On the eve of municipal elections, it’s interesting to note how sustainability has figured in the races for mayor and city council posts. The fact that it has figured at all is reason to be hopeful. In most races, sustainability has been limited to two defining words: curbside recycling. Isn’t there more that the local leaders can do? Should they look to other leaders from other municipalities for cues? What would they make of the following quote from a Portland city commissioner?

“Our intentions are to be as sustainable a city as possible,” Mr. Adams said. “That means socially, that means environmentally and that means economically. The bike is great on all three of those factors. You just can’t get a better transportation return on your investment than you get with promoting bicycling.”

The quote comes from In Portland, Cultivating a Culture of Two Wheels, the “most e-mailed” story from today’s New York Times. As mentioned earlier on this site, Clint Murphy is (to my knowledge) the only candidate to include the word “bicycle” in his campaign materials. While the idea of recycling bins lining the right side of Savannah curbs is something to look forward to, I hope our leaders will pay attention to what’s happening on the left side of the curbs as well.