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
- April 20th (to be confirmed) – Detroit Greenways Coalition Fundraiser at the Lexus Velodrome
- May 7th at 7:30am to 12pm – MOTION Coalition Annual Meeting (free registration)
- May 17th – Bike to Work Day in Detroit (registration to open soon)
Additional Reading & Listening
- Time to Fix Michigan’s CMAQ Problem
Michigan is on the verge of having to send back nearly $86 million in federal transportation funding that could be spent on bicycle and trail projects. - Our thoughts: Milliken State Park Master Planning
- Detroit ByCycle – Episode 3
We had a chance to talk about Detroit bicycling with the startup Detroit ByCycle. - 4 projects to bring Detroit RiverWalk closer to its full vision, Detroit Free Press
- With new mobility options, Detroit goes multimodal, Driven
- Want a toll-free trip into Detroit? Ride your bike over the border, London Free Press
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.”