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News from the Trail – May 2017

Detroit Bike to Work Day 2017

 

May is National Bike Month and there’s no shortage of bike-related events and updates in Detroit. Here are some of the highlights

Bike to Work Day

Bike to Work Day is a nationally-recognized event on the third Friday of May that encourages people to ride their bike to work. Detroit’s 12th annual event is scheduled for May 19th.  We proud to announce that Henry Ford Health LiveWell is our returning title sponsor.

The main meetup location will be held near the Spirit of Detroit statue at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center from 7AM to 9AM. There will also be pit stops at Wayne State University (Old Main on Cass) and New Center Park.

This year we will provide special giveaways to the first 200 registered participants.

Visit our web site for more event information and to register for free.

MoGo Bike Share

Detroit’s first public bike sharing system is launching this month as a program of the Downtown Detroit Partnership. There will be 43 stations and 430 bikes across the Greater Downtown area. Information on how it works, pricing and more is available on their web site.

We played an early role in helping build support among area stakeholders, assisting with the feasibility study, and helping get the city on board. We’re now serving on their Advisory Committee.

We expect MoGo to get more Detroiters on bikes — as it has done in other cities with similar systems — which will increase the demand for more and better greenways.

Woodward Streetcar Ordinance

An ordinance was introduced in City Council relating to the operations of the QLine, the new streetcar on Woodward.

The initial ordinance language raised a couple primary concerns for Woodward bicyclists. As written, it was open to broad, yet unintended interpretation that could lead to misdeanor tickets for those riding safely on Woodward.

We met with MDOT, M1 Rail, and Council member Scott Benson’s office to review the language and address these concerns. Council member Benson was able to get positive changes made to the ordinance language.

Even still, bicycling on Woodward where the street car rails are near the curb is a challenge. If you chose to ride here, please be extra careful. MDOT is funding new protected bike lanes on Cass Avenue from Lafayette to W. Grand Boulevard as a preferred alternative. Those should be completed this summer.

We’ve written more about this ordinance update on our web site.

Upcoming Events
Wayne County Parks
May 10th 6:30pm
Butzel Family Center
A public workshop to update the strategic plans for county parks.
More Details

I-375 MDOT Open House
May 17th 5:30pm
Eastern Market, Shed 5
A meeting to discuss next steps for alternatives to existing I-375 configuration
More Details

Bike to Work Day
Friday May 19th 7am-9am

Free Registration

 
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
Greenways Newsletter

News from the Trail – February 2017

Beltline Greenway map

 

Hopefully you’ve had the opportunity to enjoy this odd spring-like weather. We’ve seen many of you out biking and walking.

“Get your town on the ‘great bike cities’ list”

The national People for Bikes industry group is asking people from around the country to provide feedback about bicycling in their city. The online survey is fairly simple. The results will be part of a new bicycle friendliness rating. From a Detroit perspective, we’re not sure it’ll be any more or less accurate than the Bicycle Friendly Community program, but we’re still encouraging people to take the survey — and you might win a bike.

Detroit Bike Share

With the public system getting closer to launching this spring, Detroit Bike Share is looking to hire people for their Neighborhood Ambassadors Program – a diverse group of community leaders who will advocate for the system, encourage safe cycling practices, and introduce bike share to their neighbors. Please share this with anyone who might be interested.

Upcoming Events

There are some exciting events listed to the right. Unfortunately the Riverfront meeting and Khan lecture overlap. Both will be great.

There will also be meetings in mid-March for the Greater Islandview Planning process. This includes planning for the Beltline Greenway and more. We’ll be sure to share those dates once they are announced.

Reoccuring Donations

After a great deal of discussion, the Coalition decided to switch from an individual membership model to a donation model. That doesn’t change the fact that we greatly rely on this funding to keep operating. One additional change is we now support reoccurring payments on either a monthly or annual basis. We hope this added flexibility makes donating more convenient.

Upcoming Events
A Huge Announcement
March 1st
We’re sworn to secrecy until then but it’s something we’ve been working on for years.Janette Sadik-Khan
March 1st 5:30pm
Dynamic former NYC Transportation Commissioner speaks at UDM. Free event.
More Details

East Riverfront Mtg
March 1st 6pm
Get the latest on the East Riverfront Framework Plan
Registration

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

 
Categories
Complete Streets Greenways Newsletter Safety & Education

Coalition Updates – January 2017

We hope your 2017 is starting well. Ours is and we wanted to share some updates.

Our 50-Year Vision

We’re rolling out our 50-year vision for future where Bicycle Thruways offer non-stop, safe, and pleasant bicycle travel across Detroit. Thanks to the many supporters and participants that have gotten this vision to this point, but we’re not done. We are continuing this community discussions, refining the vision, and working to incorporate it into current and forthcoming plans.

