Dear Honorable Mayor Bzdok and City Manager Bifoss,

I sit on the Cherry Capital Cycling Club Board, and have worked extensively for the Broke Spoke Cyclist Cooperative. In that capacity I teach classes such as Core Skills for Women and Girls, and Cycling Safely. Traverse City bike shops are experiencing burgeoning sales. Never before have we experienced so many cyclists, new and experienced, that seek to enjoy a healthier lifestyle on Traverse City streets riding two wheels. In my classes, time and time again the one biggest concern that is expressed by participants, is the fact that Traverse City does not have safe roads for people to ride their bikes around town. Women and younger people are especially vocal about wanting to ride safely and not feel like cars are whizzing by precariously close, or worse road rage. One person said it quite succinctly, "The TART is a start, but it doesn't get us where we need to go." The TART trail is a wonderful recreational trail, and it connects us to wonderful places, but it is not an effective part of a citywide bicycle oriented transportation system (It's also buried in snow all winter rendering it unusable). Eighth Street, for instance, would be a corridor of choice for many cyclists as it leads to grocery stores, restaurants, businesses, schools, and across town (if only it were striped for cyclists, and the traffic was calmed).

Many factors contribute to "creating community." But one of the most effective ways is to create more opportunities to smile, meet and greet other people in a convivial way face-to-face. Cycling, walking, and rollerblading create opportunities to create social interaction, strengthening our community and our neighborhoods.

Traverse City is not alone in the challenge to create safe streets and opportunities for cars and human powered vehicles to share the road. We are however ahead of the curve in many ways, and need to catch up in others:.

• The League of American Cyclists has awarded Traverse City their Bronze Award http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bicyclefriendlyamerica/communities/bfc_traverse_city.php
  Traverse City boasts the largest trail and bike advocacy organization in Michigan with 4 staff, and one of the nations largest bike clubs. The city has 30 miles of shared use paths with many state wide bike tours traveling through this beautiful city. During the Traverse City Film Festival in August, the city helped provide bike racks at the 4 in-town film venues.
  
  
• Northern Michigan has enthusiastically embraced The Grand Vision plan. http://www.thegrandvision.org/transportation/
  The Transportation Working Group seeks to ensure that transportation projects are designed to maintain and improve the existing road system, increase public transportation services between cities and villages in the region, and expand infrastructure serving pedestrians and bicyclists both in and out of town.
  
  
• Traverse City has made Complete Streets a priority http://michigancompletestreets.wordpress.com/2009/12/17/traverse-city-makes-complete-streets-a-top-priority/
  "Complete Streets" requires the State roadway system to accommodate safely all users of the public right-of-way, including pedestrians, people requiring mobility aids, bicyclists, and drivers and passengers of transit vehicles, trucks, automobiles and motorized cycles. It requires all MDOT employees involved in planning, design, construction, maintenance and operation of the State transportation system fully consider the needs of non-motorized travelers. It also requires all recipients of Act 51 Funds to adhere to the state’s “Complete Streets.” Yet another Michigan city has recognized the link between infrastructure and livability, and stepped up it’s commitment to safe infrastructure for walking and biking. Yesterday we heard from Traverse City Mayor Chris Bzdok, who wrote to inform us that the City adopted a new infrastructure policy in September — one that includes an emphasis on complete streets. The policy makes an expressed bias in favor of sidewalk and bike-way construction. See more over at http://www.ci.traverse-city.mi.us/Policy/InfrastructureStrategyPolicy.pdf The City will dedicate 10% of its infrastructure budget to sidewalks, bike-ways and other people-friendly infrastructure, the highest known percentage commitment of any municipality in the state of Michigan.
  
  
• All of our regional cycling organizations support a Share the Road initiative.
  The number of bicyclists in Traverse City has grown immensely over the last five years with both local and tourist sport cyclists and a growing number of local commuters sharing the roads and streets with a wide variety of motor vehicles. Cycling must be viewed both as a healthy form of exercise and as an alternative to motor vehicles for cross-town commutes and short trips to local stores and businesses. The New York Times recently highlighted the positive economic impact on Portland, Oregon from a "bicycle-friendly" infrastructure with companies such as Nike and Columbia Sportswear locating nearby. Indeed, with three bicycle shops within the Traverse City limits, three national cycling events held in the area in addition to several tours, an ever-growing hospitality industry, and a vibrant downtown culture, Traverse City is already looked at as an ideal place to ride a bicycle. However, just as every experienced cyclist can cite many examples of dangerous and aggressive motorist behavior so can many citizens point to examples of cyclists disobeying traffic laws and riding on sidewalks.
  
