The City of Detroit is very close to signing off on the acquisition of 8 miles of abandoned rail corridor. Once that is complete, the city will begin Framework Planning for the greenway corridor. Unfortunately Detroit was not awarded a TIGER grant for construction, which is still a ways off.
In the meantime, we’ve update our Joe Louis Greenway map brochure with funding from the Doppelt Family Fund. We’ve updated the greenway’s web page on our site and included a link to a PDF of the map.
We’ve also been attending events to distribute the printed version.
Important Bike Lanes Meeting
We are hosting a public meeting on April 18th from 6pm to 8pm at the Northeast Guidance Center (2900 Conner St, Detroit, MI 48215) to discuss bike lanes in Detroit.
WE REALLY NEED DETROIT BICYCLISTS HERE!
We’ll be presenting on our vision — that the city build and maintain bike lanes, that it prioritizes creating safe connections, that it provides enforcement so that we’re not dealing with vehicles parking in the bike lanes, event barriers, or other obstructions, and that we don’t have standing water in the lanes.
The Planning and Development Department will present on the new E. Jefferson bike lanes. The Public Works Department will be there to talk about their maintenance plans for these and other Detroit bike lanes. The Department of Neighborhoods will be on hand. We have asked that the Detroit Police Department and Municipal Parking have representatives present as well.
This is a great opportunity for bicyclists to show the city that this is more than just more plastic posts and paint. We need quality, safe infrastructure that will continue to encourage more Detroiters to ride more often.
Tomorrow, April 11th: The Department of Natural Resources is having a kickoff public meeting for Milliken State Park and Harbor’s master plan at the Outdoor Adventure Center (1801 Atwater Street) from 6pm to 8pm.
Studies show that building Complete Streets designed for safer bicyclist and pedestrian travel saves lives. Complete Streets even reduce crashes for motorists by reducing bad behavior.
Studies show that adding on-road bike lanes can cut bicycle-vehicle collisions in half. Bike lanes, bump outs, and medians also reduce pedestrian collisions by effectively shortening the crosswalks.
Complete Streets are invaluable in Detroit given the large number of people dying on our roads each year.
In 2015, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found Detroit has 6.79 pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 residents — the most of any major U.S. city. That 58% higher than second place Dallas with 4.31. Absolutely unacceptable.
They also reported Detroit’s bicycle fatality rate at 1.48 per 100,000 residents, which is for 26th among the 34 largest U.S. cities. Since bicycle fatalities fluctuate more year to year, we’re not sure how valuable this ranking is.
NHTSA also keeps all road fatalities in their Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) that includes race. We thought it would be interesting to see how bicycle and pedestrian fatalities aligned with Detroit’s overall demographics.
As it turns out, they align very closely.
All Residents (100)
Fatalities
Black
83%
84%
White
8%
8%
Latino
7%
5%
Looking at just bicyclists, there were 20 fatalities in Detroit between 2010 and 2016. Among them, 17 were Black (89%), 1 was Mexican, 1 was White/Non-Hispanic, and 1 was unknown.
The average age among these fatalities? 46 years old. 73% are men though that is trending downward.
Some have said we’re building Complete Streets and bike lanes for the new Detroit — a more white, more young. That’s not the case. We’re building them for all, but especially to decrease road fatalities.
The data shows we have a great opportunity to do that.
The trails and biking momentum from 2017 has continued into 2018…
Belle Isle Strategic Plan
If you haven’t already heard, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is updating the 10-year strategic master plan for Belle Isle. This plan will shape how the park is operated and developed for years to come. There are two public meetings today, February 1st from 2pm to 4pm and 6pm to 8pm at the Outdoor Adventure Center. At these meetings the DNR will present on the draft plan and give take your comments.
If you are unable to attend, the draft plan is online and comments can be submitted until February 12th.
Quick Updates
The Detroit Water and Sewage Department is looking to green up the medians on Oakman Boulevard while also adding stormwater management features. They’ve having a public meeting about this project this Saturday, February 3rd from 10:30am to noon at the Detroit Police Department 2nd Precint (13530 Lesure Street). What they’re doing here could be a model for greening up other popular biking routes and greenways around Detroit. More details
The Michigan Trails Summit is February 6th. The last we heard, the event was very close to selling out. Whether you’re in the event or not, feel free to join us that morning at 6:30am for a casual 3K run from the Marriott Motor Lobby at the Renaissance Center.
