Author: Todd Scott, Executive Director

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Complete Streets Greenways Newsletter

News from the Trail – June 2020

Unity Ride 4 Justice 2020

Unity Ride 4 Justice

We want to thank the Detroit Saints Bike Club for hosting the Unity Ride 4 Justice ride last week. It was inspiring, uplifting, and positive event that reinforced that we are all one family and supporting each other when we ride together.

Virtual Project Meetings

Given the panademic, all public project meetings are now online. Here are some June meetings you may want to check out and provide feedback — 

  • State Long-range Transportation Plan on June 16th at 7 PM and June 17th at 10 AM – Want to help shape how the state of Michigan invests in transportation? MDOT is hosting two telephone town halls to get your input. You must register 3 hours in advance. There’s more information online for this statewide planning project. 
  • Old Redford Neighborhood Link on June 17th at 5:30 PM – This meeting is for sharing your thoughts on community-led activation of public space in Old Redford. This includes public art and cultural programming. Zoom or call in 312 626-6799 with meeting ID 528 771 3400.
  • Parkland Park on June 18th – Wayne County Parks is hosting two public meetings to discuss improvements at Parkland Park in Dearborn Heights, neslted between Rouge Park and Hines Drive: 11 AM – 12 PM (password 630206) and 4 PM – 5 PM (password 003784). The park provides a key connection for the Rouge River Greenway. Please consider joining one of these meetings!
  • Kercheval Streetscape on June 18th from 5:30 PM – The City of Detroit is hosting this meeting to give contruction updates. This project runs from E. Grand Boulevard to Parker and includes improvements for walking and biking. Zoom or call 231 338-8477.
  • Lenox Center/A.B. Ford Park on June 30th at 5:30 PM – The City of Detroit is having a kickoff community meeting for a redesigning project. Zoom, or call  267-831-0333 with meeting ID: 918 1582 7787. They are also gathering input using this survey.

Other Updates

  • Joseph Campau in Detroit is being resurfaced between E. Davison and Carpenter this year. It will be receiving a two-way cycletrack as well since this is a segment of the Joe Louis Greenway.
  • The City of Detroit received the entry-level Bicycle Friendly Community award from the League of American Bicyclists. Like other national awards, it assumes the Census Bureau’s bike to work numbers accurately reflect the amount of bicycling in all cities. That’s not a good assumption in Detroit where bicycling is growing ever popular while its bike to work numbers have dropped significantly.
  • Similarly, People for Bikes ranked Detroit as 22nd among U.S. cities, jumping over a couple hundred other municipalities. Last year Detroit fell over 100 spots in the rankings despite adding more protected bike lane miles than any U.S. city. We don’t place much value in this either since it also makes assumptions with Census data.
  • The planned overhaul of the Detroit zoning ordinances continues, this includes possibly reducing or eliminating parking requirements — something that could lead to denser development that is more walkable and bikeable. We would welcome this.
  • The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, Eastern Market, Belle Isle Conservancy, Downtown Detroit Partnership and City of Detroit have developed this Detroit Parks Coloring Book. Download the pages for free and start coloring!

Livernois Bike Shop

We want to extend our condolences to the family and friends of Sam Awada, owner of the Livernois Bike Shop, located at the east end of the new Fitzgerald Greenway. Sam’s family says the shop will continue to be open and honor his memory. 

A memorial gathering occured shortly after his passing where many in the community shared their stories of how Sam helped them and others. His nephew mentioned Sam’s adoration of MLK Jr. and how he would play his speeches as the younger kids sat on the floor and listened. Read more about Sam and the shop

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Newsletter Policy Safety & Education

News from the Trail — May 2020

Staying Healthy, Events Cancelled

We hope everyone is staying safe and healthy during these challenging times. Our thoughts go out all that have lost friends, family, and club members during this pandemic.

We have been updating our COVID-19 page based on information from federal, state and local government agencies. They advise everyone riding, walking, and running to social distance from others, and to wear a mask in places that make social distancing difficult to maintain, eg. RiverWalk.

There are reports of more motorists speeding given fewer motor vehicles on the roads. Please be extra vigilant and walk/ride/run defensively. 

As for events, we obviously could not hold Bike to Work Day this year. We may consider doing something this fall, but it’s too early to make any commitment. We have cancelled our Joe Louis Greenway fundraiser ride scheduled for next month.

New Website

The Stay-at-Home order has provided a good opportunity to completely overhaul our website, which we rolled out this week. All of the web pages have been brought up to date. We’ve also taken the information from our printed bike/trail map and safety brochure and put it on the site. This includes

UMSI Crash Analysis

Also on the new website is a bicycle and pedestrian crash analysis — a report, slidedeck, and interactive mapping. This was just produced by a team from the University of Michigan School of Information. The team took state crash data, cleaned it up, and analyzed where the crashes were occuring. From the report:

Our data analysis led important discoveries around the existing safety issues per counsel district, specifically, how bikers are currently being impacted with districts. District 4, according to the data, had the most instances of biker injuries. It’s also worth noting that when a bike lane is present, accidents happen at a frequency a fraction of the time compared to instances of no bike lane with the point of contact being in the roadway.

