From 1975 to the mid-1990s, I biked almost daily to work, grocery stores and visits with friends, first in Manhattan, then in Columbus.  I always used city streets.  Then, for 14 years, I did not own or use a bicycle.

Resolved to begin biking again, I took a bus to Clintonville on Saturday to purchase one.  I took a bus because I wanted to be able to bike home to the Short North.  And that’s when it happened.  I discovered the Olentangy Trail.

Wow!  Riding the Trail for the first time is one of those “firsts” that ranks with coming-of-age experiences like discovering your you-know-what at puberty and traveling internationally.  It is an exquisite experience, particularly on a clear sunny day.

I kept thinking about how lucky I am to live in a city with bike trails as I followed the Trail’s sign system toward downtown.

Hundreds of people gathered in front of the Statehouse on Monday, May 17, 2010, to celebrate Bike To Work Day sponsored by Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District.

Bikers converged at OSU Gateway along with Mayor “Bikin’ Mike” Coleman, ODOT Director Jolene Molitoris, members of Columbus City Council, the Columbus Foundation and Consider Biking for the Third Annual Bike To Work Launch and Cycling CEO Challenge.  Dozens of area CEOs assembled teams to ride to the Statehouse to champion alternative transportation.

Riders from the Columbus Chamber even donned Pearl Market veggie costumes to show their support of bicycle commuting.

Lisa Courtice from The Columbus Foundation presented Consider Biking with a check for $295,000 to pursue the “2 by 2010″ initiative, which is a program that encourages every central Ohioan to use a bike or other form of alternative transportation to get to work or school at least two days per month by the City’s bicentennial in 2012.

Doug Morgan, attorney at Hahn Loeser and Parks, presented a check for $15,000 on behalf of the firm and challenged the corporate community to pull together to match The Columbus Foundation gift.

To see more photos of the event, click below.

Bike To Work 2010

I remember the sticker shock I experienced when I bought my first car in 2007 (earlier I married into a car, had kids and got divorced).  With joint custody of three school-age kids, taxicabs did not meet all of my needs, and the closest Zipcar location was a 30-minute walk.

Prior to buying into the “American dream” of owning a car, transportation had cost me $60 to $80 a month.  Expenses included a car rental about once a month and a cab ride about once a week.  My employer paid for my bus pass.

Living in Columbus without a car was easy.  From 1977 to 2007, I lived in Bexley, German Village, Short North and University District.  All of these neighborhoods offered life’s necessities within walking distance, including groceries, pharmacies and bars.  I have always worked in or near downtown.

In seven years, I will go carless again.  The money I save will go toward something more pleasurable than sitting in traffic.

The sheer volume of great, urban experiences in this part of Columbus compares favorably to any other place in the U.S.  It has everything Boston has except urban rail, department stores and outrageously high housing costs.

Good public transit and city sidewalks will take you to 20 movie screens, a public market, Barnes & Noble and more than 200 high quality, independent retail stores.  It is home to an NHL arena, a AAA baseball park, historic theatres and one of the county’s most prestigious universities.

There are scores of nightclubs, beautiful city parks, charming neighborhoods, several world-class museums, great live music and 40 art galleries.  You can stay in one of 4,000 hotel rooms, quickly hail a taxicab and dine at 150 full-service restaurants.

The Columbus High Five is a magnet for highly educated people from throughout the world.  It is young, creative and entrepreneurial.  Best of all, it is in our backyard.

The task force noted that public policy and spending should encourage redevelopment of existing urban areas.  It recommends that economically distressed areas get larger tax abatements than affluent, “green field” areas (ironic, since tax abatements were created to benefit distressed areas).

It also recommends that the State spend more than 1% of its transportation budget on public transit.  Most encouraging is a recommendation that public resources generally not be used to extend utility lines to “green fields.”  In other words, someone who wishes to duplicate infrastructure at low densities in exurban areas would need to pay for it privately.

These recommendations should make any fiscal conservative happy.

