John Nichols: The right economic cycle for Madison

John Nichols  —  7/23/2008 5:24 am

Cities that want to appeal to high-end tourists and lifestyle-conscious entrepreneurs like to get a mention in National Geographic Adventure -- a smart, slick magazine. In the latest issue, Madison gets a big mention.

A cover feature on "The Green Commute" invites readers to get to know "5 Bike-Friendly Cities."

Actually, it's the Top 5 Bike-Friendly Cities.

Madison is ranked in this group with the usual suspects: Boulder, Colo.; Davis, Calif.; Portland, Ore.; and Tucson, Ariz.

Historically, this ranking and the national recognition would have merited inclusion on the list of Madison's most-livable, most-literate, most-outdoorsy honors.

But with gas prices rising to astronomical levels, the whole idea of green commuting -- walking, biking or taking the bus or other forms of mass transit -- becomes all the more attractive. Indeed, cities across the country are beginning to recognize that being bike friendly is no longer just "nice." It's a smart economic development strategy.

That does not mean it is uncontroversial, however. Even in Madison and surrounding Dane County, areas that have been more bike friendly for more years than most, and that (thanks to Trek, Pacific Cycles and other innovators) are centers of Wisconsin's $550 million bicycle industry, you can still hear griping about green commuters. Former Mayor Paul Soglin stirred a good deal of controversy with some choice comments about his preferred fate for the hearty souls who bike to work through winter storms.

But, for the most part, Madison gets the basics with regard to biking for recreational and non-recreational purposes. The city is one of just two in the nation (the other is Tucson) that has been awarded a prestigious gold ranking by the League of American Bicyclists. Only Portland -- which now builds a mile of bike lane for every mile of road -- ranks higher, as the first community in the U.S. to be awarded platinum status by the league.

As Madison and Dane County wrestle with the challenge of balancing tight budgets in the coming year, it is essential that city and county officials recognize that investing in bike lanes, signage, racks and other infrastructure improvements that make this area more bike friendly are no longer whimsical investments for a city that wants to be nice to bikers. These investments are essential to the long-term stability and strength of the city. Indeed, they are likely to be as important to attracting new investment and tourism as any of the more traditional commitments that communities make.

But Madison also needs state and federal partners.

The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin (www.bfw.org), working with legislators such as state Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, and state Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison -- both avid bikers -- has scoped out smart strategies to get the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to increase funding for local transportation enhancements that help communities across the state to make bike-friendly investments. They're also working with state natural resources, tourism and health officials to increase funding for bicycle trails, paths and lanes, and to expand public education programs.

But some of the most important work must be done at the federal level. Support for green commuting, especially biking, must be understood as an essential component not just of transportation planning but of energy policy. This is where and how we begin to get serious about conservation, rather than scheming to exploit oil reserves and develop costly alternatives.

John Nichols is associate editor of The Capital Times.

John Nichols  —  7/23/2008 5:24 am