Category: Complete Streets

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Complete Streets Friends of the Joe Louis Greenway Greenways Newsletter

Joe Louis Greenway Updates – August 2019

More Public Meetings in September

The City of Detroit has announced four new public meetings for the Greenway Framework Plan next month. Each meeting has a specific topic and have a unique format. Per the city:

“Please note that to give each of the subjects we are covering adequate time, each of our 4 sessions during this round will be focused on one main topic. Come to one that interests you, or come to all four sessions! Bring your friends, family and neighbors! Your attendance at even one session can make a huge impact on the project!”

The meeting poster is on the city’s website and you’re encouraged to share it.

  • Walk & Talk — The Places, Spaces, & Connections Along the Greenway
    Tuesday, September 10th from 6-8pm
    Ford Resource & Engagement Center (2826 Bagley St., Detroit, MI 48216)
  • Public Picnic — Arts, Culture & Community Identity
    Wednesday, September 11th from 6‑8 pm
    Forest Park (4226 Riopelle St., Detroit, MI 48207)
  • Panel Discussion — Housing & Economic Opportunities
    Thursday, September 12th from 6‑8 pm
    Focus:HOPE (1400 Oakman Boulevard, Detroit, MI 48238)
  • Community Dinner —
    What’s It Look Like? Deciding Greenway Design, Feel & Amenities
    Thursday, September 19th from 6‑8 pm
    Second Ebenezer Church (14601 Dequindre St., Detroit, MI 48212)

More details are available on the city’s Joe Louis Greenway webpage.

The City of Detroit has also just created a Facebook page for the Joe Louis Greenway. Please consider giving it a “Like”.

Wheelhouse Detroit Tour

We have partnered with Wheelhouse Detroit to lead a tour of the southern portion of the Greenway. The tour discusses the project’s beginnings, route planning, connections to Canada, and much more. We had a great tour last week. There is one more planned for this season on September 28th at 10am. Registration is through Wheelhouse Detroit. A portion of the tour proceeds benefit the Coalition, too.

Bagley Shared Street

A portion of the Greenway is currently under construction: Bagley Street between I-75 and 24th Street. The street is becoming the city’s first Shared Street. These designs are more pedestrian-focused and similar to a plaza. There will be improved lighting, brick pavers, plantings, and no curbs. It will be ideal for public events, or in the case of the greenway, just riding or walking through. There will also be much needed improvements to better connect the Bagley Pedestrian bridge to the street.

The road is completely torn up but the everything is still accessible on foot. Please consider supporting these local businesses during construction, which should be mostly complete by November.

Riopelle Street in Eastern Market also getting a similar Shared Street design.

Jos Campau in Hamtramck

Hamtramck/Wayne County received grant funding to improve Jos Campau from Hamtramck Drive to Caniff. Where the road is wide enough, protected bike lanes will be installed. The road narrows between Holbrook and Caniff, so the improvements will be limited to sharrow pavement markings. This project should be under construction in the Spring.

Yes, Hamtramck Drive from Jos Campau to E. Grand Boulevard is in terrible condition. It is scheduled to be reconstructed in 2021.

Hamilton Avenue in Highland Park

We’ve been working with Highland Park for some time to get improved biking and walking infrastructure on Hamilton Avenue funded primarily through grant funding. Though it’s not directly part of the Joe Louis Greenway, it would connect much of the city to it — which is why this was a priority. It will also connect to Palmer Park and more. That project recently received final approval from the Highland Park City Council. We expect it to be under construction by Spring.

Of courswe Hamilton Avenue needs more support than just improved crosswalks and bike lanes. We’re working with the city to look at other additional grant funding for street improvements, including tree plantings, green stormwater infrastructure, local business improvements, etc.