Thanks to the team for this project and we look using this data to justify great investments that make Detroit streets safer for everyone. 

Other Updates

  • Please join us in welcoming two new board members: Beverly Kindle-Walker and Ryan Myers-Johnson. Beverly is the Executive Director for Friends of the Detroit City Airport CDC, a Legislative Assistance to County Commissioner Tim Killeen, and a board member for the Detroit Eastside Community Collaborative. She’s done a great deal of work on the Eastside, including with the Conner Creek Greenway. Ryan is the Founder and Executive Director for Sidewalk Detroit.  You may have met her if you attended any of the Joe Louis Greenway Framework Planning meetings where she was a project consultant.  She’s also been involved in parks and planning in Northwest Detroit, including Eliza Howell Park. 
  • Detroit Council President Brenda Jones proposed an ordinance last year requiring all bike lane projects to have an additional vote by Council. That ordinance wasn’t feasible, so it was incorporated into an ordinance requiring Community Engagement for planning projects, including bike lanes and streetscapes. We strongly support effective Community Engagement! We’ll continue working with her office and suggesting improvements to the ordinance language so that it gets more Detroiters engaged in deciding how their streets look and who they serve.
  • MoGo Bike Share expansion is underway this week with stations being installed north of Eight Mile. We look forward to seeing those new stations automatically popup on our map. 
  • Make sure you complete your census! Michigan cities receive road funding based on their census populations. State road funding will already be lower in the near future with the reductions in fuel purchases. We don’t need to see it drop further.

Categories
Complete Streets Safety & Education

What are the requirements for a bicycle friendly road?

We received these questions from a Danish Landscape Architect. We thought we’d shared the answers here and get your thoughts as well.

I am working on a project in Detroit and I am interested in understanding how you have decided which roads are bicycle friendly roads and which are not? What are the requirements for a bicycle friendly road?

There are many ways to look at this, but let’s work through some different perspectives:

Infrastructure

The City of Detroit is designing and building roads that are comfortable to use for those from 8 years old to 80 — and for people of all abilities. Whereas initially the City built more traditional bike lanes and bike routes, now they’re looking at biking infrastructure with more separation from moving motor vehicles as a minimum design feature for major roads. This includes separated (or protected) bike lanes and off road trails.

However, Detroit hasn’t added much separation at intersections. We expect to see more of that in future projects.

Many cities are doing this across the U.S., so this answer is not unique. The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) provides guidance on how to design streets for all users based on the type of road. Detroit is working on a strategic transportation master plan which we expect will incorporate similar principles.

We would add that some of the designs that accommodate slower, less confidant riders aren’t fully embraced by the faster, more confident riders. That’s a trade off in order to get more people riding. Still, the new infrastructure calms motor vehicle traffic, so riding in the roadway becomes a better option for higher speeds or group rides. State law gives bicyclists the right to use most roadways (freeways being an exception.)

Wide streets with little traffic

Detroit’s street network was built for nearly 2 million residents. It built out a freeway network that then pulled motor vehicles from the surface streets. Over a million residents (and countless businesses) left.

What they left behind were wide roads with very little motor vehicle traffic, especially outside of peak travel periods. These roads are very bike friendly to moderately skilled riders without any specific infrastructure treatments.  It’s these conditions that make large group rides like Slow Roll more doable.

The caveat is this doesn’t make the street safe for everyone.

Safety in Numbers

Some roads are bicycle friendly for those riding in a group but not necessarily for those riding solo. We hear this often, especially with female riders. Many feel safe riding busier roads if they’re with a group, but they wouldn’t ride them as individuals.

This reflects the feeling safety that these bike groups share. Everyone is looking out for each other. Everyone is more visible and it’s less likely anyone is going to “mess with” the group. This is likely one reason why Detroit has more bike clubs than any other U.S. city we know of.

What do you think makes a road bicycle friendly?

Categories
Greenways Safety & Education

Healthy biking and walking during the Stay Home order

Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced a Stay at Home order, which includes:

Subject to the exceptions in section 7, all individuals currently living within the State of Michigan are ordered to stay at home or at their place of residence. Subject to the same exceptions, all public and private gatherings of any number of people occurring among persons not part of a single household are prohibited.”

The Exception is:

Individuals may leave their home or place of residence, and travel as necessary: To engage in outdoor activity, including walking, hiking, running, cycling, or any other recreational activity consistent with remaining at least six feet from people from outside the individual’s household.

While announcing the order, Governor Whitmer added, “You can go outside, get that fresh air… just be smart about it.”

