Tag: MDOT

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Complete Streets Greenways Newsletter

News from the Trail – June 2020

Unity Ride 4 Justice 2020

Unity Ride 4 Justice

We want to thank the Detroit Saints Bike Club for hosting the Unity Ride 4 Justice ride last week. It was inspiring, uplifting, and positive event that reinforced that we are all one family and supporting each other when we ride together.

Virtual Project Meetings

Given the panademic, all public project meetings are now online. Here are some June meetings you may want to check out and provide feedback — 

  • State Long-range Transportation Plan on June 16th at 7 PM and June 17th at 10 AM – Want to help shape how the state of Michigan invests in transportation? MDOT is hosting two telephone town halls to get your input. You must register 3 hours in advance. There’s more information online for this statewide planning project. 
  • Old Redford Neighborhood Link on June 17th at 5:30 PM – This meeting is for sharing your thoughts on community-led activation of public space in Old Redford. This includes public art and cultural programming. Zoom or call in 312 626-6799 with meeting ID 528 771 3400.
  • Parkland Park on June 18th – Wayne County Parks is hosting two public meetings to discuss improvements at Parkland Park in Dearborn Heights, neslted between Rouge Park and Hines Drive: 11 AM – 12 PM (password 630206) and 4 PM – 5 PM (password 003784). The park provides a key connection for the Rouge River Greenway. Please consider joining one of these meetings!
  • Kercheval Streetscape on June 18th from 5:30 PM – The City of Detroit is hosting this meeting to give contruction updates. This project runs from E. Grand Boulevard to Parker and includes improvements for walking and biking. Zoom or call 231 338-8477.
  • Lenox Center/A.B. Ford Park on June 30th at 5:30 PM – The City of Detroit is having a kickoff community meeting for a redesigning project. Zoom, or call  267-831-0333 with meeting ID: 918 1582 7787. They are also gathering input using this survey.

Other Updates

  • Joseph Campau in Detroit is being resurfaced between E. Davison and Carpenter this year. It will be receiving a two-way cycletrack as well since this is a segment of the Joe Louis Greenway.
  • The City of Detroit received the entry-level Bicycle Friendly Community award from the League of American Bicyclists. Like other national awards, it assumes the Census Bureau’s bike to work numbers accurately reflect the amount of bicycling in all cities. That’s not a good assumption in Detroit where bicycling is growing ever popular while its bike to work numbers have dropped significantly.
  • Similarly, People for Bikes ranked Detroit as 22nd among U.S. cities, jumping over a couple hundred other municipalities. Last year Detroit fell over 100 spots in the rankings despite adding more protected bike lane miles than any U.S. city. We don’t place much value in this either since it also makes assumptions with Census data.
  • The planned overhaul of the Detroit zoning ordinances continues, this includes possibly reducing or eliminating parking requirements — something that could lead to denser development that is more walkable and bikeable. We would welcome this.
  • The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, Eastern Market, Belle Isle Conservancy, Downtown Detroit Partnership and City of Detroit have developed this Detroit Parks Coloring Book. Download the pages for free and start coloring!

Livernois Bike Shop

We want to extend our condolences to the family and friends of Sam Awada, owner of the Livernois Bike Shop, located at the east end of the new Fitzgerald Greenway. Sam’s family says the shop will continue to be open and honor his memory. 

A memorial gathering occured shortly after his passing where many in the community shared their stories of how Sam helped them and others. His nephew mentioned Sam’s adoration of MLK Jr. and how he would play his speeches as the younger kids sat on the floor and listened. Read more about Sam and the shop

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Complete Streets Greenways

Newly proposed I-94 design looks much improved

Riding with MDOT and Planning Director Maurice Cox on a tour of the I-94 project to discuss its impacts on walking and biking

Riding with MDOT and Planning Director Maurice Cox on a tour of the I-94 project to discuss its impacts on walking and biking

MDOT is reconstructing nearly seven miles of I-94 through the heart of Detroit. The original approved design in 2004 removed many bridges that bicyclists and pedestrians rely on. It also called for new service drives to be added, widening the freeway’s footprint and making the urban environment less walkable and bikeable. The impacts were alarming.