Other Updates

  • Support Livernois Businesses – The Livernois Streetscape project construction is causing a major disruption for local businesses. As with the Bagley project, please help support the Avenue of Fashion businesses during this time.
  • Atwater Beach – The newest section of the RiverWalk is getting close to opening. This Free Press article covers that but missed mentioning how the Jos Campau Greenway currently under construction will connect the neighborhood.
  • Road Diets – We were recently on Detroit Today with Stephen Henderson to talk about road diets and Complete Streets in Detroit. John Gallagher from the Free Press followed us with a conversation on how to make Jefferson more walkable through downtown and to better connect the Woodward parks to the riverfront.
  • MoGo Boost Bikes – Have you tried the new MoGo e-bikes yet? They just added 50 state-of-the-art electric, pedal-assist bikes. They’ve also added a station at the Dequindre Cut Freight Yard that will be available through this Fall.
  • How our Laws Make it so Americans have to Drive – Daily Detroit’s recent podcast features Greg Shill from the University of Iowa Law. He’s published a fascinating, 78-page research paper on how our laws and policies subsidize and favor motor vehicle use over other transportation modes. The podcast is a good summary of that work. It really deflates the “Bikes and pedestrians don’t pay their fare share” argument.
  • Detroit Bike Club Rides – We’ve been on many great club rides this year! They consistently attract a diverse, ethusiastic group of riders from around the city. It’s especially satisfying to see and hear how the bike infrastructure improvements are helping more people feel safe riding in Detroit. Below is the PedalUp Riderz Friday Night Groove ride using the East Jefferson protected bike lanes.

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Complete Streets Greenways

A Change of Plans: Maurice and Janet

Major changes are coming to the leadership of the Detroit Planning and Development Department (PDD). Planning Director Maurice Cox and Deputy Director Janet Attarian are both stepping down. Both have had a tremendous impact on moving Detroit forward, but especially with parks, greenways, and biking infrastructure. We’ve really enjoyed working closely with them and learning from them.

One especially memorable moment with Maurice occurred shortly after he came to Detroit. He pulled together many of the long time bicycle advocates with city staff and we met in a Mayor’s office. Here he announced that he wanted to make Detroit the best bicycling city in America. There wasn’t much reaction. We were in shock to hear this coming from the city.

It was also Maurice who early on declared that protected bike lanes would be the design minimum for major Detroit streets. He promoted the 20-minute neighborhood idea, where every Detroiter could walk or bike for their non-work errands in under 20 minutes. He expanded the Joe Louis Greenway vision from a mere trail to neighborhood revitalization tool. He was adamant that the Detroit Riverfront should be developed with world class public spaces for Detroiters.

While he and his team achieved much more, we must mention that he also was a regular bike commuter.

Maurice will step down in September and begin his new role as Planning Director for the City of Chicago.

A Bike Infrastructure Rock Star

Bike to Work Day 2018 with Ashok Patel, Prasad Nannapaneni, and Janet Attarian

Losing Janet is equally tough. She came to Detroit via Chicago where she was their Complete Streets Director. She also led the development of hundreds of other projects, including the McDonald’s Bicycle Station, Bloomingdale Trail framework plan, and more.

We used to hustle to bring bike and trail design rock stars to Detroit for workshops, but with Janet, we had one here full-time. She brought a wealth of experience and a pragmatic approach to making safer streets for everyone. She led the design and development of the protected bike lane designs, such as the ones on Cass and E. Jefferson.

She was also instrumental for the framework planning currently underway with the Joe Louis Greenway. At that time, we weren’t certain that was necessary. Now we now it was the right decision. This greenway planning is bringing a much more diverse community voice into the project that strengthens the greenway’s support.

Janet’s last day with the City is July 26th. She’s being coy about where she is headed, but has said she “will not be going far.”

What’s Next?

It remains to be seen who will be the permanent replacements for these positions. We can easily imagine Mayor Mike Duggan seeking equally qualified candidates. In the meantime, there is still a fully-staffed planning department that supports greenways and Complete Streets. Two former members of PDD are now in DPW and GSD as this work has spread between departments.

In short, we’re not worried.

Continue reading “A Change of Plans: Maurice and Janet”
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Complete Streets Greenways Newsletter Policy

News from the Trail – March 2019

Streetscape Projects

Many streetscape improvement projects will be under construction this year as part of Detroit’s $80 million Commercial Corridor Program. Per the City, “These streetscape improvements support the City’s neighborhood planning efforts to improve safety and quality of life for Detroit residents. Streetscape improvements might include a variety of amenities including expanded sidewalks, bicycle lanes, improved lighting, plantings, neighborhood branding, and more.” (More on Crain’s Detroit)

Prior emails have encouraged everyone to attend community meetings for Grand River. Those are ongoing with additional information on the city website. As a result of previous meetings and feedback, the preferred design is for a vastly improved pedestrian, bike, and transit experience along this state trunkline while retaining onstreet parking (see below). The city recognizes the need for motorist and bicyclist education with a 2-way cycletrack. Construction is scheduled to begin this year.

