I Like Bicycles and Small Towns

I like to bike, as in pedal a bicycle.  I don’t race and I don’t try to go 100 miles in any one day.  I ride into town, go to the store, to the park, and every now and then just ride around the neighborhood.  I ride because it is practical, extremely low cost, does not pollute, does not take 4 or more lanes of highway and I can often get where I’m going faster than driving my car.  OK, I also think it is fun but as an engineer, I am internally forced to find utilitarian excuses to justify my fun.


It is also healthier for me and everyone around.  I am pretty sure you won’t die if I crash into you.  You probably don't have to worry about it at all as the odds are pretty good I won't crash.  I am not listening to the radio or talking on my cell phone and the only entertainment center on my bike is whatever is around me while I ride.  Car drivers seem to not be paying as much attention to what is happening around them as I am while I ride my bike.  Of course if I get hit by a car, I am going to get hurt.

The world's largest reported traffic jam.

Those of us who grew up and live in Michigan know that our history is based on cars.  My father and grandfather both worked for auto companies.  I own a car, a pickup truck and a tractor.  I have nothing against cars as long as there are options and the provisions for cars do not take away from other less costly ways of getting around.


The problem is that cars are expensive, gas is expensive, insurance is expensive, parking is expensive, roads are expensive and if there is an accident, it is expensive.  We all have to pay a lot of these expenses whether we drive a car or not.  We all must have car insurance in Michigan if we have a car.  We all pay taxes of one kind or another that go for roads and maintenance of those roads.

I do realize there are times in Michigan and elsewhere when you need a car, like that business trip to Kalamazoo or when the snow or rain really discourages me from riding or walking anywhere.

So back to Big Ideas in Small Towns, or for that matter bigger towns.  While this is certainly not a new idea, how about living close enough to where you work and shop so that a car makes little or no sense?

As reported in Salon, cities may further limit the speed of cars, as if heavy traffic is not already doing that, and in the future urban bikers go faster than cars.  The Village of Clarkston has been wishing for slower and less vehicle traffic for as long as I can remember.  Maybe now is the time and if a lot of us rode our bikes there would be more parking for those that don’t.  Those of us on bikes may still be able to park closer.

The Dutch went from bicycles to cars and are now switching back to bicycles.  They even posted a video for it.

StreetsBlog Network provides more evidence that bike lanes are good for local businesses.  So does This Big City in an article titled Local Economic Implications of Urban Bicycle Networks.

More bikes on the street could translate into money in the bank local business

I don't think the Village of Clarkston is ready for a bicycle network but believe it or not there have been some discussions even in our little City/Village of 882 residents.

This does not need to be any single government effort and probably shouldn't be.  I also don't think my small town will ever become a bicycle mecca, although that would be nice.  I see it as more of a collective resolution that there may be something better than what we have been doing.   Perhaps if your town and my town agree, and make at least some reasonable accommodations, I could ride to your town and you could ride to mine.  This seems like a far better solution than millions of dollars in paving for exclusive use by millions of dollars in cars and trucks, all maintained by millions of tax dollars, and fueled by millions of oil dollars.

A major economic transition to be sure but do we really need millions of dollars spent to go to the store for $20 worth of groceries and why is it  better to have more paving instead of less?  Now all I need to do is convince everyone else. 


I think I need to go for a ride and think about what I am getting myself into.