The Creative Coasts blogspot is Savannahs sounding board for local thinkers, innovators, wanderers and wonderers. Guest bloggers share their thoughts, opinions and creative noodling from all over the map. This weeks blog is from Sean Brandon, director of Mobility & Parking Services for the City of Savannah. Read on to find out how Sean thinks “creative growth” advocates can bolster their positioning….
In the discussion about creative cities and the policies that may create them, I’ve been struck by the arguments that have often been made that it is an elitist concept that doesn’t particularly benefit anyone except a relatively few people who can afford the comforts that come with being a creative city. I’d like to offer a small analogy that I hope will create more discussion.
I’m sure you have, at various points, seen someone biking through a busy street that seems was never meant for a bicycle, usually a four to six lane road where the actual speed is fifteen miles above the posted speed limit. As you struggle to keep pace with your fellow drivers you look over and see a person bicycling either in the travel lane or more likely on the narrow shoulder. What is that crazy person doing? is a somewhat natural response for most people. As it turns out, many bicyclists are either in poverty or close to it. Poverty doesn’t give you the comfort of finding a job within walking distance, and in many cases, even a robust mass transit system can often leave gaps for people trying to get to jobs that are at non-business hours.
That leaves many with the choices of either finding a cheap car that will usually cost more later in maintenance, trying to find relatives or friends who can transport you to and from work on time and reliably, or finding a another form of transportation that can get you there (bike, scooter, etc.).
The bicycle is low cost, low maintenance, and easy to use. It makes sense that someone who can’t afford a reliable car would use a bicycle/scooter. This shouldn’t be faulted, it should be supported. Unfortunately, many of our best job centers are located in areas that are inhospitable to bicycles and pedestrians. They were created on the assumption that anyone working there should have a car. This assumption has in many cases contributed to the very poverty that we find intractable today.
I have found repeatedly that the person that takes their bicycle on an inhospitable street is trying to do the very thing that many complain those in poverty don’t do: get to and from their job. This forgotten population of bicyclists doesnt show up at planning meetings and often don’t get involved in the struggle to make communities more bicycle friendly (they simply don’t have time). But they will often see the greatest good in a community that makes moving though it on a bicycle easier.
If I have a criticism of the culture trying to develop a creative place it is that the benefits are often not highlighted or taken advantage of. There are examples like these across the spectrum of policy discussions that I have seen on what it takes to make a creative city. The benefits go far beyond a casual few and can help large sections of our local population in everything from education to quality of life. My hope is that you can use examples like this and others in future policy discussions and debates.
Sean
Hi Sean and Creative Coast! While spot-on for Savannah, this sentence made me chuckle when I thought about Boston, where we live now: “As it turns out, many bicyclists are either in poverty or close to it.”
Try telling that to the countless cyclists in Boston who have blown thousands of dollars on top-of-the-line bicycles, matching shorts and those itty bitty backpacks-o-water. Their gear likely costs more than some people’s homes. Ok, maybe now I’m overstating things.
Betsy, Savannah and Boston are two completely different socio-economic places, but you make a good point.
Sean, you reminded me of the reality of folks in poverty using bicycles to get around. I see all kinds (students, professionals, artists, lower income, homeless, joy-riders, tourists, etc.) ride by my condo on Lincoln St. all the time. It’s easy to forget that many cannot afford a vehicle or the transit system does get them where they need to go.
Hi Sean,
I would like to acknowledge that because someone is riding a bicycle, it doesn’t automatically put them into a sector of poverty. I have a bicycle and a car, and I have friends in many major metropolitan cities of affluent income brackets that simply prefer the experience of a bicycle commute to a car commute. Riding a bicycle around a town not designed for bicycles forces a rider to be creative. I catch a lot of complaints from motorists and pedestrians about the ‘wild’ bicycle traffic in Savannah. When in fact, I believe the ‘wild’ is simply misidentified creative mobility. Bicyclists as a whole form a community, a community of individuals that can openly speak to pedestrians as they ride by, a community of individuals that pay attention to road/property damage, a community of individuals that can quickly penetrate congested traffic, and a community of individuals that can navigate a beautiful city while physically experiencing all that it has or doesn’t have to offer. Bicycling opens the door for variety in the commute, rather than the commute determining one’s agenda. I too agree that it is the bicycle experience that highlights the best parts of a city (and around here it really is the opportunity to access the community and talk to people). Besides, in Savannah the climate simply beckons for one to get out there and ride. Maybe in time, we can see entire streets/paths in Historic Savannah designated as trail paths/5mph or below, but until then I’ll embrace my commutes while waving to the neighbors, stopping for a second to catch up, then moving along.