Bicycling is good for the community

Cycling Tourists at kiosk in front of Welcome Center

The other day, two people stopped in to the Welcome Center to ask about bicycle trails,  one of them was from Kalamazoo and one from Jackson.  They both assumed that Marshall would have a great trail for bikes like their respective towns did, which was disappointingly not the case.  More and more articles are being written on the success of small towns becoming “trail towns.”   Being a “Trail Town” is starting to take off for small communities after the success of the 185 mile, Great Allegheny Passage that passes through 17 small communities, which are now doing exceptionally well.

Michigan is working on establishing multiple state wide trails to encourage biking tourism throughout the state.  Marshall resides right in the middle of one of these trails, the proposed Route 1 South Haven to Port Huron “Great Lake-to-Lake Trails.”  The trail is slated to have an official inaugural ride in September 2019 bringing several thousand riders through the area.  However, Calhoun County has one of the least established areas of this proposed trail.  Although Marshall has been working on providing outdoor recreational opportunities with the creation of the Riverwalk and several new parks in addition to kayaking, it still lacks safe bicycle routes, especially through the downtown area.

As bike friendly communities and businesses become more popular, the data on these efforts show that it is a great investment.  And it doesn’t need to be large scale, expensive improvements either.  *76.6% of riders said the were more likely to visit a business that has bike racks or storage.  Larger efforts are also being made by a variety of businesses and organizations to make cycling in Michigan more attractive.  Amtrak just announced they now have specific cars that will allow riders to bring their bikes on board, making it easier for them to bike long distances and then have a way back to their vehicle  https://www.amtrak.com/bring-your-bicycle-onboard.  There is also an ever-growing list of hotels that allow you to bring your bike to your room or provide a locked storage for your bike http://www.bikabout.com/lodging/ although Michigan has not made the list yet.

Marshall is not only set up to be a great cycling destination, we are very unique in the fact that we boast a huge historic district and already have a well marked walking tour in place so adding a cycling option with interactive phone app would increase the demographic of visitors as long as there were amenities to support cycling tourist.

Recently, the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation awarded $255,000.00 funding for Michigan Trails to support the Great Lake-to-Lake Trail so now is the time to get involved so we as a community do not miss out on the opportunity to roll out the red carpet for the riders in September 2019 and beyond.

*The Trail Town Guide, Revitalizing rural communities with bike trail tourism.