There is a community meeting on Tuesday, March 19th from 6-8pm for the Kercheval Avenue Street Design between E. Grand Boulevard and Parker Street. The meeting is at the Solanus Casey Center, 1780 Mt. Elliott Street. (flyer)

Also this month is the East Jefferson Corridor Improvements Community Meeting. It will be held Thursday, March 21st from 6-7:30pm at the Hope Community Church, 14456 E. Jefferson. (flyer)

This Crain’s Detroit Business article covers many of the other exciting projects.

FCA Community Benefits Agreement

The City of Detroit is moving quickly to try landing a new Fiat Chrysler plant near the the existing E. Jefferson plant. There are already bike lanes on all four sides of that facility, including the Conner Creek Greenway and Iron Belle Trail along the St. Jean. Mayor Mike Duggan has proposed vacating St. Jean to gain the needed acreage for the plant. An initial community benefits meeting is this Wednesday, March 13th from 6:30-8pm at the UAW, 2600 Conner Avenue. We’ll be there to ensure the bike lanes and trails remain and propose that they get improved.

Bike Lane Ordinance

Council President Brenda Jones has asked the Law Department to draft an ordinance that requires all new bike lanes to be approved by City Council. We strongly oppose this. As we said recently in public comment before Council, bike lanes are a safety design that improves mobility for bicyclists, pedestrians, scooter users, and those in motorized mobility devices. Current city ordinance gives the Department of Public Works the ability to design safe roads based on national standards. City Council has approved the non-motorized plan that calls for these bike lanes. As one might imagine, there is a wide variety of opinions among city council members as this video from a recent Public Health & Safety Committee meeting shows.

We will keep everyone updated on this proposal and how you can share your thoughts with City Council.

Upcoming Events

Additional Reading & Listening

Ambassador Opportunities

  • MoGo Neighborhood Ambassador applications are due this Friday, March 15th
  • The Detroit Health Department is hiring temporary Safe Routes Ambassadors “to work on safety education with school children and community groups with an emphasis on the recent and upcoming Complete Streets work and Safe Routes to School efforts.”

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Complete Streets Greenways

Our thoughts: Milliken State Park Master Planning

One preliminary concept rendering

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is creating a master plan for the Milliken State Park and Harbor. Besides being a key piece of the RiverWalk, it also includes the lower end of the Dequindre Cut. Both of these trails are part of the Joe Louis Greenway as well.

Below are our comments that have a major focus on improvements to Atwater for bicyclists and scooterists, as well as the Dequindre Cut connection to the RiverWalk.

Continue reading “Our thoughts: Milliken State Park Master Planning”
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Complete Streets Greenways Newsletter

News from the Trail – December 2018

East Jefferson Meeting Postponed

The East Jefferson Improvements public meeting intially planned for this Wednesday, December 12th has been postponed.  The City of Detroit is revising their plan and schedule for community outreach. We’ll let you know the new date as soon as it’s announced.

Joe Louis Greenway Senate Resolution

Photo by Pattrick Yockey, Senate Majority PhotographerWe worked with the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance (MTGA) on a Michigan Senate Resolution in support of Joe Louis, the Joe Louis Greenway and Detroit trails in general. Sponsored by Senator David Knezek, Senate Resolution 115 went before the Senate Committee on Outdoor Recreation and Tourism on November 28th. We thought this was a great opportunity to testify before state legislators and share all that is happening with trails and biking in Detroit.

We brought three Detroit bike club officers to testify with us. With their help, it went very well. The resolution passed unanimously. Additionally, it stirred interest in bringing legislators to Detroit next May for a bike event on Detroit’s trails. We’re working on that event now with MTGA.

We’ve written more about our trip to Lansing on our web site.

Grand River Road Diet Meeting

There is a public meeting at the Crowell Community Center (16630 Lahser Road) this Thusday, December 13th from 5:30pm to 7:30pm to discuss redesigning Grand River between the Southfield Freeway and Berg Road (just west of Lahser.) There will be a brief presentation at 6pm.

