A recent article cited that the single biggest obstacle to recruiting tech workers to Denver is its lack of good bike lanes, the head of the city’s downtown business association said this month. That’s big, and Royal Oak City Leaders and Local Business should be paying attention.
Tami Door a cheerleader for the inner city as president of the Downtown Denver Partnership for eight years grew up here in Flint, Mich. and Detroit.
We are the number one destination for millennials in the country. Our staff met with a lot of tech companies in Denver and we asked them what we can do to make companies stay here and come here. You know what they said was the biggest obstacle on getting employees to Denver?
The number one thing they want is bike lanes. Ten years ago we never would have thought that walk ability or bike lanes would be economic development tools.
Sounds like we should have hung on to Tami and not let her slip out of MI. Our City Leaders need to wake up to the ever changing dynamics of why young people choose to live where they do. Many Royal Oak leaders have blinders on, thinking that what we have is forever, it isn't. Young people are moving away, and we need to curb that by paying attention to what other progressive cities are doing.
Find out what's happening in Royal Oakwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
We have clamored a lot at The Urbane Life about how the City of Royal Oak operates downtown, specifically the parking meters. What if we Reinvented Downtown Royal Oak.
NO Parking Downtown, Force people to use the Parking Structures. Create Biking Lanes, Pedestrian Walking, Increase Outdoor Cafes, Create Street Art and make Downtown Royal Oak an Urban Environment on par with Austin TX.
Find out what's happening in Royal Oakwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Good news for bike activists:
Making a safe place on streets for cyclists (and pedestrians) boosts sales for the small businesses in the area.
To radical, not if you want to be a progressive, active and alive city.
