Category: Complete Streets

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Complete Streets Newsletter

News from the Trail – September 2017
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.
  • These are the first bike boxes in Michigan.
  • 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.

Contact Al Fields at fields6306@gmail.com to sign-up to help!

Other Quick Updates

  • 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.
  • MDOT is adding protected bike lanes on most of Grand River from I-94 to to Cass Avenue.
  • 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.

 
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Complete Streets

MDOT to add protected bike lanes to Grand River Project

MDOT recently held an open house on August 10th, 2017 open house to discuss their Grand River Avenue reconstruction project.

Although this project is already under construction, the re-striping will be changed before it is completed in September. The seven-lane road between Cass Avenue and I-94 will be road-dieted to five lanes and (mostly) protected bike lanes. On-street parking will be removed except in locations where it is needed by small businesses. In those limited locations, bicyclists will loss the protected bike lane and have to share a 14-foot vehicle travel lane.

That is not certainly not ideal. However, the MDOT project team was unwilling to remove another lane of travel at this time, especially given the uncertainty of the new arena and its new traffic patterns. City planning did propose an alternative pavement marking where the protection drops that would alert motorists and encourage them to stay left.

Some small businesses did attend and affirm their need for on-street parking since they did not have off-street options. There seemed to be a respectful acknowledgement from both bicyclists and these owners that the road design wasn’t ideal but a fair compromise to benefit both parties.

Bicyclists also raised concerns about the maintenance of existing protected bike lanes. The city confirmed that they now have specialized equipment to sweep these lanes that are too narrow for standard width sweepers.

These Grand River bike lanes provide a key connection between many destinations, including Downtown, Woodbridge, Beacon Park, RiverWalk and more. East of Cass Avenue, a two-way cycletrack is planned to connect through downtown. It is anticipated that they will eventually get extended for the entirety of the Grand River.

With the completion of this year’s E. Jefferson, Cass, Warren, and Grand River Avenue projects, Detroit appears to be one of the top five U.S. cities for miles of protected bike lanes, up from 76th in 2015.

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Complete Streets Greenways Newsletter

News from the Trail – July 2017

Summer’s rolling by fast and so are the updates…

Inner Circle Greenway

This 26-mile trail around the city continues to move forward. After many years of discussion and negotiation, the city of Detroit has agreed to terms for the purchase of 7.5 miles of abandoned Conrail railroad property. They will be able to use $4.3 million in grant funding that we helped them get.

The city also got a $2 million dollar grant from the Ralph C. Wilson Foundation which will be used to develop a framework plan and construction documents. Expect there to be meetings later this year as the framework plan is developed. The city has announced that the trail would be completed by 2019.

We’re also lending our support to add 1.75 miles to one of the most popular trails in Detroit and Michigan. Expect to hear more about that in future updates.

Gordie Howe International Bridge

We’ve already mentioned that the new bridge will accomodate both bike and pedestrians, but the good news doesn’t stop there. As part of the community benefits agreement, the Delrayt area around the Detroit bridge plaza will receive millions in street improvements and new trails. E. Jefferson and Fort Street will get protected bike lanes. Campbell and Green Streets will have greenways. The key non-motorized connection at Junction over I-75 will also be improved.

There’s potentially more good news coming that could come our way.

Additional Updates

  • The DNR received a $750,000 grant to help build a 6-mile shared-use path around Belle Isle. This might help get some pedestrians out of the bike lanes and reduce conflicts. MDOT is repaving the MacArthur Bridge and we’ve asked them to widen and improve the bike lanes while they’re at it.
  • The Detroit RIverfront Conservancy received $50,000 in grant funding for Atwater Beach just east of Chene Park. If they can successfully raise the additional funding, they will break ground next spring.
  • The Detroit Planning and Development Department now has a Transportation and Mobility office with Lead Planner Caitlin Malloy-Marcon. We now have another supporter in the city.
  • Wayne State University is hiring a student for a part-time position as Transportation Ambassador. More information
  • SEMCOG wants your feedback on regional transportation issues in Southeast Michigan. Their on-line survey doesn’t take all that long.

Upcoming Events

Handlebars for the Homeless
Sunday, August 6th
Early registration discount through July 28th
Event Registration

DLECTRICITY
Saturday, September 23rd
This fun, free 4-mile night ride is back! There are prizes for the best bike light displays
Event Details &  Registration

Bike Trails and Cocktails
September TBD
Our fundraising event returns. More details to follow

We rely on donations from people like you to help continue this work. We now have a monthly giving option if that is a more convenient way to contribute. Thanks!