The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy West Riverfront Park design competition is heating up. The four teams will be making their pitches on February 8th. You can register for that online. Afterwards, their display boards and models will be on display at West Riverfront Park Public Exhibition at 1001 Woodward from February 10 – February 22, with daily hours from 11am until 8pm.
Our Joe Louis Greenway map is in final draft form. We expect to have it completed and printed before too long.
Our Hamilton Avenue bike lane design project is over half complete. We will then continue to work with Highland Park to get grant funding for construction.
We’re working with the Detroit Fitness Foundation for a fundraising event at the new Lexus Velodrome. We hope to have a date in the coming weeks, but it’s looking like March.
We were approved by the Michigan State Police get bicyclist and pedestrian crash data and analyze what affects the city’s new public lighting improvements are having. (Hint: it’s positive.)
We caught a legislative typo that inadvertently made all local bicycle ordinances enforceable in Michigan without posted signs. Yes, you can now get ticketed for riding in Hamtramck without a bicycle registration or for riding in Highland Park without a bell. We’re working with State Representative Stephanie Chang to get this corrected.
Lastly we’re working with multiple parties on greenway along the Rouge River from Hines Drive to Eight Mile. Yes, that’s getting serious!
Special shout out to volunteers Paul Vial and Mark Hall who have been a big help tackling these projects and moving us forward!
Show panelist Candice Fortman said, “The problem is that they put these bike lanes in, so now you’ve got the bike lanes and you’ve got the parking in the middle of the street, and then you’ve got one lane of traffic, and buses and cars and snow, and it’s too much.” Panelist Matt Marsden said he doesn’t see people on it but flashed his behind-the-windshield bias by saying he wasn’t a biker, “I’m a commuter” apparently unaware that bicyclists commute, too.
These grievances are not news to us, but think many are missing the larger picture.
We did appreciate the WDET commenter “Jennifer” who correctly noted that Cass Avenue got bike lanes in exchange for MDOT making Woodward much less safe for biking.
MDOT knowingly made Woodward significantly less safe for bicyclists by allowing the streetcar to operate at the curbs. Since the rails have been installed, we know of bicyclists breaking collar bones, hips, and loosing front teeth due to crashes. Though not a bicyclist, in August 2016 a Detroit senior crashed his moped and later died due to the rails according to the Detroit Police Department report. And because everyone knew these types of events would occur ahead of time, the Federal Transit Authority required an improved parallel route for bicyclists. That’s Cass Avenue.
Any discussion about the discomfort motorists have with the new Cass should be weighed against the sacrifices bicyclists made (and continue to make) on Woodward. While every road user group has made compromises with the redesign of Cass and Woodward, bicyclists crashes and injuries from the streetcar rails are atop the list.
But let’s also address the other Cass bike lane grievances.
There’s no one using them
Clearly that’s untrue. Back in September 2015 we took bicycle counts on Cass and recorded 300 in 24 hours on a Wednesday. There were probably another 100 we missed that rode on the sidewalk. That’s comparable to the bike counts we see on the Dequindre Cut at Gratiot.
With the new Cass Avenue bike lanes, we expect this counts to be much higher. Automated bike counters are being installed along Cass and we should have real data this summer.
A lane was taken away for motorists
Some segments of Cass south of I-75 did lose a lane but traffic counts showed they were not necessary to handle the traffic volumes. Most of Cass was and still is a two-lane road. The lanes used to be wider and people would drive in the parking lanes. That option has been removed. The expected result is more motorists will drive the speed limit and there will be fewer sideswipes from cars passing other cars on the right. Lower speeds bring a significantly safer environment for all modes, but especially pedestrians and bicyclists. Lower travel speeds have also been shown to improve sales for local businesses along the streets, too.
Pedestrians also benefit from these narrower lanes as there is now a much shorter crossing distance.
Motorists now open their doors into traffic
This is not new. However, before motorists could swing open their doors without looking and not get hit by another car due to the over-sized vehicle lanes. The newer narrower lanes make it more important to look before opening ones door into traffic. Opening a door into oncoming cars and bicyclists is illegal. We recommend learning the Dutch Reach.
