Worse than a crime, a mistake: bikes over first responders

Rightly so, the Mayor of Minneapolis, R.T. Rybak is being roundly criticized for hiring a "bike coordinator" at the same time the City is laying off 10 firefighters ("Despite fiscal woes, city aims to hire bike coordinator", Star Tribune).  The bike coordinator (at an annual salary of up to $84,000) "will serve as the point person for bicycle and pedestrian issues on transportation projects."

Criticism along the lines of "misplaced priorities" (firefighters union) and  "a 'tempting' target" (city council President) are valid and on point.  However, as the cliche goes, it's worse than a crime, it is a mistake.

Under Mayor Rybak, Minneapolis has sought to position itself as a "cool city", referring not to our northerly climate but to the idea that we can use bicycles to cure global warming and to attract the creative class of worker, said to be the future.

As a result, Minneapolis tends to do well in rankings of "knowledge workers" (No. 2 for midsize cities, after Madison, WI) and the ability to attract young, educated professionals.  The City does poorly in rankings of business climate and the cost of doing business (ranking 13th out of 22 large cities).

Minneapolis has fundamentally misunderstood the problem it faces.  It struggles not with attracting young, educated workers but with attracting employers willing to hire them.  As of June 2011, Minneapolis ranked 51st among cities for unemployment, all the more damning with the top 5 spots being taken by other Midwestern cities:  Bismarck, Lincoln, Fargo, Sioux Falls and Rapid City.  Cities in our region took 8 of the 10 ten spots.  Other cities in Minnesota and the region took 17 of the top 32 spots.

Consider the situation from the point of view of a potential employer.  Bikes over firefighters sends the signal that the City places recreation and "smart growth" fashion as a higher priority over basic protections for life and property.  If you own a company, where would you risk your assets?

In this case, boring is better.  The cities that are succeeding are those that place an emphasis on the basics:  good infrastructure and competitive taxes and cost structures.

Forbes columnist Joel Kotkin writes that to succeed in this economic climate,

"City governments will need to shift their priorities away from ephemera and concentrate on such basics as improving schools, promoting entrepreneurial growth and nurturing sustainable middle class neighborhoods."

A "back to basics" movement may not win national awards, but it will, ultimately, carry the day.