the study does not mention it — and I think it is important: The safest cities are all home to universities — Berkeley, Chico, Davis, and Palo Alto. On this Springfield map, MSU is just off the southeast corner, and OTC and Drury intersect the map to the north and northeast.

I’m only discussing grid density now. But this begs the question: Why, then, has Springfield not achieved the kind of bicycling numbers as, say, Davis, California? We have active advocacy (STAR Team) and a cooperative (even enlightened) public works department and police force. We have encouragement and education programming. While facilities such as bicycle lanes play a minor role according to the study, we have some of those, too. That square mile area has several bicycle lanes plus a growing greenway.

I think one important reason we’re not seeing the kinds of bicycling numbers as those California cities is because there are damned few employers of the kind that attract the creative class (notice the income data in the study). Yes, we have entertainment — mostly at night. Yes, we have a growing number of lofts. Yes, MSU is moving into more and more downtown buildings (e.g. Park Central Square Office Building, Jordan Valley Innovation Center, Brick City). Yes, there are banks and churches and stores and restaurants and other small businesses. But there are precious few large employers who employ highly-skilled, creative people of a kind that MSU, Drury, and OTC attempt to produce.

In short, the reasons to bicycle downtown right now are largely confined to after business hours (re: my first post today).

Our urban challenge (one of many): Encourage more employers of the creative class to move downtown. MSU’s movement into downtown is a great start. Now others must follow. Tax breaks help bring employers. Can we, however, save these breaks for employers that bring high-wage creative jobs to town instead of employers who bring low-wage, low-benefit jobs to town.

Our Urban Challenge Series:

• First in a Series
• Getting Started
• Green Density
• Networks
• Barriers
• Free Parking
• The Good Life
• Cost of Living
• Build It First
• Make It Awesome
• The Euro Thing
• Middle of Nowhere
• Young Professionals
• The Big Disconnect
• Where to Live

Technorati Tags: bicycle advocacy, bicycle commuting, bicycle culture, bicycle infrastructure, bicycle politics, bicycle safety, cycling, pedestrian safety, Springfield Missouri, traffic design, transportation, Transportation Planning, urban design, urban development, Urban Planning

Here are the first few paragraphs:

Expanding local trails, banning public smoking and confronting the city’s lack of diversity are ways for Springfield to attract and retain young professionals, according to a presentation Tuesday to City Council.

The suggestions came as part of a report from The Network, a Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce group for workers age 21-40.

Following up on a 2009 consultant’s report ranking Springfield in categories important to a young, educated workforce, a Network task force developed ideas for improvement.

“We came up with four things we think are really do-able initiatives,” said Ryan DeBoef, a local attorney who chaired the task force.

The first suggestion, he said, was the continued expansion of city trails and bicycle routes for recreation and transportation.

“Trails are parks to young people,” DeBoef said. “People love these trails and it would be great if we could use them to get somewhere.”

DeBoef said the group found that many young professionals want to be able to bike to work, but existing trails and urban bike routes are insufficient.

Seems like a no-brainer. If you want to attract (or keep) talented young professionals, then it’s a good idea to create a living (urban) environment that meets exactly the needs listed in this article. As listed today in Editor David Stoeffler’s column:

• Expand trails and bike routes for recreation and transportation.
• Enact a smoking ban in bars, restaurants and other public places.
• Improve wages by supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses.
• Address the lack of diversity through increased awareness and support for minority-owned businesses.

This is what the young professional themselves say they want as articulated by The Network. Perhaps we should listen.

Reading the 165 comments, however, is a bit disheartening.

Our Urban Challenge Series:

• First in a Series
• Getting Started
• Green Density
• Networks
• Barriers
• Free Parking
• The Good Life
• Cost of Living
• Build It First
• Make It Awesome
• The Euro Thing
• Middle of Nowhere

Technorati Tags: bicycle advocacy, bicycle commuting, bicycle culture, bicycle infrastructure, bicycle trails, cycling, urban design, urban development, Urban Planning

This Fall, New York City denizens will have the opportunity to test an experimental public bike share system. SoBi, the Social Bicycle System, presents an alternative to traditional public transportation and will allow riders the freedom to find and unlock nearby available communal bikes using an Andriod or iPhone application.

I got an iPhone this spring and find it very useful. And there are interesting apps for bicyclists. Hmmmmm… I need to write about that soon.

