They’re the oldest bike lanes in Detroit — almost 10 year old.
They were implemented under the guidance of Al Fields in the Mayor’s office. Al now serves as President of the Detroit Greenways Coalition.
But the Belle Isle bike lanes are no longer under city control. They’re not controlled by the DNR either. As part of the Belle Isle lease, all of the roads on Belle Isle, including the MacArthur Bridge are now state trunklines controlled by MDOT. Also as part of the lease, MDOT receives the state fuel tax money for these roads that used to go to Detroit.
Last summer the bike lane sweeping wasn’t the best, but it did seem to improve.
While at a Metro 313 Cyclones meeting last week we heard the snow was being consistently plowed from the bike lanes, so we contacted MDOT. They said they’ve had some problems getting all the snow removed on the same day.
How well the bike lanes are cleared initially depends on the characteristics of the snow event. The crews may not always be able to clear the bike lanes immediately; they may have to get to them after the main roadways have been made passable.
MDOT had planned to contract the snow plowing but the bids came in too high, so their own maintenance garage is handling it.
What do you think about the maintenance of the Belle Isle bike lanes?