Fortunately there are new design changes being proposed that address these issues — changes that have been supported by the City of Detroit, Detroit Greenways Coalition, and others.

Those changes are in MDOT’s recently released Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS) for the I-94 project.

This DSEIS looks at:

  • Using existing city streets more effectively as local connections instead of building new, continuous service drives adjacent to the freeway
  • Modifying local access ramps to and from I-94, M-10 and I-75 to improve operations and safety
  • Using the “Complete Streets” approach to design bridges and service drives, making them user-friendly for drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians
  • Reducing the overall Project footprint to avoid and minimize impacts

The DSEIS did not reevaluate the need for two additional freeway lanes.

Public comments on these design modifications can be submitted through October 28th. MDOT is hosting two public meetings on October 10th in Midtown and on the Eastside. The email address for comments is MDOT-I94comments@michigan.gov.

Our Initial Thoughts

What we like:

  • Iron Belle Trail/Conner Creek Greenway – The separated trail bridge just west of the Conner Avenue interchange is great. It separates trail users from the heavily trafficked road as well as the on- and off-ramp traffic. It adds some parkland, too. This is a major improvement.
  • John R, Canfield & Ferry bridges – These bridges provide key non-motorized connections and all remain in place with the new plan.
  • Complete Streets bridges versus pedestrian bridges – We don’t like narrow, elevated pedestrian bridges with long ramps as proposed in the original plan. All of the pedestrian bridges will now be narrow roads with bike lanes and wide sidewalks. They will provide the shortest travel distance with no climbing, awkward turns, or blind run-outs on to service drives.
  • Re-aligning bridges – The Holden bridge lines up with Holden! It’ll be a straight shot for all traffic and it helps complement a greenway and streetscape project in that area. Also, the Canfield bridge gets shifted south and will not longer terminate at the northbound service drive. Four Tops will connect to Calumet.
  • Reconnecting city grid – Yes, there are still some bridges lost, but there are many got added back in as well as new ones, e.g. Hastings and Harper.
  • Reducing service drive impacts – Many of the new service drives proposed in the original plan have been dropped. They ones that remain won’t be as wide and will have narrower travel lanes to help slow speeding. Some will be converted to two-way as well.

What we don’t like:

  • Losing the Third Street bridge – There’s no real way around this. What we continue to ask for is a better non-motorized connection from Third Street to Second along the north side of I-94. Ideally that connection would avoid the school vehicle traffic on Antoinette.

One area we want to further review is green stormwater management. It is mentioned, but it appears less specific than we would prefer. What’s quite specific is this project increase impervious surface area by 78.55 acres.

It’s also unclear how the new Harper Avenue extension would cross the proposed Joe Louis Greenway routing near the existing rail line west of St. Aubin. (The plan references the previous Greenway routing on St. Aubin.)

While not related to our work, it’s worth noting that the new plan  saves the United Sound Systems building by moving it one parcel north.

Categories
Policy

Time to Fix Michigan’s CMAQ Problem

  • Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) is federal funding that Michigan receives, some of which is allocated to SEMCOG.
  • Michigan has nearly $90 million in unspent CMAQ and the federal government is projected to take back nearly $86 million of it in June 2020.
  • CMAQ is a major funding source for bicycle and trail projects in places like Chicago, but not in Metro Detroit.
  • MDOT and SEMCOG should change their CMAQ formulas to invest in more greener modes of travel such as biking, walking, and public transit.

Haven’t heard of CMAQ? It’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality funding in the federal transportation bills since 1991. Some of this funding is controlled by MDOT while a portion is allocated to SEMCOG.

