"There is enough real estate in our core city. The infrastructure’s already there. Why further tax yourself by trying to extend infrastructure?"

Bottom-line thinking about civic resources from Mayor AC Wharton of Memphis, Tennessee, who was asked "why he’s been such a supporter of protected bike infrastructure in a city that, before he came to office, didn’t have a single bike lane."

Real Talk: Why the Mayor of Memphis Is Building Protected Bike Lanes, by Michael Andersen (Streetsblog USA)

 ... Our favorite moment from this conversation is in the short video clip above, when Wharton took a moment for some Real Talk about the tradeoffs he faces as an allocator of civic resources.

There is enough real estate in our core city. The infrastructure’s already there. Why further tax yourself by trying to extend infrastructure, sewers, schools, whatever, into areas rather than just take advantage of the beautiful facilities and the beautiful land that you have already? … It is much more cost-feasible for me to fix up Broad Avenue, Madison, with some stripes on the pavement, protected bike lanes, than it is for me to go way out somewhere, put in sewers, street lights, have garbage pickup, all this stuff. So it bodes well for our citizens and their health — both physical and emotional — but it also bodes well for the finances of the city.

The tax rolls show that Wharton’s theory has paid off. Modest public investments in bike infrastructure on Broad have not only unlocked generous philanthropic support, they’ve stimulated private investment in a neighborhood that’s been suffering disinvestment ever since highways cut it off from its surroundings.