Ideally there would have been more room for parking so people would be more comfortable exiting their cars, but there wasn’t enough room. This was one compromise among many.
There’s no education on bike lanes
This is an underlying problem in Michigan. There isn’t a mechanism for informing drivers about new road designs. There’s no longer testing for driver’s license renewals. MDOT has bike lane brochure for motorists, but it’s not been widely printed or distributed. The Detroit Greenways Coalition, City of Detroit, Jefferson East Inc., MoGo Bike Share, SEMCOG and others are working to develop and share information. While there is funding at the state level for education on these laws, we’re finding it very difficult to use effectively.
Change is hard but especially when there is not a good existing process for education. As we often tell people, bike lanes are the new roundabouts. Everyone will eventually figure this out. We’ll all work together to try make that happen sooner than later.
Photo by L. Demchak
Grievances from Bicyclists
We’ve also heard complaints from bicyclists, mostly about the maintenance of the new lanes with respect to debris and snow. The Detroit Department of Public Works is responsible for their maintenance and have told us the recent snow storm has been a major learning lesson for their staff. Certainly there is a learning curve to maintaining this new style of bike lane and Detroit will eventually get past this as other cities have.
Motorists are parking and sometimes driving in bike lanes. From what we’ve seen, there’s not been much enforcement. There has been a grace period to allow time for motorists to learn how to drive and park legally, but that won’t last forever.
Lastly, we’ve heard from fast cyclists saying they don’t feel safe in the protected bike lanes — and that’s totally understandable. The new lanes are designed for slower, less confident bicyclists. MoGo riders, too. Under Michigan law, bicyclists can ride in the vehicle travel lanes and are not required to use the bike lanes. As far as we know there are no plans to change the traditional bike lanes on parallel routes along Second and Third Avenue.
If there are design deficiencies at specific locations along the route (e.g. bad sight lines), the city has shown interest in tweaking the design to make it better.
And it will get better. It’s part of our mission to make certain.
UPDATE: We were reminded by Alice on Twitter that left turns at many intersections are now more challenging for bicyclists using the bike lanes. It’s more difficult to get to the vehicle lane and make the left. This is certainly a trade off of having protected bike lanes. At some intersections, a two-stage turn can help especially those with green bike boxes.
The first bicycle was ridden in Detroit 149 years ago. Ben Fletcher brought a 100-pound Hanlon bicycle to Detroit. It was mostly made of wood and iron — bicyclists hadn’t invented inflatable rubber tires yet. Fletcher crashed often as he tried riding it along Jefferson according to the Detroit Free Press. As much as the newspaper mocked the rider, they did believe bicycles would eventually be “as plenty as carriages in the streets.”
Year end donation
While it’s fun to look back, we need to keep focusing on moving things forward. To help us do that, we rely heavily on donations both big and small to cover our operating costs. It’s not too late to make a tax-deductible donation to the Detroit Greenways Coalition. We also have a montly support option if that’s more convenient. We appreciate any and all support!
Every year, a handful of good projects narrowly miss our list.
One that stood out this year: the 3.5-mile protected bike lanes in Detroit’s Michigan Avenue, the latest in a series of massive projects that show the Motor City’s potential but have, so far, struggled with maintenance and poorly parked cars.
The City and MDOT have made rapid increases in new protected bike lanes — more than nearly all other U.S. cities — and there’s a learning curve for motorists and maintainence staff. The recent snow storm was a major challenge. The city has told us they are committed to maintaining them as well as the vehicle lanes. Once that happens, we can expect to see Detroit projects in that top ten.
Joe Louis Greenway Updates
Our new Joe Louis Greenway map is nearly complete. We should have copies to hand out by early next year.
We wrote supported three recent grants that would add bike lanes to Joseph Campau in Hamtramck, acquire land that would nearly double the length of the Dequindre Cut, and build much of the greenway with an $18.3 million TIGER grant. We also worked with 25 Detroit bike clubs and they agreed to sign on in support. We hope to hear the results of all these grants in early 2018.