UPDATE: In order to comply with this order, the Michigan DNR has announced all campgrounds, overnight lodging facilities, and shelters are closed through April 13th. State parks and recreation areas do remain open.

UPDATE: Kayaking and stand up paddle boarding are also allowed during this time as long as social distancing is practiced.

City of Detroit Statement on Park Usage

The City’s General Services Department (GSD) issued a statement on park usage during the outbreak:

To reduce the spread of COVID-19, the City of Detroit has closed all of its recreation centers through April 5, 2020. Park facilities such as clubhouses, community centers, and public restrooms will also remain closed during this time.

Recent evidence suggests that the COVID-19 virus can live for several days on surfaces such as playgrounds and other “high touch” areas in public spaces. For this reason, please refrain from using playgrounds or other park amenities, and instead focus on taking long walks or bike rides, practicing social distancing of at least 6 feet from other individuals.

Reducing Mental Stress

We have signed on to the National Recreation and Parks Association statement supporting the safe use of parks and open spaces during the COVID-19 outbreak. We agree that we need our parks, trails, sidewalks, and bike pathways more than ever, not just to get around, but to keep our wits.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has flagged mental health as a top concern associated with the COVID-19 outbreak. We recognize that social distancing may take a toll on our mental health, especially during high-stress and anxiety-producing global public health emergencies. We also know that parks provide a connection to the outdoors and green space as well as opportunities for physical activity which studies demonstrate reduces stress and improves mental health.

…

Our local parks, trails and open spaces have always served as places where people can find respite and seek peace and restoration. During this time of uncertainty, these places are needed now more than ever. Our nation’s park and recreation professionals are working hard to maintain these spaces and keep them safe, accessible and benefiting our communities during these challenging times. Let us all do our part to use them in a way that respects each other and public health guidance.

Sad News from Chicago

John LaPlante recently passed from the coronavirus. He was “a staunch advocate for bicycle lanes” in Chicago, but he also played a major role in Detroit.

LaPlante taught a workshop for the Michigan Department of Transportation on how to better design streets for bicyclists and pedestrians. We were able to first bring that workshop to Detroit in 2009. LaPlante brought his extensive engineering knowledge as well as many years of experience implementing it.

The workshop came at a perfect time as we’d recently helped get the City of Detroit’s non-motorized master plan passed by City Council.  The Department of Public Works was tasked with implementing the plan and the workshop helped inform the city’s traffic engineers on how to do so.

While we’d been advocating for bike lanes, it was a challenge. This helped turn things around. LaPlante made this a key milestone in Detroit’s transportation history. Shortly afterwards, the city added many more bike lanes around the city, including the ones on Dexter, Grand Boulevard, Conner, Kercheval, Lafayette, and more.

This news only reinforces the responsibility all of us share in reducing the COVID-19 impact for everyone in the community. Stay healthy.

Categories
Greenways Newsletter Safety & Education

News from the Trail – March 2020

Well that’s not how we expected spring to start! With the weather starting to warm up, we’re all  making plans for group rides, runs, and races. The Coronavirus has put the season on hold. Of course the top priority is for everyone to remain physically and mentally healthy — and that still includes riding, walking, and running while practicing safe social distancing.

The City of Detroit has issued this update on their parks:

To reduce the spread of COVID-19, the City of Detroit has closed all of its recreation centers through April 5, 2020. Park facilities such as clubhouses, community centers, and public restrooms will also remain closed during this time.

Recent evidence suggests that the COVID-19 virus can live for several days on surfaces such as playgrounds and other “high touch” areas in public spaces. For this reason, please refrain from using playgrounds or other park amenities, and instead focus on taking long walks or bike rides, practicing social distancing of at least 6 feet from other individuals.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) also announced the motor vehicles can now access Belle Isle and other state parks without a Recreation Passport during the COVID-19 situation. Note that restroom buildings will are closed. The DNR notes:

We know there’s been a steady stream of “closure” information and messaging about self-isolating to slow the spread of COVID-19. It’s true, we are in uncharted territory, and such steps are critical in protecting Michigan residents from coronavirus risk. Safeguarding mental health is just as important, and spending time outdoors – whether in your backyard, on your balcony or in big, open spaces – can boost mind, body and spirit.

Cancelled and postponed events

The Green Task Force Earth Day Celebration scheduled for April 18th has been cancelled. On a related note, we are taking a larger role in the Detroit City Council’s Green Task Force. We are now co-chairing a new Transportation and Mobility Subcommittee that meets the third Tuesday of each month at 4 PM. Everyone is welcomed to attend.

Our Detroit Bike to Work Day will be pushed back to June. We’re also taking this opportunity to modify the event and broaden its scope to be more than just about getting to work. It’ll be more about biking for transportation, for health, and for sustainability. We look forward to sharing more event updates soon.

