Interview with Veronica O. Davis, P.E. by April Economides

Economic justice, let alone environmental justice, is rarely mentioned in the bicycling scene, let alone understood, and even more rarely acted upon. So it was refreshing to hear Veronica O. Davis, P.E. speak on the Women’s Bicycling Summit panel at the League of American Bicyclists Summit in D.C. in March and talk pointedly about these issues. In addition to being a civil engineer (rare among women), a black female civil engineer (even rarer), and co-founder and co-principal of the company Nspiregreen, she’s an advocate for getting more black women in D.C. on bikes. I reached out to her to learn more about her work and, in particular, the role she sees business and economics playing in the bicycling world.
 
AE: How did you get involved in bicycling, both personally and professionally?

VOD: Personally, I fell into biking. Between the gas prices increasing, the introduction of the Capital Bikeshare program, and investing all of my savings into my business, I started biking to save money. I recently went car free as part of the “trade my car for a bike” at the inaugural Tour de Fat hosted by New Belgium Brewing Company. I was able to purchase a really nice bike as part of the winnings and I have to document living car-free for the next year at dizzyluv25.tumblr.com.
 
Professionally, I started my career at the Federal Highway Administration on the Air Quality Team. One of the programs I worked on was the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program, which provided funding for activities that got people out of their cars to reduce air emissions. Many of the programs funded were for pedestrian and bike improvements.
 
AE: Yes, I noticed you’ve worked for both the public and private sector. What made your decide to start your own company?

VOD: We started Nspiregreen because we wanted to work for a company that shared our core values. I wanted more control over how I spend my time. Most importantly, I wanted the freedom to be creative and innovative. Taking the leap was scary at first, but I made the right decision.

AE: What does your business do, in general and in regards to bicycling?

VOD: Nspiregreen LLC is a sustainability and environmental consulting company. We specialize in bringing the people element back into civil infrastructure projects. Three attributes that set Nspiregreen apart are: One, through the creation of our Listen, Engage, Analyze, Feedback (L.E.A.F) model, we seek to translate technical data to communities in a way that allows them to participate in a sustainable and meaningful way. Two, we integrate technical expertise with our passion for community by providing broad based strategies that are inclusive of community for the environmental and transportation sector. Three, we “Nspire” sustainable growth through our personal commitment to being good stewards of the environment and allow our walk to serve as a testimony to others who think “being green” is not attainable for them. We walk the sustainability walk through our company practices and policies. For example, we share office space with a variety of other small businesses, offer telecommuting, provide bike share as well as shared car memberships to employees, and recycle.
 
Related specifically to biking, we work at the grassroots level to promote biking as a form of sustainable and affordable transportation and linking it with other modes of transportation. We are developing two products. One is aimed at helping “newbies” become more comfortable with biking in DC. The other product will assist all cyclists with commuting to work. Since we are still in the development phase and I can’t go into too much detail, but stay tuned.

AE: You are based in D.C. What’s it like being a bike advocate in a city without statehood?

VOD: It’s challenging not having statehood. Congress is making decisions everyday that affect our lives yet we have no vote and we barely have a voice. For example, watching the Congress play politics with the transportation bill was very frustrating.
 
AE: What do you think about the bike share program in D.C.?

VOD: I LOVE the bike share program. I have been a fan, supporter, and agitator since day one. I advocated for more stations east of the Anacostia River, which is a predominately black community. I do hope that the usage in these communities will increase, as more people understand how the program works and the connectivity benefits.
 
AE: What are your main goals for the U.S. bicycling movement and what type of work are you doing in this regard?

VOD: My main goal for the bicycling movement is to increase the number of black women who cycle for transportation, recreation, health and wellness through Black Women Bike founded in 2011 to get more black women bicycling for transportation and recreation. I really hope that black women can see the economic benefits of biking as a mode of transportation. I also hope it encourages more women of all ethnicities to create biking related businesses.

Q & A with Toronto Bicycle Maven Yvonne Bambrick

On a recent trip to Toronto, I had the pleasure of spending time with bicycling advocate Yvonne Bambrick. Yvonne is a bicycling celebrity around town, largely because of her role as the former (and founding) executive director of the Toronto Cyclists Union, the city’s primary bicycling advocacy organization.

In that role, she increased awareness of bicycling and the responsibilities of all to safely share the road, successfully engaged the provincial Ministry of Transportation to update the Ontario Driver’s Handbook to include bicycle and pedestrian safety, grew the union’s membership to 1,200, won a hard-fought bike lane battle on a major downtown arterial road, launched Toronto’s first mobile bicycle service station, and fielded more than 500 media interviews, among other accomplishments.