Technorati Tags: bicycle advocacy, bicycle infrastructure, cycling

We have several problems in Springfield.

You can begin to survey our problems — or challenges — by reading Springfield’s Competitive Assessment. Another snapshot of our community is available through the American Factfinder provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. Also be sure to check out the city’s GIS maps.

I am going to argue for increased spending on bicycle and pedestrian accommodation in the urban core — an area I’m defining as south of I-44, north of Sunshine, West of Glenstone, and east of Kansas Expressway. This area covers roughly the entire downtown and the old inner-ring suburbs.

I believe that encouraging walking and bicycling in this area — and gently discouraging driving — can play an important role in adjusting to the problems I’m going to outline here (not an exhaustive list). Notice I did not say “fixing” the problems. I’m not at all sure some of the problems can be fixed. But I am sure that more people walking and bicycling can make things better, so it is worth the modest price to begin turning Springfield’s urban core into Bicycle & Pedestrian City.

Richard Florida argues in his book Who’s Your City that place matters, i.e. where you live has a great influence on your economic well-being. Further, he argues that the most talented people tend to cluster in major urban areas where they feed off the creativity and economic energy of other talented people. Still further, the connections between the most economically powerful urban areas allow for mobility and cooperation — creating the feeling of flatness described by Thomas Friedman. These factors create an economic multiplying effect — more talented people, more money, more business, more jobs, more talented people, etc. Springfield is not one of these attractive urban areas, but it could be on a smaller scale. My observations and opinions are going to be a bit less rosy than what you’ll find in the economic assessment of the area by the Springfield Business Development Corporation, although I heartily agree that Springfield has much to recommend it as a place to live, raise children, and do business. Let’s take a look at just a few low lights:

• Springfield is isolated geographically. The nearest large metropolitan areas are Kansas City and St. Louis. These cities are accessible by car (3 to 4 hours drive time), bus, and air. As the price of oil increases, these transportation limitations will further isolate Springfield. While isolated, Springfield is the largest city in a metropolitan area that includes Nixa, Ozark, Branson, Joplin, and smaller cities and towns in SW Missouri and NW Arkansas. The transportation connections among these cities and towns are limited to car travel and very limited bus service. It is not possible, for example, to travel from Springfield to Branson by regularly-scheduled bus service.
• Springfield lacks diversity. It is the second whitest city in America. African-Americans make up just 3.8% of the population compared to 12.3% nationally. Other minorities are under-represented, too. The Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce has identified a lack of diversity as a threat to business growth here.
• Springfield is a poor city. The median household income of $34,656 is significantly below the national median of $52,175. The median family income of $45,648 is significantly below the national median of $63,211. Per capita income in 2008 was $21,845 compared to $27,466 nationally. Poverty is a problem in Springfield — 13.5% of families here live below the poverty level compared to 9.6% nationally, and 32.5% of households have incomes less than $24,999. And 19.1% of individuals — almost 1 in 5 — live below poverty level here compared to 13.2% nationally. Of Springfield’s workforce, 51.7% work in service, sales, or office occupations. You’ll sometimes here people in Springfield counter that the cost of living here is low. True. But what happens when oil is $200 per barrel?
• Springfield’s transportation situation creates the need to own a car –  44.1% of housing units have 1 car available  and 8.1% have no car available. The bus system remains controversial and under-used.
• Springfield’s urban core lacks the population (urban) density necessary to create the need for public transportation, and, I would argue, to create a thriving downtown business center.

Springfield does have highlights to be sure — many things we should all be proud of. During the course of this series I expect to crow about the good things, but I will also point out the problems. And I will offer my opinions about both.

Next, let’s take a look at a few things happening downtown:

First, a very good thing.

That was the scene yesterday morning at the Mudhouse on South Street downtown. Keep this in mind as we continue this journey…

I’ve mentioned before that my family is thinking about moving downtown. We currently live within the urban core very near MSU. Developers have been renovating old buildings to create lofts. Below is a picture of the Founders Park Lofts. This is the kind of living situation we’re looking for.

My wife and I expected to make such a move after our daughter graduated from high school. Those plans began to change when our 15-year-old asked to be included. She enjoys downtown. She rides there often on her bicycle to meet friends and enjoy the scene.

These lofts offer an interesting living environment for young members of the creative class. To attract these people there needs to be something for them to do — work and leisure. Pictured below is the Jordan Valley Innovation Center — one of many projects that MSU has undertaken downtown (also including Brick City and leasing other buildings for classrooms and office space) that offer the creative class something to do.