We are still planning our Joe Louis Greenway Fundraiser Ride for June 21st. The starting location and route will be updated this year to take advantage of the city’s new greenway routing. Save the date and we’ll let everyone know when the registration opens.

APBP Michigan Webinar Series

The Association of Pedestrian and Bicyclist Planners (APBP) offers monthly webinars on a variety of topics. We find them an invaluable resource for staying on top of the rapidly changing bike/pedestrian environment. Individuals can pay for individual webinar access through the APBP website ($50 members & $85 non-members).

Now, thanks to APBP and the Michigan Chapter, there is a free option. The Detroit Greenways Coalition and SEMCOG are co-hosting the webinars in Detroit at the SEMCOG offices (1001 Woodward Avenue, Suite 1400.

We have a list of the 2020 webinars on our website and APBP has more details on theirs.

Webinars are from 3 pm to 4 pm. More information on each webinar is available on this APBP webpage.

APBP has applied to the AICP for 1.0 Certification Maintenance credits for these webinars.

Thanks, Ashok Patel!

Bike to Work Day 2018 - Ashok Patel, Prasad Nannapaneni, Janet AttarianThere are many City of Detroit staff that are making this city a better place to bike, walk, and run. One of those staff members recently retired: Ashok Patel, who led the Traffic Engineering Division of the Department of Public Works. We first worked with Mr. Patel to help get the Corktown bike lanes approved. He worked with us and MDOT to bring a road design workshop to the city which led to another citywide investment in bike lanes. His contribution to this progress has been significant!

A Detroit City Council Testimonial Resolution also mentions that he “encourages all of the employees in the Traffic Engineering Division to bike.” This has been helpful because it has given the engineers a wider perspective on how road design affects all users.

Congratulations on your retirement, Mr. Patel, and we’ll look forward to seeing you out on the bike.

Other updates

  • The City of Detroit is planting 10,000 trees across the city. If you want one planted in front of your home between the sidewalk and street, call 313 224-6391 or email squalisa@detroitmi.gov. Did you know street trees are one way to reduce speeding vehicles on residential streets? They also help reduce stormwater runoff.
  • The RiverWalk between Cullen Plaza and GM Plaza has reopened. You may recall an errant boat was driven into the RiverWalk last year and caused major damage to the railing. The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy has completed the repair.
  • The Conservancy is also seeking seasonal and trull time support for park operations. The application deadline is March 25th.
Categories
Greenways Newsletter

News from the Trail – February 2020

W. McNichols to get bike lanes this year

Mayor Mike Duggan led a community meeting to discuss four streetscape options for W. McNichols just west of Livernois. One option included bike lanes. Despite concerns from business owners about losing some onstreet parking, the community voted 39 to 12 for the bike lanes.

We wrote more about this in our article, The Community decides on Complete Streets.

We’ve heard it asked at other public meeting, “Why is the city building bike lanes?” and “Who is asking for them?”. In this case it Detroiters from the area. Construction is expected to be completed this year.

2020 Snapshot

We created our first infographic that highlights Detroit’s progress towards a more bikeable and walkable city — as well as our role in making that happen.

What do you think? Is there additional data we should try to capture and benchmark?

We do have plans to collect more relevant data and make it available via our website. Look for some exciting announcements this spring.

SEMCOG seeks public comment

Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) has released a draft Bicycle and Pedestrian Mobility Plan for Southeast Michigan. According to SEMCOG, the plan “ensures that the region’s nonmotorized system meets the transportation, quality of life, health, and accessibility needs of its residents and visitors, as well as the economic development priorities and goals of the region and local communities.”

The public is invited to review the draft plan and submit comments. Comments can be made by email to InfoCenter@semcog.org or by calling 313-324-3330.

We did serve on this plan’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Task Force, which was co-chaired by Detroit Council Member Scott Benson.

Preserving public right-of-ways near the LCA

Olympia Development petitioned the city to vacate the public easements for two east-west roads (Sproat and Henry) on both sides of the Little Ceasar’s Arena. We were concerned about losing public access for bicyclists, pedestrians, and transit users.

We brought this to Council member Benson who worked with the engineering department to modify the requests so that the right-of-ways are preserved for those on bikes or foot.

We monitor city council agendas and review all petitions that remove public right-of-way access.  We find that often the petitioner is only interested in removing motor vehicle access.

We had a similar case where a petitioner sought to remove a public road next to the Conner Playfield/Conner Creek Greenway on the eastside. The road’s onstreet parking provided the only vehicle parking for the playfield, so we again worked with Council member Benson to keep the road and the playfield’s parking.

MoGo is Hiring

MoGo is expanding the public bike share system to Northwest Detroit and Southern Oakland county. They’re adding another 31 stations and 140 bikes in six cities. They’re also hiring. Visit their website for more information.