Our April Newsletter is now online!
Author: Todd Scott, Executive Director
Categories
Gloria Durfield-Mitchell
Gloria was a mainstay in Detroit bikelife. Always in purple, she was someone you could count on seeing on a ride — and everyone knew and liked Gloria. She did everything with class and style.
So when the Detroit Greenways Coalition was looking for a bikelife person to serve on the board, she was our first choice. We are grateful for her years of volunteering and support as a boardmember with the Coalition.
Detroit has lost a great one. It’s difficult finding the words that can fully explain this, so we’ll leave you with some of our favorite photos. 💜
For more photos, visit the bike club Gloria founded, the Detroit Diva Cruisers.
What can I do to help?
I can clearly hear Gloria asking me that because she did so many times. She was always willing to volunteer to make good things happen. She may have retired from her job, but she never retired from working.
When we had an open seat on the Detroit Greenways Coalition board, she was our top choice. Yes, her willingness to help was one reason why, but also, she was well loved and respected in the biking and walking community.
She had photos with everyone. In fact, if you weren’t in her photos then you’d have a hard time convincing me that you were part of Detroit bikelife.
She was always a voice of reason. She always took the high ground. I think I can safely say that she never got put in Facebook jail.
We are all going to miss seeing her on the rides this summer, but she will forever ride with all of us.
Thank you, Gloria.
Reflections given at Gloria’s Celebration of Life by Todd Scott, Executive Director of the Detroit Greenways Coalition
Our February Newsletter is now online!
Categories
Draft MI Healthy Climate Plan
- The state has released a draft of the MI Healthy Climate Plan
- This draft does not call for reduced vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by investing in green travel modes such as walking, biking, and electricified transit
- Michigan cannot reach carbon neutrality without reducing VMT
- The public is able to comment via email or the upcoming listening sessions
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) has released a draft of the MI Healthy Climate Plan.
This plan lays out a broad vision for fulfilling the governor’s fall 2020 commitment for Michigan to achieve 100% economy-wide carbon neutrality by mid Century – the global science-based benchmark for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the most devastating and costly impacts of climate change.
Liesl Eichler Clark, EGLE Director
There are three online public listening sessions scheduled:
Wednesday, January 26th, 10am to 12pmTuesday, February 8th, 6pm to 8pmMonday, February 14th, 6pm to 8pm. Focus on Environmental Justice
You can email comments to EGLE-ClimateSolutions@Michigan.gov.
The deadline for submitting comments is February 14th March 14th.
Transportation and Mobility
We were on the workgroup that developed recommendations to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for the state’s transportation sector — the largest GHG source. While the workgroup’s automotive stakeholders pushed electric vehicles, we partnered with others on recommendations that reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) through investments in biking, walking, and public transit. (Read more)
However, the draft plan fails to include our recommendation on GHG budgeting for road agencies, an idea that Colorado recently turned into reality. This budgeting would not only shift funding to the truly green travel modes (walking, biking, electric transit), it could shape land use patterns that make those modes more viable.
Michigan’s VMT continues to grow, outpacing our population growth (or decline.) That’s not sustainable and will prevent Michigan from reaching carbon neutrality. The plan needs to do more.
Our Draft Plan Comments
The transportation sector’s predominant focus on electric vehicles (EVs) will not make Michigan “a global leader in addressing climate change” nor is it an equitable strategy. We suggest the following improvements to widen the transportation vision and ensure the final plan meets the goals set forth by the governor.
Explicitly call for decreasing vehicle miles traveled (VMT)
The draft plan did not include the Workgroup recommendation on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions budgeting for road agencies. We believe this was a solid tool for reducing VMT and a necessity for reaching carbon neutrality. Eliminating this recommendation and not providing any explicit strategy for reducing VMT will result in this plan not reaching neutrality.
MDOT’s recent 2045 State Long-Range Transportation plan – in which the initial draft made no mention of carbon neutrality or the governor’s directive – also does not acknowledge the necessity of reducing VMT. In fact, the plan associates reduced VMT with a stagnant economy.
Additionally, neither the MDOT plan nor this draft plan mention local road agencies and their role in VMT.
Michigan’s expanding road infrastructure has fueled sprawl. This has led to rising VMT and lower dense communities where biking, walking, and public transportation are less viable options. Michigan’s climate plan must explicitly call for reduced VMT because the status quo will only continue to deliver higher carbon emissions.
Make measurable commitments to bike and walk investments
The draft plan provides no details on how to increase biking and walking, nor does it define any goals. It also doesn’t mention safety, a primary reason why more Michigan residents don’t bike or walk.
We suggest the plan include a commitment to zero pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities and serious injuries through a Safe Systems Approach. We also suggest setting goals for increased travel mode shares for biking, walking, and public transportation. Both suggestions will help prioritize investments and provide measures of success.
Highlight the role of e-bikes and provide purchase incentives
E-bikes are one of the most significant travel modes for reducing carbon emissions, yet we found no mention of them in the draft plan. We believe the following points deserve to be included.
