Last night I got the chance to listen to Mayor Menino speak about the state of the city. Menino laid out several new initiatives, some of the ones that made me happy were his bike and green initiatives.

Another place where I see a common commitment reshaping our city is in the area of environmental sustainability. I’ve been focused on this issue since 2000, when I joined mayors from around the world to show leadership on climate change. I have found that people citywide understand that sustainability is about making Boston’s future even brighter than its present.

Now, I am announcing that Boston will introduce single stream recycling. The City will provide larger bins, so you don’t have to sort paper from plastic. This meets people’s desire to conserve resources, and it saves the City money by decreasing the amount of solid waste that we generate.We have tested this program in Jamaica Plain and Roslindale, and recycling increased 53 percent. We really are turning Beantown into Greentown!

Another way that we are working to reduce our carbon footprint is by transforming Boston into a bike-friendly city. Last fall, I kicked off the City’s annual Hub on Wheels event, joining 3,000 people for a bike ride across our city. Now, we are going to improve Boston’s cycling infrastructure, starting with new bike lanes on Commonwealth Avenue, between Kenmore Square and the BU Bridge. This is one of the busiest cycling corridors in Boston, with thousands of people commuting by bike every With your support, Boston is showing the world what it means to be a 21st Century City.(via, pdf)

All in all it is a pretty weak amount of effort on the bike and green front, but as they say, something is better than nothing. Boston is a compact small city that is relatively flat, meaning that it has the chops to be a world class bike city. However with the narrow streets, poor bike infrastructure, and insane drivers (seriously) it is often rated as one of the worst.

Boston also has a great wind resource sitting just off its shore that it has yet to tap into in any sort of real way. With the high cost of oil, the impending global climate crisis, and the ever more tacky design of cars, it is imperative that Boston grasp the reigns and step it up on the bike front. We might not be green town yet, but with a little work this town could be the bastion I for one welcome our new bike overlords.