No gas required – promoting Non-Motorized Transportation in Sheboygan County

Winter is obviously here, and admittedly there are only a few of us die-hards left out there pedalin’ to our destinations. For me, I’m still spinning to work almost each day, but, I have to say I’m whimping out a bit when it comes to running other errands.

For most of us, save the really die-hards, that is to be expected in our climate. But, in the warmer eightnine months of the year, have the monies and energy invested through the Non-Motorized Transportation Pilot Program (NMTPP) as well as our county multi-use trails made a difference? I am happy to say that answer is a resounding yes.

According to the American Community Survey, a yearly survey from the U.S. Census Bureau of metropolitan areas, the rates of bicycling and walking for daily non-recreational trips in Sheboygan increased from 4.2 percent in 2007 to 6 percent in 2008.

This finding supports our local data collection efforts as well. Since early 2008, we have been counting use and administering intercept surveys at 20 sites throughout the county. Comparing the warmer months in 2008 to 2009, we find a 9.7 percent increase in non-motorized traffic at 10 count sites in metropolitan Sheboygan.

These increases have all happened with a fragmented network and with only a few of our 27 infrastructure projects completed. It will be exciting to see what happens when a few of our larger network projects, such as the Union Pacific rails-to-trails project (est. 2011) or the Taylor Drive pathway (est. 2012), are completed.

The Sheboygan County NMTPP has also brought forth the discussion of how much economic impact we are having through the program as well as the benefit of our local recreational trail assets such as the Old Plank Road Trail (OPRT) or the Interurban Trail (IUT).

At a macro-level, a recent North Carolina DOT study has shown bicycle/pedestrian projects have a 9 to 1 return on investment. A British study has shown bicycle/pedestrian projects put more people to work per dollar spent than highway projects due to their labor intensiveness and lack of automation. A Realtors Association study has shown homes located near trails sell for 9 percent more than similar counterparts and they sell 20 percent quicker. A different Realtors Association study also shows 90 percent of respondents believe communities should be designed so we can bicycle or walk more and drive less, and that 80 percent believe we should redevelop our existing urban areas rather than building new, expensive, infrastructure on the fringe. The long-term costs savings from an infrastructure, health, and efficiency standpoint of the latter two statistics are immense if they become reality.

At the micro or local level, many of the NMTPP projects are being designed by local and regional engineering firms. I imagine, due to the costs of mobilization and past precedent, the construction bids of these projects will be won locally or regionally as well. Furthermore, when cost-effective, many of our purchases have been made locally or at least regionally. Our bike racks were made in Wisconsin using domestic steel. Our print materials have all been locally ordered when possible. And, many of our promotional items have all been locally or regionally purchased.

To help us understand our local situation even better, we conducted our first-ever trail intercept survey focused on economic issues. The 20-question surveys took place on the OPRT and the IUT between late July and late October in 2009. We received 555 responses. The results are quite interesting. All of the results can be seen on our Website (below), but here are a few of the interesting tidbits.

Twenty-three percent of the respondents stated they use the trails for transportation purposes. Fifty-three percent are daily users. Fifty-two percent of respondents spend money while using the trails with 23 percent of those dollars being spent in Sheboygan. Seventy-eight percent plan to spend money on products related to biking or walking in the next year while 84 percent spent money on products in the last year. Ninety-two percent of users were bicyclists or walkers while the other 8 percent were mopeders on the OPRT. Over 10 percent of users were from outside Sheboygan County.

Based on all our surveys and counts, we conservatively estimate there are 55,000 yearly users on the OPRT and IUT during the warmer nine months of the year. Taking the average range of expected expenditure for the 78 percent of those survey respondents stating they will spend money next year on equipment, lodging, clothing, etc. provides a minimum of $6.1 million in investment, hopefully in Sheboygan County. Of the 53 percent of daily users, roughly 21 percent of that group spends money daily. Of the 10 percent of users from outside of Sheboygan County, 80 percent spend money in Sheboygan County on their visit with 12 percent spending money on lodging.

Investment in facilities like our trails pays large dividends in terms of making our communities more attractive places to work, live, and play in. They attract local and outside dollars. They help in retaining and recruiting quality employees and businesses. They help make our population healthier. They have a positive economic benefit. I may be a bit biased, but is there a negative impact?

I hope to see you out there soon! As always, for more detail on all of our projects, you can visit the county’s Web site www.co. sheboygan.wi.us and navigate to the Planning and Resources Department’s NMTPP link.