From the flyer:

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the City of Detroit will host an open house-style public meeting to provide an overview of the M-5 (Grand River Avenue) project that includes a road diet between M-39 (Southfield Freeway) and Berg Road, east of US-24 (Telegraph Road). This project will convert seven lanes to five lanes with defined on-street parking and possible bike lanes. There will be an opportunity for the community and residents to review project details and locations, provide comments and concerns, and ask questions.

We really want bike lanes incorporated. We’ve included Grand River bike lanes as part of our Detroit Greenways Network Vision. They would also fit with our Envision Detroit Project.

Grand River is a great bicycling connection between Northwest Detroit, Downtown, and everything in between. Also, MDOT has said that they are looking for additional funding to extend this road design between the Southfield and I-94. This would then include an intersection with the Joe Louis Greenway and lay the groundwork for a future U.S. Bicycle Route 30.

We hope to see you on Thursday!

Donations

Thanks to everyone who made a donation to help us launch our Friends of the Joe Louis Greenway. There’s still time to donate through our web site or our Facebook fundraiser page. We hope you agree that we’re helping make some significant progress towards Detroit becoming a great place to walk and bike.

Photo by Pattrick Yockey, Senate Majority Photographer

Photos by Pattrick Yockey, Senate Majority Photographer

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Complete Streets

NoMo-vember: Detroit Bike & Trail Project updates

  • Bike lanes were removed from recent safety funding projects: Warren & Mack
  • Downtown Bike Network implementation on hold due to downtown construction. Focusing on east-west connectors now.
  • Equipment breakdowns have affected bike lane maintenance
  • Caitlin Marcon is the Deputy DPW Director of Complete Streets

Detroit’s quarterly non-motorized facilities meeting was last week and there were many updates we want to pass along.

Safety Projects

Grant funding is available in the federal transportation bill to redesign streets with high crash rates. Detroit has many high crash roads and has been successfully receiving this funding through MDOT. Traffic Engineering does Complete Streets designs on these high crash roads, which always includes better walking facilities (e.g. crosswalks, countdown Walk/Don’t Walk timers) and often bike facilities (e.g. bike lanes). These projects typically receive minimal community engagement — usually a public meeting.

In 2017, Warren Avenue from the city of Dearborn (near Central) to Dequindre received funding. The plan included protected bike lanes. Given Mayor Duggan’s concern about removing vehicle lanes to add bike lanes without more public discussion, these have been pulled from the project. The two-way conversion of Warren in Woodbridge was completed. We are advocating that the city does add quality bike lanes on Warren from Trumbull to Dequindre. They would be a great connection between Woodbridge, Wayne State, and Eastern Market.

In 2018, Mack Avenue from the Dequindre Cut to Alter was funded. Bike lanes were not included except for the bridge between St. Aubin and Conner Avenue.

Harper Avenue was selected for 2019. With more community engagement, bike lanes can and should be included in these projects as they are a key design element for building safer streets.

Downtown Bike Lane Network

An earlier revision of the Downtown Bike Network Plan

Downtown has long lacked bike lanes. With MoGo and now motorized scooters, the need for a good bike network is greater than ever. The Downtown Detroit Partnership (DDP) has been working on a plan, received funding from MDOT and the Erb Family Foundation, but didn’t have enough. With the added mobility staff in both the planning and public works departments, the city has taken a large role in the project.

We learned at the recent meeting that with all of the ongoing downtown construction, it wasn’t realistic to build the entire network now. What the DDP and City are looking to do is build two major east-west connectors through downtown. Those are Adams from Beacon Park to Brush and Michigan Avenue-to-E. Lafayette connector.

Bike Lane Maintenance

Recent equipment breakdowns have affected the city’s ability to sweep the bike lanes. They have been using blowers until they can get the sweepers repaired, or better still, get specialized bike lane maintenance equipment. The latter really is the best solution in the long run and we’re pushing city to make this happen.

Detroit’s Complete Streets Deputy Director

Caitlin Marcon had been leading  mobility planning within the Planning and Development Department. She’s now a Deputy Director at the Public Works Department and in charge of Complete Streets. This is a big deal and should help build collaboration between the two city departments.

It’s a bit hard to believe this has happened. It doesn’t seem that long ago that we started pushing the city to consider building Complete Streets.

Congratulations, Caitlin.