City of Lansing

Mayor’s Task Force on Walking & Bicycling

1^st Report – December 1, 2006

          The Lansing Mayor’s Task Force on Walking & Bicycling was officially announced by Mayor Virg Bernero at a press conference in front of City Hall on October 20, 2006. The individuals listed below have been invited to serve on the task force, and most have accepted and have participated in the first two planning sessions. (Those who have not yet accepted or participated are noted below with an asterisk.)

Responses to the Two Intro Questions - October 17, 2006 Intro Meeting

On October 17, 2006 the Lansing  Mayor’s Task Force on Walking & Bicycling held a preliminary meeting to begin a process of collaboratively developing recommendations in response to the focus question:  What do we need to do, together, to make Lansing a walk- and bike-friendly community?

As an initial step toward addressing that question, participants introduced themselves by sharing what they were currently during toward that goal, and what they wished they could be doing if they had the ability to do so.   These responses were then used, in part, to trigger a more in-depth process on November 9, 2006.

Question 1

What are you, or your organization, doing now to make Lansing a walk- and bike-friendly community?

• The “Smart Commute” Program
• Bike classes
• Employing a more “global thinking” planner
• Creating this task force
• Changing the thinking of the engineering/transportation community; e.g. realizing that “right of way” does not just apply to motorized vehicles
• Bike unit of Lansing Police Department
• Pro-active policing on the River Trail, downtown, and in problem areas.
• Streetscapes; the bridge in Old Town
• Meeting with the North Precinct to increase patrols along north River Trail
• Working to extend the River Trail
• Advocating for state and federal funding, and state policy support of Safe Routes to School
• “Four corners collaborative” / Interfaith Trust Fund money for more bike racks.
• Identifying, creating bike routes on the east side
• Working with businesses to be more bike-friendly.
• Piloting the “Bike Jam,” a skill-building and safety program, to be repeated next spring.
• Programming in parks; some geared to moms with strollers
• Through MDCH, physical activity program grants to local health departments, a conference on designing healthy livable communities, and the Safe Routes to School program.
• Non-motorized Task Force for the Regional Planning Commission
• Long-range Planning Task Force
• Through the Michigan League of Bicyclists, getting more people to ride safely more often; updating the vehicle code to make it more bike-friendly; local advocacy; and promoting bike parking for events.
• Contact Sensitive Solutions—a planning process to create more bike/pedestrian facilities as part of a revitalization strategy for downtown.
• Within the Grand Vision Task Force, which will redesign the riverfront area, ensuring that walking and biking are important considerations.
• Consumers Power allowing use of its property for trails.
• Ingham Regional Medical Center’s five wellness programs through the Community Benefit office.
• Playmakers’ involvement in Community Partners in Health, and promoting health and fitness programs in the area.

Question 2

What do you wish you could do toward that goal (that you can’t do now)?

• Change the road system and other infrastructure;
• Spend more money on sidewalks, redoing parks.
• Greater coordination/collaboration with public safety—collaboration with schools, police, etc.
• In planning processes, consider walking and biking needs at the outset rather than at the end, in a compromise with motorist needs.
• Getting residents for push for these values
• More police officers on bikes.
• Promoting the prevention values of walking/biking, i.e. preventing cardiac illness and stroke, possibly through the testimony of survivors who wish they had been more physically active.
• Establish a network of bike rental outlets throughout the city so that southwest Lansing, which the River Trail doesn’t touch, could be better served. 
• Develop Consumers Power right of way as a trail network
• Merge Regional Planning Commission Task Force and long Range Planning Task Force with the Comprehensive Plan.
• Complete Street resolution:  a commitment that streets will be designed for all users; assessment and improvement of roads.
• Change the mindset of road users (motorists and cyclists) from one of contention and anger to one of mutual respect.  A “share the road” philosophy.
• A bike share program sponsored by employers.
• Walkability audits, for example around the stadium area of Michigan Avenue.
• Make change happen faster through MDOT.
• Change how engineers and designers perceive roads.
• Recognize the importance of multi-modal systems.
• Stronger relationship between MDOT and city planning
• Information and awareness of transportation alternatives.
• Interconnectivity with existing outlying trails.
• Changing our thinking as a “car community.”

Report of Findings - November 9, 2006 Planning Session

On November 9, 2006, 27 people participated in a facilitated action planning session to begin organizing the work of the Lansing Mayor’s Task Force on Walking & Bicycling. The purpose of the session was to generate answers to the following Focus Question:   What do we need to do to make Lansing a walk and bike friendly community?

The report below synthesizes information from the early open dialogue portion of the session with the action items that resulted from a structured exercise to answer the focus question.