More information on this project and how you can help are on our web site.

Safety and Education

Everyone recognizes the need to better educate motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians on how to safely operate around the new bike lanes, but especially the protected bike lanes. This is critically important as Detroit is becoming a national leader in implementation this new design. We’re part of a safety education workgroup that’s tackling this issue.

We’ve also worked with MDOT to update their brochure, What Every Michigan Driver should know about Bicycle Lanes. We expect to have printed brochures available in the coming months.

Lastly, our Public Allies of Metro Detroit safety proposal was accepted. This means we’ll have a team available this spring/summer to help with education programming.

Greenways and Stormwater

We have received grant funding from the Erb Family Foundation to continue our work on integrating stormwater management into Detroit greenways. There is a great opportunity to combine both efforts in a mutually beneficial manner, especially with the upcoming changes to Detroit Water and Sewage’s drainage fees. We’re involved in the discussion of how greenways could be part of the offsite stormwater management and credit program.

Model D recently interviewed us on this growing discussion.

We look forward to giving you more exciting updates as the year progresses. Thanks for helping making this happen in Detroit!

Upcoming Events
Bike the Blizzard
January 15th
Fundraiser for Back Alley Bikes

MLK JR. Ride
January 16th
Free ride from Tour de Troit

Complete Streets Public Meeting
January 17th
Meyers Ave
Details
Complete Streets Public Meeting
January 18th
Warren Ave
Details

Bike to Work Day
May 19th
Hold the date!

 
Categories
Complete Streets Greenways Newsletter

News from the Trail – December 2016

Downtown Detroit Public Meeting

We’ve encouraged the Downtown Detroit Partnership for some time about making Downtown Detroit more bike-friendly — and now they are and in a major way. This is so critical now since the area’s rebirth is bringing more traffic and their public bike share program will launch in April.

They’ve been working on designs for an initial phase of a protected bike lane network through the Downtown and even along Woodward. These are advanced designs unlike anything seen before in Michigan. Everyone wants to make sure they will work safely. They want your feedback on this (as well as future bike share station locations and more.)

They are hosting a public meeting on Monday, December 12th from 4pm until 6pm at the Boll Family YMCA. If you can attend, please register. If you can’t, please share your thoughts with contact James Fidler at james.fidler@downtowndetroit.org.

Protected Bike Lanes Expanding

In addition to the downtown, protected bike lanes are being installed on Michigan Avenue and Livernois this year. Cass Avenue’s will happen next year with E. Jefferson not far behind.

A national media source asked us why Detroit is building so many protected bike lanes. We said we have to because Detroit is going to be America’s number one city for bicycling.

With this rapid change, there’s a major learning curve for everyone. We’re working with city and other stakeholders on safety education efforts. We also worked with MDOT to update their “What every motorist must know about bike lanes” brochure, which now includes protected bike lanes.

We’re asking everyone to be careful, considerate and patient while everyone learns how to operate around these new designs. Just like roundabouts, it’s going to take a bit of time.

Neighborhood & Greenway Planning Approved

Four neighborhood planning contracts were approved by City Council last week. All four include planning for these areas to become 20-minute neighborhoods, where every non-work errand can be made with a 20 minute bike ride or walk.

The Greater Islandview contract also includes the Beltline Greenway which we’ve been working on for a number of years. We helped make it part of the Iron Belle Trail, which brought in million dollars in funding to acquire the private property. Our Rouge River Greenway concept is the Grandmont-Rosedale project.

Look for community meetings on all projects during the next few months.

In the meantime, enjoy this great video from ClickonDetroit that discusses 20-minute neighborhoods as well as the Beltline Greenway.

Gordie Howe International Bridge

While there is no guarantee that we’ll be able to bike or walk over the new bridge, it will be designed for it. That’s a requirement of the design proposal released by the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) and a priority for us over the past few years.

We met with the three teams bidding on the project last week. One engineer noted it was critical having the bike and pedestrian requirement at the start because it greatly affects the bridge design and how much the road surface is allowed to deflect. In other words, in a car you might not notice a bridge moving up and down, but it would be unnerving on a bike or on foot.

We’re on the WDBA U.S. Environmental Advisory team and will stay on top of this project as it moves forward.

Our Fundaising Campaign

We need your help so that we can continue our work. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to our Coalition. Thanks to those who have already given generously.

Also, by shopping through Amazon Smile program, a percentage of your purchase goes towards the Coalition. It’s an easy way to give and it doesn’t cost you anything extra.