Raceland, Kentucky asks Why not here?

I spoke by telephone with the Raceland, Kentucky Chief of Police Don Sammons the other day about the town’s and Greenup County’s work to create a bicycle culture in their case to spur economic development. 

The story has been well told in the local press (here and here) and Chief Sammons has presented at some conferences, he told me. And while he didn’t ask it the way I do, the drive for the Chief’s efforts came from looking for the answer to our question, “Why not here?”

Sammons told me that he started his work in 2012 because he loves history and wanted to preserve the history of Raceland, named for a race track built there in the 1920s. As he researched other communities’ economic development initiatives, he hit on bicycling, and a walking tour around town became a bicycle tour out to the racetrack 6 or so miles from town.

The old Raceland Race Track, built in 1924.

Sammons is not a cyclist, and so he looked around the area for experts. Hitting on the ACE Bicycling Club based in Ashland, Kentucky, the Chief set up a partnership that continues today. A Commonwealth of Kentucky program called “Trail Town” provided some parameters for being so designated, and 12 miles became 500 miles. Using routes the cyclists already ride, and looking for connections to the nearby Greenbo Lake State Park and other destinations around Greenup County by way of scenic and lightly travelled roads. They named their system the EK Bikeway.

These on-road routes, marked and mapped to attract out of town visitors, go along with Sammons’s other push—walking tours and community development. He tied the town’s commitment to sidewalk repair. Working with some local artisans, he approached owners of vacant buildings until one of them gave him free rent in return for the labor and capacity to improve the interior and set up shop. 

“I told them I had no money, but I do have workers,” he said. "Eventually one owner gave me a part of his building, and re-opened his tire shop to try to help push traffic." The complex has expanded to include a local authors shop, where local writers can sell their work in return for spending Saturdays in the store. 

Chief Sammons has convinced several of the other towns in Greenup County to join in, making changes in their own communities as they work to stir a faltering economy. He has convinced the town to change the speed limit in the downtown area to 15 miles per hour, and the signs read, “Watch for Our Children,” “Watch for Bicycles,” “Watch for Walkers.” He hopes to begin to attract businesses to the town, a bike shop, cafes, another bookstore. 

Chief Sammons also said, “I feel like I’m in over my head sometimes.” I suspect it is this very quality that makes him a visionary. He is willing to create the partnerships that fill the gaps in his own expertise, and by his leadership he has brought Raceland and the other towns along with him on their journey to renewed prosperity. The story, which of course continues, serves as an example for us all.