The findings from this report will be reviewed at the next meeting of the group, on December 6, 2006.  At that time the Task Force will also consider and give input on structuring future meetings, developing a “who, what, when” work plan for accomplishing the task force goals, and forming sub-committees.

PROCESS

The “trigger” information were used to kickoff the conversation included:

·        Review of comments offered at the October 17, 2006 Introductory Meeting, where people stated what they were already doing to contribute towards making Lansing a walk and bike friendly community, and what they wish they could do but currently cannot.

·        Jessica Yorko also reminded people about a few other existing programs and resources, such as the People for Transportation Options group and the League of American Bicyclists Bicycle Friendly Communities Award.

Following this “trigger” information, participants engaged in an Open Dialogue about the opportunities and challenges, what people find surprising about the situation, and what they like and what bothers them about the current situation. The “threads” of this dialogue where tracked on large note paper. Finally, participants were led through a structured exercise to answer the Focus Question, where they were divided into groups of three where they brainstormed answers to the Focus Question.  These answers were presented and then clustered, named, and further discussed in order to determine the preliminary recommendations of the group. Recommendations were not prioritized. 

PARTICIPANTS

The following people participated in this session:

SYNTHESIS OF OPEN-ENDED DIALOGUE AND CLUSTERED RECOMMENDATIONS

For the open-ended dialogue, the facilitator urged participants to think about the existing challenges and opportunities to make Lansing a walk and bike friendly community. The facilitator then asked a series of “summary questions” to help the group revisit the information that could help answer the Focus Question.  Following the summary questions, participants were divided into groups of three, and each group then contributed a number of answers to the Focus Question (What do we need to do to make Lansing a walk and bike friendly community?). 

Below is a summary that synthesizes the ideas and recommendations given by participants. Details of the discussions and recommendations around each of these main categories is articulated in the following pages.

1. CHANGE INDIVIDUALS’ THINKING AND PRACTICES ABOUT WALKING AND BICYCLING THROUGH EDUCATION, OUTREACH, PUBLIC RELATIONS.

2. INTEGRATE BIKE/PED CONSIDERATIONS INTO PLANNING AND DESIGN OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT BY WORKING WITH COMMUNITY LEADERS, STAKEHOLDERS, AND ENGINEERS.

3. INCREASE COMMUNITY RESOURCES TO MAKE LANSING A WALK/BIKE FRIENDLY COMMUNITY IN AN EQUITABLE WAY, CONSISTENT WITH OTHER GOALS FOR THE CITY, BY TAPPING INTO NEW OPPORTUNITIES AND LEVERAGING EXISTING RESOURCES.

·              How do we overcome attitudes/stigma that ONLY people who can’t afford cars walk, bike, and take the bus?

·              How do we help people think of walking and bicycling not only for recreation, but also for transportation?

·              How do we convince people about the importance and many health impacts of reducing single-occupant vehicle trips--physical activity, emotional well-being, air quality, etc--and motivate them to try “active travel”?

·              How do we convince people that there are many opportunities to walk and bicycle in Lansing?

·              How do we disseminate information on safe/responsible walking and bicycling; and how do we educate motorists about their responsibilities to walkers and bicyclists?

·              How do we overcome the common attitude that all bicycling should happen on the sidewalk?

Related opportunities that were mentioned by participants in the open dialogue:

·              Find ways to increase safe bicycling understanding and practices amongst people who currently bicycle, and amongst police officers.

·              Utilize more of the great educational resources that are already available—like the LMB’s “What Every Michigan Bicyclist Should Know”; MDCH’s “Getting Started with Bicycle Commuting”; Smart Commute website; implement practices behind Community Based Social Marketing, etc.

·              Focused media messaging--- working with TV, newspapers, radio to accomplish changes in thinking and practices described above.

·              Launch a “DO campaign” which posts messages in key areas where people make a choice to be more or less active, and encourage them to make the active choice (DO take the stairs; DO ride your bike; DO open the door using the handle rather than a button.)

·              Include bicyclist’s education information in driver’s education classes or in elementary school programs.

·              Ask police officers and fire fighters to help teach kids about bicycling and walking safety rules (b/c they tend to interact a lot with children in schools and at events).

·              Work with big box stores to encourage bicycle registration and education.

Action items created in group brainstorm, in the category of Education/Outreach/PR:

·              Create & distribute a better city/regional non-motorized, destination-based, user-friendly asset map.

·              Conduct media and marketing campaigns to educate/encourage pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists about rights and responsibilities.

·              Create a special days/situations where elected officials attempt to get around by bike, foot, wheelchair.

·              Bicycle safety education in grade school and driver’s ed.

·              Educate businesses on economic benefits of promoting bike & pedestrian facilities & avenues to and from businesses.

·              Work with community resource officers to offer pedestrian safety training in elementary schools.