As a car-free bicycle commuter, she sees first-hand the economic benefits bicycling brings local business districts, and now is the director of two Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) where she brings her urban commuter and placemaking sensibilities to a traditionally parking-centric role.

It’s always exciting to meet fellow bicycling advocates who have also/currently work for business associations, so I sat down with her to ask her some questions:

AE: Anyone visiting your website quickly learns you are a multi-talented woman, involved in many aspects of Toronto’s bicycling and business scene. Please give us the skinny on what you’re up to these days.

YB: Well thanks, I really enjoy the various types of work that I do – they are all connected in some way. For the past year now, I’ve been working as the part-time coordinator for both the Kensington Market and Forest Hill Village BIAs. I also continue to speak and occasionally teach about the benefits and politics of cycling transportation, and work as a documentary and portrait photographer. Working so closely with this enormous variety of business owners is allowing me to gain unique insights into the needs, interests, misconceptions and concerns of multiple generations of independent merchants and entrepreneurs on a variety of subjects.

AE: It’s impressive you’re the only staff person for both BIAs – that must be a lot on your plate. What kind of work do you do for the two organizations, and is any of it bicycling related?

YB: I work on a number of different projects simultaneously – from the development of marketing materials and grant applications, to infrastructure repair to the production of events. In Kensington Market I’ve just wrapped up several months of community consultation around the frequency and type of neighborhood street closure events, and in Forest Hill Village we’re planning to begin the underground utility repairs required prior to a full streetscape redesign that will make the neighborhood more pedestrian and bicycle friendly.

I’m also connecting with city transportation staff about the addition of five much needed on-street bike corrals in Kensington Market. With so many customers and visitors arriving by bike, and limited sidewalk space to add more of Toronto’s signature post and ring bike racks, the market has struggled for years with inadequate bike parking. When combined with the sculptural bike parking at the top of the market that I project managed in 2009, we’ll have added about 60 spots once the corrals are in. I think both neighborhoods, and in particular the next generation of business owners, are beginning to better understand that bikes mean business.

AE: What additional bicycle initiatives do you want to see Toronto business districts and businesses adopt?

YB: I’d love to see a Bike Friendly Business campaign take root. The City has been holding the Bike Friendly Business Awards for the past 20 years, but we don’t yet have any type of citywide ‘bike friendly’ designation that businesses of all sizes can strive for. I’d also like to see a greater uptake on the creation of secure indoor bike parking, in particular in larger office buildings and shopping centers. I hear stories fairly often about there still being rules against bringing bicycles inside certain buildings for no apparent reason. That’s quite a deterrent from riding, in particular in areas where on-street parking is limited or non-existent. Outreach to property managers and owners could probably help resolve this issue.

AE: Toronto’s 2009 study of the popular Bloor Street business district showed pedestrians and bicyclists spend more money in the district than drivers, especially those walkers and bicyclists who live nearby. What lessons can other cities learn from Bloor Street?

YB: The results of the Bloor St. study were hugely significant, primarily because this was the first study to be undertaken in Toronto that showed very clearly that bicyclists and pedestrians are good for business. It completely refuted the widely held belief that most customers (money) arrive by car, and that car parking trumps all.

This past century has seen the automobile become so culturally ingrained as a symbol of status, wealth, freedom and sex appeal, and our cities so completely transformed in order to accommodate the swift throughput and easy movement of motor vehicles, that it is no wonder most people believe the hype. Thankfully, this is starting to change. What we saw on Bloor St., and I believe similar statistics would emerge in other comparably dense, street-level commercial districts, is that many customers arrive by various means other than the automobile.

I believe that ‘consumers’ (citizens) are also increasingly interested in supporting local small businesses – the shops down the road that you can walk or bike to, where you get to know the owner or employees, and can see that you’re supporting the local economy and contributing to the vibrancy of your community.

AE: What parting words of wisdom can you share on why bikes are good for business?

YB: The less money people spend on the purchase, maintenance, storage, fines, insurance, gas, repairs, etcetera of a motor vehicle, the more money they have to invest in the local economy!

Fun Facts About Yvonne Bambrick:

One of her favorite…

…Places in Toronto: Kensington Market & Toronto Islands

…Foods: Picnic

…Musicians: Jennifer Castle/Castlemusic

…Famous people: Strombo

…Words: Balance

…Bikes: My Batavus workhorse

…Artists: BGL

…Writers: Momentum & Dandyhorse magazine contributors