Local Bicycle Ordinances
You may have heard about a recently passed state law that increased speed limits on some Michigan roads. Earlier this month we noticed an inadvertent mistake in the bill’s language that makes all local bicycle ordinances enforceable. It effectively removes the need for governments to post signs indicating what local bicycle ordinances exist. We are now working to get this corrected. (The mistake also makes local truck routes largely unenforceable.)
This is not a major concern in the city of Detroit since we’ve been working to clean up and remove outdated bicycle ordinances since 2008. However, we still have work to do in other cities such as Hamtramck.
Bicycle Network Strategy
If you’ve attended our recent Bike Trails & Cocktails event, you already know that Detroit is close to finishing a Bicycle Network Strategy with the Copenhagenize design firm. The latter recently mentioned in on their web site saying it is “… a forward-thinking protected bicycle network strategy for the greater downtown area, helping to set a standard for many American cities to follow.” We’re really looking forward to this becoming finalized and help standardize what our bicycle facilities look like.
Michigan Trails Summit
We’ve been working closely with mParks on their 2018 Michigan Trails Summit. This year it’s in Detroit on February 6th at the DNR Outdoor Adventure Center. Registration and conference details are now online.
There’s so much going on in Detroit right now. Here are some highlights.
Cass Avenue Bike Lanes
This project is adds three miles of protected bike lanes from Grand Boulevard to Lafayette. It also includes sharrows, bike lanes, and some off street paths that make the connection further south to the RiverWalk.
We’ve been talking about this project for a long time. It’s gone through a number of iterations but now the paint (and posts) are hitting the pavement.
There will be an ongoing education component for all roads users, as:
It takes some time getting used to parking vehicles away from the curb.
Those large red painted rectangles are new and designate bus stopping areas that are also shared with bicyclists.
Until everyone gets up to speed on how this works, please be cautious and patient.
DLECTRICITY Light Bike Parade Help Needed
This fun, free event on September 23rd needs volunteers:
Bike Parade Set Up: Help riders decorate their rides, distribute free products to those in need.
Info Booth/Participant Support: Interact with riders as they prepare and wait for the ride to commence. Provide answers to any questions, help with decorations, and get riders lined up once decorated.
Ride Monitors: Ride with parade to keep speeds down, as well as check and assist with any safety issues.
Route Street Monitors: Support riders crossing at key intersections and assist riders in maintaining a flow within the group.
We are working with the city of Highland Park and Giffels-Webster to design bike lanes along all of Hamilton Avenue.
We are updating our Inner Circle Greenway map/brochure. The City of Detroit should be releasing their Request for Proposals soon to create a Strategic Framework plan for the trail.
The City of Detroit should start this month in adding protected bike lanes E. Jefferson from Rivard to Lakewood.
There’s more but we’ll save those for next time.
Upcoming Events
DLECTRICITY Light Bike Parade September 23rd 6pm
An easy 4-mile ride that is a not-to-miss experience! Register for FreeOpen Streets October 1st Noon to 5pm
Bike, Run, Blade, Walk, Play. This free public event is on the streets from the new Beacon Park downtown to the heart of SW Detroit.
Bike Trails & Cocktails October 17th evening
Detroit Distillery’s Whisky Factory. We will be providing an overview of where we are now and all the new projects that are forthcoming. We will send another update and mroe details when the event registration opens.
The City of Detroit is very close to signing off on the acquisition of 8 miles of abandoned rail corridor. Once that is complete, the city will begin Framework Planning for the greenway corridor. Unfortunately Detroit was not awarded a TIGER grant for construction, which is still a ways off.
Studies show that building Complete Streets designed for safer bicyclist and pedestrian travel saves lives. Complete Streets even reduce crashes for motorists by reducing bad behavior.
while also adding stormwater management features. They’ve having a public meeting about this project this Saturday, February 3rd from 10:30am to noon at the Detroit Police Department 2nd Precint (13530 Lesure Street). What they’re doing here could be a model for greening up other popular biking routes and greenways around Detroit. 
UPDATE: We were reminded by Alice on Twitter that left turns at many intersections are now more challenging for bicyclists using the bike lanes. It’s more difficult to get to the vehicle lane and make the left. This is certainly a trade off of having protected bike lanes. At some intersections, a 
Our new Joe Louis Greenway map is nearly complete. We should have copies to hand out by early next year.
Bicycle Network Strategy