Have you seen the new Cass Avenue bike lanes being installed? We advocated for these as an alternative to the less safe riding conditions along Woodward due to the streetcar rails.
Photo by Mark Hall
 
Categories
Complete Streets Greenways Newsletter

News from the Trail – April 2017

 

Volunteer Cleanup Event

The bike lanes and sidewalks along St. Aubin Street near Eastern Market need some TLC. This route, also known as the Hamtramck Connector, is part of the planned Inner Circle Greenway, too.

On Saturday, April 8th from 9am to noon, we’re going to give St. Aubin a makeover in partnership with the City of Detroit and with help from GFL (Green for Life), Meijer, and the Polish American Historic Site Association.

We need volunteers to help us remove debris and vegetation from the bike lanes and sidewalks. Please register if you can attend.

Volunteer sign in is at the St. Albertus parking lot on the northwest corner of Canfield and St. Aubin.

Greater Downtown Area Bicycle Network Plan

The City of Detroit is hosting a couple meetings this month regarding updates its non-motorized plan from 2005. The goal is to bring a world-class bicycle network for Detroit’s greater downtown area. These public meetings are a chance for you to preview their work, ask questions, and provide feedback.

  • April 12th, 5:30 am to 7:30 pm
  • April 13th, 9:00 am to 11:00 am

Both meetings are at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, 315 E. Warren Avenue, Detroit, MI 48201

The official flyer for the event is on our shared drive.

Quick Survey on Biking in Detroit

People for Bikes is conducting a national survey that only takes less than 10 minutes. The feedback will help determine city rankings in a new PlacesForBikes rating system. They expect to “identify the best places for bicycling today and recognize those that are improving the fastest.”

Take the survey

Typically, national organizations do a poor job evaluating cities like Detroit for bicycle friendliness due to the data they use. This may be an opportunity to get a more accurate review. We’ll find out when the city ratings are released in fall 2017.

Upcoming Events
Volunteer Cleanup
April 8th, 9am to noon
Let’s give St Aubin a makeover — part of the Inner Circle Greenway
Registration

Greater Downtown Bicycle Plan
April 12th & 13th
See and hear updates on trails and biking in Detroit
Event Flyer

MDOT Training Wheels
May 10th in Warren
Educational course on the planning and design of on-road bicycle facilities
Event Flyer

Bike to Work Day
May 19th
Mark your calendars. Details to come!

 
Categories
Complete Streets Greenways Newsletter

News from the Trail – March 2017

 

We’re on the Bridge

We can now share the official news: bicycles and pedestrians will be allowed on the new Gordie Howe International Bridge between Detroit and Windsor.

This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to create a new trail between the two countries. It took years of being a persistent voice, working with various US and Canadian officials, organizing bike tourism support from Montreal to Montana, and even creating an international greenway map. We’re looking forward to riding and hiking the bridge when it opens in 2022.

Riverfront East

If you were unable to attend the recent Detroit Riverfront East Planning meeting, you missed quite a bit. The City of Detroit, Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, and Detroit Economic Growth Corporation made some major announcements, including new RiverWalk segments (UniRoyal too!), the Beltline Greenway, the new Campau Greenway, and bike lanes along E. Jefferson. We believe there is an opportunity to incorporate designs from our 50-year vision into these announced projects. The exciting details are on yourdetroiteastriverfront.org.

Detroit Bike Share

Detroit Bike Share is hiring Neighborhood Ambassadors. Job submissions are due March 17th. Additional details on Ambassador position, expections, pay, and more on are available in this document. The bike share operator, Shift Transit is also hiring Launch Associates and Bicycle Mechanics.

Upcoming Events
Annual Garage Sale
March 11th 3-6p
Back Alley Bikes used bike sale helps fund their youth bicycle programing.
Additional DetailsDetroit Bike Share Mtg
March 14th 6pm
A free community meeting to discuss equitable access and bike share.
Registration

Greater Islandview & Villages Planning Mtgs
March 14, 21 & 23 6-8p
Discuss biking, walking, the Beltline Greenway & more.
Additional Details

DGC Volunteer Cleanup
April 8th 8am to noon
We’re partnering with the city to cleanup St. Aubin. More details to follow.

Bike to Work Day
May 19th
Mark your calendars. Details to come!

 
Categories
Complete Streets

Making the case for Detroit pedestrian investments

We spent time with city staff taking photos in Detroit neighborhoods that demonstrate the need for greater investment in better walking infrastructure.

From non-existent sidewalks to impassable ones, we didn’t document anything that was uncommon to Detroiters. In fact, during our journey we were stopped by neighbors asking that we visit their area in hopes of getting their sidewalks improved.

We thought it might be best to simply share our photos. Clearly, these need to be improved if Detroit is to become serious about building 20-minute neighborhoods.

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Do you have any poor walking conditions in the city of Detroit that you wish to highlight?