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Bikes are changing look, feel of cities

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By Ken McCall, Staff Writer 11:46 PM Thursday, August 6, 2009

A quiet revolution is playing out in cities across the nation, even in Dayton.

In one urban center after another, says Jeff Mapes, a bicycling culture is taking hold and reshaping the look and feel of city streets.

Mapes, author of the new book, “Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists are Changing American Cities,” will be in town Friday, Aug. 14, to address the first-ever Miami Valley Cycling Summit as the keynote speaker.

The summit, sponsored by the Drive Less Live More campaign, will run from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the University of Dayton’s College Park Center, with a “Grassroots Social” to follow at Flanagan’s Pub. It will also feature a bicycling movie night at the Neon from 7 to 9 p.m. Aug. 13. For more information and registration, visit www.metroparks.org/cyclingsummit.

The fact that the Dayton region is putting on a cycling summit is, itself, evidence of the trend.

“You just see this all over the country,” said Mapes, a political reporter at The Oregonian in Portland and an avid bike commuter. “Downtowns are making a revival, and a lot of people are choosing an urban lifestyle. And the bike fits into that very well.”

Of course, Mapes lives in one of the most bike-friendly cities in the country, so it could be easy to think it’s happening everywhere. But his book, an easy and informative read, shows that it’s happening in cities large and small, including New York City, Chicago and Louisville.

“The difference of where we’re at in this country from 20 to 30 years ago is just really amazing,” Mapes said in a telephone interview Thursday.

“There’s a lot more mainstream interest because of several factors: the health concerns, congestion, climate change, oil supply, gas prices and the whole livable cities movement.”

Even in Portland, he said the trend is relatively new. Twenty years ago, you wouldn’t have seen much. “But now visitors to the city are very, very struck with how many bicyclists there are.”

The city auditor’s last annual survey of residents found that 8 percent of Portlanders said the bike was their main form of commuting, Mapes said.

“Literally, there is not a time of day or night when I can go out and not see another cyclist.”

One huge caveat to his revolution thesis, Mapes admits, is the suburbs. While some suburban communities are embracing trails and planners are trying to accommodate cyclists and pedestrians, he said, the suburbs are designed around the car, and it’s hard to make inroads.

In the cities, though, there is real action — even in Dayton. Not only is the city hosting the cycling summit, but it’s also installing the county’s first on-street bike lane system this year in downtown Dayton.

You also see lots more people riding bikes. And the more people ride, Mapes said, the more others will feel like riding.

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