Because city planners are smart enough to limit on-site parking for major downtown venues, the 20,000 plus people attending events walked from remote parking and filled the streets, restaurants, and taverns for many blocks in every direction of their destination.  The pedestrian activity made the street feel vibrant and safe.

My friend, Mark Lammon of the Downtown Cleveland Alliance, took me for a ride to Little Italy on the new Health Line that runs for seven miles along Euclid Avenue.  This bus feels like a train, runs frequently, and makes limited stops at rail-like stations.  It drew full loads of people, including young professionals, well into the evening.  In addition to this service, the City also has three light rail lines.

Downtown Cleveland seems to be doing well.  I have long wondered about the difference between Cleveland and Detroit.  Could it be Cleveland’s commitment to transit?

And a disclaimer (please read this in your head at a very fast pace like those TV commercial speed-talkers): the views and opinions expressed by guest bloggers may or may not reflect the views and opinions of DowntownColumbus.com and its affiliated parties.

STREETCARS OFF ON THE WRONG TRACK

I believe there are problems for electric streetcars in Columbus, especially in the Short North and OSU, where the first streetcars would run, such as:

• taking up critical lanes of traffic;
• cutting down on the very limited parking;
• rails catching bicycle tires and women’s heels;
• the overhead electric wires they run on are exceptionally ugly;
• the 2.8 mile stretch of track, costing $103 million, is outrageous; and
• they can only run on expensive tracks, limiting routes and destinations.

So streetcars aren’t nearly as cool as they might seem at first.

If we considered the next generation of futuristic electric buses, we could achieve all of the good with none of the bad.  Delft University of Technology (Netherlands) has designed a “Superbus”, which looks like something Batman would use to commute to work.  Being on wheels, it requires no new, expensive infrastructure.

Matter of fact, turns out Las Vegas has taken steps to improve their mass transit.  Take a look at their new buses!  Congratulations LVTA!

How about Columbus riding into the 21st century with some new sets of wheels?  So instead of being like other cities, we could do something different.  Something better.

This article reminded me of another article I read several years ago about a study in Seattle.  The study looked at two kinds of violent death: death by car and death by homicide.  The study compared the rate of violent death in the most affluent suburb of Seattle with the rate of violent death in the most crime-ridden city neighborhood.  The chances of experiencing a violent death were greater in the affluent suburb.

Columbus has many urban neighborhoods with some of the region’s lowest crime rates that do not require use of a car.  I know where I want my kids to be.

Wilkos stated that the older, pre-1955 areas of Columbus that constitute the Columbus City School District would become considerably more affluent because of inward migration by young professionals in search of urban order, transportation options, and proximity to jobs and services.

By contrast, Michael painted a bleak picture of many Columbus neighborhoods built after 1955.  Many of these neighborhoods lack much semblance of planning, charm or walkability.  It is these neighborhoods, according to Wilkos, where increasing concentrations of poverty will be found.  Even now, you can see clear evidence of their decline by driving along commercial corridors such as Hamilton Road or Brice Road.

Absent a “game changer” such as high gasoline prices or a fundamental shift in how the region invests in public infrastructure, wealth will be increasingly concentrated in the center city and outlying counties with vast swaths of poverty in between.  This 2020 picture is not a pretty one.

Columbus Dispatch

The Dispatch did not support federal requirements for such accommodations.  It did, however, launch into a 15-column-inch editorial about the problems created by automobile dependency.

“People are forced to climb into their cars to take care of their fundamental needs, including commutes to work, school and grocery.  They once visited on front porches and walked to the nearby downtown or neighborhood shop.  Now they drive to a big-box retailer located in a strip mall, where even the parking lots are pedestrian hazards.”

The editorial links auto-dependency on a breakdown in neighborhood cohesion, recreation and healthy activities.  It also notes the connection between the obesity epidemic and sedentary lifestyles of the motoring public.

The editorial begs a question.  When will we stop subsidizing this lifestyle?