  
• Traverse City's cycling community is supported by the Cherry Capital Cycling Clubs Safety and Education Committee.
  The Safety and Education group is a partner with bike shops, law enforcement, and the city in creating a safe and smart environment for cyclists and motorists alike. One of our endeavors this spring will be to launch a mapping project that will track incidents and accidents involving cyclists. It is our hope that this data will help the city to correct problematic intersections and roadways that contribute to an inordinately large number of incidents and accidents. We have already identified 8th Street and Division as areas that require safety improvements.
  
  
• Traverse Alive, a local outdoor activity advocacy group has kicked off the 8 / 80 Initiative in Traverse City. http://TraverseAlive.com
  .All of the people who live and visit Traverse City have a right to access Traverse City via the conveyance of their choice. Every person from 8 years old to 80 years old,  deserves the choice to walk, or bike, and to cross all of our intersections safely. This is basic common sense. It is one of the foundations of "community." It is unreasonable to force me to get in a car, cab, or bus, in order to go to the market a few blocks away because our roads are unsafe. We believe that "community" needs to be mindful and considerate of all of us, hence 8/80. Every one of you has a friend or neighbor who would choose to move around town on their bicycle, if only it were safe to do so. Please consider our children and older adults in all of your considerations and decisions. Help to create a community that is intentionally inclusive of all of the people who live and visit here. The city has an obligation to people on crutches, and in wheel chairs ... everybody ... to assure that we all have access to our beautiful city.
  
  
• Riding a Bicycle Can Have the Following Side Effects:
  If you are thinking about replacing a car trip with a bicycle trip instead, it is important to know the repercussions of that choice. Read further for 8 side effects that your doctor may not have told you about.
  1) Weight loss If you are trying to get fat, then cycling might not be right for you. Cycling has been known to deplete calories stored in the body’s fat reserves, thus decreasing the gravitational pull on the affected body.
  2) Slowed breathing, Those who cycle regularly have reported more time needed for each breath during both exertion and periods of rest.
  3) Lower levels of stress, Those who commute to work by bicycle have been observed to be void of hostility, which some claim is an important survival tool in today's world.
  4) Punctuality, Being able to navigate around traffic, take shortcuts through places where cars can't fit, and choose between both car and bicycle infrastructure can often leave cyclists bored and twiddling their thumbs, waiting for the rest of their associates to show up at work or when meeting friends for lunch.
  5) Caffeine free mental stimulation, Those who cycle often attain natural alertness and thus are unable to justify a delicious morning cup of coffee.
  6) Feelings of Confidence, Those who power their own commute often feel that they can accomplish anything.
  7) It can be a gateway activity, Cycling can lead to the curiosity, exploration, and even a dependence on other natural, non-motorized activities.
  8) Extreme joy, Regular cyclists often have trouble understanding road rage, and thus often get left out of the popular pastime. Too much smiling can also add laugh lines to the face.
  

Most importantly, riding my bicycle is very personal. I choose to try to incorporate healthy choices into my lifestyle. Riding my bicycle is an important choice for me. I live here. I pay taxes here. I deserve to be able to ride my bicycle on city streets safely. My life, and my peddle powered vehicle deserves the same consideration as any motor vehicle and its driver.

Cycling is healthier. Motor vehicle emissions represent 31 percent of total carbon dioxide, 81 percent of carbon monoxide, and 49 percent of nitrogen oxides released in the U.S. (The Green Commuter, a publication of the Clean Air Council). A short, four-mile round trip by bicycle keeps about 15 pounds of pollutants out of the air we breathe. (WorldWatch Institute). According to the Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey, 25 percent of all trips are made within a mile of the home, 40 percent of all trips are within two miles of the home, and 50 percent of the working population commutes five miles or less to work. A Rodale Press survey found that Americans want to have the opportunity to bike to work instead of driving, with 40 percent of those surveyed saying they would commute by bike if safe facilities were available.

It is well past time for Traverse City to consider our town as a "community of people" with diverse interests and needs and more than just a collection of roadways. From a personal standpoint my frustration is high as I attempt to ride around town and see how little acknowledgment there is for bikes and their riders. We're needing a bit more these days, especially in light of the current gas price situation and the long-standing nature of Michigan's economy. The time is right to create change. Our municipalities need to acknowledge the importance of a non-oil infrastructure. At the very minimum, the city will be held to task for creating safe and accessible routes connecting to and through the many locales that make up our community.

I implore each of you to honor the request of cyclists to make Traverse City a safe place for cyclist of all ages to get around town and go about our daily business. Thousands of others feel the same way that I do. We are tired of studies. Excessive excuses for ignoring our needs are no longer tolerated. We are have grown weary of waiting. The time is now. It is never wrong to do the right thing. Make 8th street safe for me to ride my bicycle across town on this spring. We will all thank you for your consideration. If you ignore us, we will hold you accountable.

Also read the Mayors overview at: Plan for TC