- E-bikes produce 81% fewer carbon emissions per mile than EVs. This is due to the latter having greater manufacturing emissions as well as more emissions associated with their electricity and road infrastructure requirements.
- E-bikes use the existing electrical infrastructure and aren’t hampered by the lack of a charging network. This is perhaps one reason why e-bikes are outselling EVs in the U.S.
- E-bike use improves physical and mental health, which reduces health care costs.
- E-bikes were a proven success in the City of Detroit’s Essential Workers Micromobility Pilot. The Pilot user survey found that 95% of the respondents were interested in continued use of the e-bikes. 55% wanted to use them year round. It gave Detroiters a dependable, affordable transportation choice for their work commute.
Incentives for e-bikes should also be explicitly mentioned.
Subsidizing EVs only helps those who can afford to operate a vehicle. Approximately 34% of Detroiters don’t own a vehicle. According to the University of Michigan Poverty Solutions Report, The Financial Well-Being of Detroit Residents, auto insurance premiums average $5,414, or 18% of the median income in Detroit. An estimated 60% of Detroit drivers don’t have auto insurance according to the Detroit Police. Consumer Reports says, EVs “ cost more to insure than equivalent gasoline-powered cars.”
Recent analysis of a similar state EV incentive program found it largely benefitted those in the wealthiest suburbs with over a third of the incentive funding used to purchase luxury vehicles.
Acknowledge EV emissions increases
The Health and Quality of Life section on page 23 fails to mention the expected increases in some emissions from EVs. While EVs have zero tailpipe emissions, 90% of all road traffic particulate matter (PM) comes from unregulated, non-tailpipe sources, primarily tire wear and the suspension of road dust. One recent study found some EVs emit an estimated 3-8% more PM 2.5 than equivalent conventional vehicles due to increased curb weights and increased tire wear.
Many Detroit communities already pay a heavy price for transportation-related emissions and that will continue if we only encourage EV adoption.
We asking Michigan residents to email the Michigan Council on Climate Solutions to make sure investments in biking, walking, and transit are a primary recommendation for reducing carbon emissions.
The draft recommendations (see below) do include these green travel modes, but they may not be included in the final plan. Hearing from us can make sure that they are included.
We’ve submitted our comments and have created an easy-to-sign (or edit) version of them. We’ve also created a Climate Change page for those wanting a deeper dive into this Council process and much more.
Reduce Michigan\'s carbon emissions through investments in walking, biking, and transit
From the Michigan Council on Climate Solutions Transportation and Mobility Workgroup Recommendations:
Top 5 Prioritized Recommendations
- Michigan should establish a coordinated and comprehensive transportation electrification plan, supportive of national goals, and allocation of sufficient resources and personnel to responsible state offices to create the plan.
- Michigan should establish a consumer and fleet electric vehicle (EV) incentive program, including new and used EVs, to support a rapid and accelerated transition to EVs among the driving public.
- Michigan should adopt a clean fuels standard as part of a comprehensive approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in the state, and as a potential revenue source for enhancing low/no carbon mobility options to more Michiganders.
- The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), and regional and local road agencies, should develop plans for implementing GHG budgets into their transportation planning.
- MDOT, metropolitan planning organizations (MPO’s), and local transit providers should develop comprehensive plans to expand access to convenient, zero emission public transit throughout the state of Michigan, with a goal of increasing the state’s investment by an amount great enough to support the mobility needs of the state’s residents.
Additional Recommendations for Consideration
- Michigan should develop and implement a statewide plan that takes a Safe Systems Approach to reduce Vulnerable Road User (VRU) fatalities and serious injuries to zero in order to encourage more trips by bicycling and walking.
- MDOT and MPOs should adopt new policies to exclusively use CMAQ (federal Congestion Mitigation Air Quality program) funding for projects that decrease vehicle miles traveled (VMT), improve air quality and reduce GHG emissions. Projects that will likely increase VMT and don’t serve a public safety priority should no longer be eligible for CMAQ funding.
- Michigan should establish an alternative, VMT-based EV fee that is more in alignment with Michigan’s climate goals and recognizes the higher efficiency of electric vehicles.
- Michigan’s building codes should be updated to assist with EV adoption.
- Michigan should establish a certification program for dealers to recognize dealers that are educated on EVs and know how to sell and maintain them.
- Establish new policies to allow Plug-in Electric vehicles (BEVs, PHEV’s and FCEV’s) to use Michigan’s High Occupancy Vehicle Lanes (HOV lanes) regardless of passenger occupancy.
- Michigan should signal its commitment to electrification by preparing to adopt a Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) and Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) standards in the Advanced Clean Cars Program, as well as the Advanced Clean Truck (ACT) and Heavy-Duty Omnibus (HDO) rules.
- The State of Michigan should establish EV procurement goals for state-owned and state-leased fleet vehicles including a broad, long-term plan as well as short-term targets to electrify a practical subset of the state fleet.