“Recycle (the) biking community’s positive energy,” says Tom Silvestri, president and publisher of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, one of Virginia’s most conservative newspapers.
Silvestri “gets” how embracing bicycling has brought international reknown and economic success to cities like Portland OR, Boulder CO, and Long Beach CA, at relatively very low cost. (An oft-cited statistic is that Portland’s entire bike network was built for the cost of one mile of urban freeway.)
The Long Beach comparison is especially apt, as Long Beach shares Richmond’s socio-economic diversity — and the need for low-cost transportation, recreation and exercise, along with lifestyle amenities demanded by New Economy workers.
Virginia and Richmond are top-rated for business, cost of living, and lifestyle amenities too. What they need is a cheerleading squad. And Richmond’s bike community is organized, mobilized, and ready to promote their city for when the world comes to visit in 2015.
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