A first draft, it will serve as the end matter for the chapter on NBG Anchor Cities from NBG Blueprint, How We Will Make the National Bicycle Greenway Real

—————–

In the end, it is our NBG Anchor Cities that will make it possible for us to turn our National Bicycle Greenway into a money maker across many different levels. We hope that you’ve been able to see how the NBG Biking Report Cards we will use to describe them, can be a crucially important service for our cyclists and for businesses alike. This, as they cause cash registers to ring, greatly empower the visiting cyclist and generate a substantial measure of revenue for our nonprofit NBG. Monies we can run back in to the business of increasing the numbers of people who ride a bike.

As a publication, merchants, dining establishments and lodging purveyors in each city will all have a very big interest in being seen in our NBG Biking Report Cards. Notable proceeds will be generated from the display ads and listings we will sell in them. Nor do those who purchase space have to be in any of these locales. Here, those buyers of advertising interested in being seen as quality of life business concerns will want to participate just so they can have a presence.

Produced on a yearly basis, our NBG Biking Report Cards will provide employment for a staff of people that can grow and grow.

All of this will be led by the NBG Anchor Cities Director we put in place. This person will coordinate with the various city Public Works departments and with our Mayors’ Ride Director so that all parties are putting their best possible foot forward for our annual NBG Day (Mayors’ Ride) visits. He or she will also advocate for the best possible infrastructure that our Downtown Greenway Directors (DGD) will be calling for.

The DGD will have as their mission the purpose of getting cyclists across each of our Anchor Cities on a route that best celebrates them. Patterned after the 10-mile long Indianapolis Cultural Trail, they will be making use of the Virtual Tours we will establish and fine-tune across them first. These tours will connect, at their end points, to the route that leads to the next Anchor City in our program

In terms of advocating for best possible route alignments, an example might be in order. For cyclists to get from one point of interest to another, there will often be a cheap way to get there or a more elegant alternative. Let’s say that to get from Joe’s Diner to a must see cathedral, there is a lot a few blocks away that could make for a handy shortcut. It could even be beautified with street art and street furniture. It could serve as a rest area for downtown travelers.

To run such a path, however, would involve the expense of earth-grading and landscaping as well as permit licensures. How it will effect the neighbors and businesses along the way will also have to be taken into account. Our Downtown Greenway Directors will have researched all of the considerations at hand and make sure all options, with the help of our Anchor Cities Director, are on the table when we present our plan, first to city officials and then into the public at large.