The CMAQ program provides a flexible funding source to State and local governments for transportation projects and programs to help meet the requirements of the Clean Air Act. Funding is available to reduce congestion and improve air quality for areas that do not meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone, carbon monoxide, or particulate matter (nonattainment areas) and for former nonattainment areas that are now in compliance (maintenance areas).

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) web site

The State of Michigan currently has nearly $90 million in unspent CMAQ. Under current law, the federal government is projected to take back nearly $86 million of it in June of 2020.

There are calls for Congress to remove the rescission. That’s fine, but we think the bigger question is why does Michigan have such a large unobligated CMAQ funding balance.

A related issue is MDOT’s and SEMCOG’s antiquated CMAQ project ranking process. It favors traffic signal work since there’s no local match requirement. While these projects may reduce idle times, they don’t take into account how this encourages more driving and negates air quality improvements. They don’t take into account that idling electric, hybrid, and cars with start/stop technology aren’t affecting air quality.

In Chicago, CMAQ largely pays for their bicycle and pedestrian improvements that has shifted travel to greener modes. No CMAQ funding has gone for such improvements through SEMCOG. Zero. (MDOT did fund some Metro I-275 Trail improvements in the past.)

Our bottom line:

  • MDOT should not have such a large unobligated CMAQ balance especially since it’s subject to future rescission.
  • SEMCOG and MDOT should change their CMAQ funding priorities in Southeast Michigan to encourage greener modes of travel that improve air quality.

We certainly would support more CMAQ funding going towards public transit rather than the arbitrary 50% transit/road split that SEMCOG has adopted. 

The Detroit Greenways Coalition is working with elected officials and government staff to address this issue. We want cleaner air and shifting travel to green modes is one guaranteed way to achieve that.

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Uncategorized

Top Bike/Trail Projects for 2019

Detroit bike and trail progress is moving at a pace we never could have imagined when we started over a decade again. Back then we celebrated sharrows. Now Motown has leapfrogged other US cities to become a leader in building non-motorized infrastructure.

This doesn’t appear to be slowing down in 2019 and we’ve picked out a number of projects that illustrate this progress.

Detroit RiverWalk

It’s exciting every time a new piece of the RiverWalk puzzle is completed and a gap is closed. Soon the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy will have more construction ongoing that ever before.

  • Atwater Beach near Jos Campau is under construction now and is expected to be opened in September. This is going to be a very unique and popular gathering place along the Riverfront with its bridge and sandy beach (but no water access.)
  • The groundbreaking for the Uniroyal site should occur this year. This is the major gap between Mt. Elliott Park, Gabriel Richard Park, and the MacArthur Bridge to Belle Isle.
  • The city of Detroit expects the Jos Campau Greenway will be under construction this year. This will provide access from the RiverWalk to E. Vernor along Jos Campau Avenue and on the existing public pathway. A pathway between Larned and E. Jefferson will be added as well.
  • On the West Riverfront, the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park received $50 million in October, $40 million of which is for construction. While work continues on the park, it is not scheduled to be open until Fall 2022.
  • The Riverfront Connector between the Joe Louis Arena and Centennial Park was recommended for a $3 million Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grant. Additional funding is required to build this trail segment along the river.
  • Planning continues on the Southwest Greenway between Centennial park and Roosevelt Park. This should get quite interesting with Ford Motor Company renovating the train station and now owning some of the property required for the trail. Their community benefits agreement includes verbal support for the greenway.
  • Last but not least, the city of Detroit said they would be repaving W. Jefferson between Centennial Park and Riverside Park. This would be a major park connector. Currently the road appears war torn. This could be the most underrated project on this list.
Continue reading “Top Bike/Trail Projects for 2019”
Categories
Complete Streets In the Media Safety & Education

Why the Cass Avenue bike lanes?

Mini-Festivus poles separate the bike lane

WDET held its annual Festivus Airing of Grievances show and perhaps surprisingly the Cass Avenue bike lanes rose to the top.

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. 

Categories
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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