I’ve written before about the renovations to the Square, which I believe will become the attraction that everyone hopes. The design is a big part of the reason — it’s becoming a shared space rather than a segregated space. Now we have to do something abut the Heers building. Slated to be lofts, it is instead sitting empty and creating a hazard.

Finish it or tear it down. But whatever the powers-that-be decide, something needs to happen soon. This building, I believe, contributes to the (false) perception that downtown is scary, dangerous, and dead. If it were any of those things I wouldn’t let my 15-year-old daughter ride her bicycle there.

The Great Recession has dented downtown hopes. Buildings such as the one below sit empty — this one at a prime intersection: Campbell and Walnut. It used to house Well Fed Head Books, which moved out of the urban core.

I hear people lament the loss of this bookstore often; it was a lively scene during First Friday Art Walks. I used to shop there. I do not, however, shop at their new location. I spend my money downtown. Every dollar is a vote. And I vote for downtown.

Hard economic times have also hurt the College Station project — pictured here is the parking garage and the retail space (empty). It also includes Hollywood Theaters. I think it’s great that the city encouraged this project. It will be a great addition to downtown once … what? Well, I’m getting to that.

In order to fill up downtown buildings with thriving businesses it seems to me that we need to fill up downtown with people by encouraging them to live in the urban core. Various downtown interests like to crow about having 6,000 parking spaces as a way to encourage people from the suburbs to visit downtown — and they do for the First Friday Art Walk. What about the rest of the month?

A modest proposal: It’s time to stop thinking about attracting people downtown to visit and instead attract them to the urban core to live.

How do you do that? I have what I believe is a cost-effective idea (that I hope to develop into a plan). It could begin with getting rid of a few of those 6,000 parking paces.

Imagine a scene on South Street between Walnut and McDaniel in which no cars are allowed to park on the street. The sidewalks could be widened enough to allow businesses in that 1-block stretch to use expanded outdoor space. Imagine the Mudhouse, or one of the other restaurants, with seating on the street. Imagine who might be interested in filling in the vacant building space if an open streetscape were created.

Now imagine more streetscapes like the Square — people-friendly places that encourage walking and socializing.

Imagine sharrows painted on the streets — in the middle of the streets — to encourage bicyclists.

Imagine a future in which people who live in the urban core — and people who visit — choose to walk or ride a bicycle because these modes of transportation make downtown an enjoyable environment in which to live, work, and play.

Imagine City Utilities offering an urban core shuttle service similar to MSU’s Bearline — accessible with a transit card.

Imagine…

I think making the urban environment attractive comes before increasing population density. The reasons to move must exist before people will move. One way to make the urban core attractive is to make it easier — better — to get around by some other means than a car. I believe creative classers will be attracted to a place in which they can live greener lives. We might even be able to attract workers for a green economy this way.

I think large, expensive projects are fine (e.g. College Station). But it seems to me that we can begin creating an attractive environment by more cost-effective means, e.g. creating Bicycle & Pedestrian City — welcoming streetscapes, or complete streets, that encourage people to get out of their cars.

I believe members of the creative class will be attracted by such an environment. This means: 1) retaining more recent college graduates in the community, 2) attracting creative classers looking for a small city community in which they can make a real difference, 3) attracting businesses (especially green businesses) looking for a diverse 21st century workforce in an area with traditional American values, and 4) mitigating Springfield’s demographic challenges.

Our urban challenge is to make sure that Springfield isn’t forgotten in a world of large and economically powerful metropolitan regions.

Technorati Tags: bicycle advocacy, bicycle infrastructure, bicycle politics, complete streets, cycling, sustainability, urban development

Well, as it turns out — yes — The Hub does want you to bring your bicycle inside. That’s where you’ll find the two racks they provide

They have a nice space — very comfortable — kind of loft-chic with exposed brick and pipes.

I had a well-made mocha, and I sat and read the newspaper for a while enjoying the sunlight filtering in the large front windows.

The guys there are friendly and helpful. There’s really not a BMX theme that I could detect. Instead, their BMX bicycle shop is connected to the coffee shop through an open archway of sorts. I think what we’re going to see here is a general bicycle-friendliness of a kind that I have been suggesting other coffee shops employ.

All The Hub needs now is some bicycle art (can you say First Friday Art Walk?) and the place is all set.

Technorati Tags: bicycle culture, cycling