Detroit, Michigan

The Detroit City Council’s Public Health and Safety Committee is holding a public hearing to remove the Detroit bike license requirement. That meeting is scheduled for Monday, July 28th at 10:30 AM at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center (Jefferson at Woodward.) Please plan on arriving prior to 10 AM to avoid disturbing the Committee meeting.

We certainly could use some Detroit residents at this hearing to voice their support for this change.

The hope is that Council and Mayor can remove the required licensing prior to their August recess. During that recess we will work with Council and others to look at alternative ordinance language that would still allow police to identify and return stolen bikes without heavy fines for those cyclists who are unlicensed.

The City Council members at yesterday’s Public Health and Safety Committee meeting expressed support for biking in Detroit. Council President Ken Cockrel commented that he rides 3-4 times a week. He rightfully noted that unswept streets with broken glass is one issue he faces during his rides.

Overall it was a great discussion and it certainly seems we are making lemonade from the original lemon.

The Trust Fund helped acquire the Clinton River Trail in Rochester Hills, Michigan

Governor Granholm recently signed Senate Bill 978 into law.  This bill adds the following directive for the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund:

The board shall give particular consideration to the acquisition of land and rights in land for
recreational trails that intersect the downtown areas of cities and villages.

Trails in urban areas have often been at a disadvantage when applying for Trust Fund grants.  They often don’t offer pristine natural resources yet they cost more than land located in more rural parts of Michigan.  To offset this disparity, the Trust Fund scoring system did provide extra points for regional trails.

It’s not clear how much of a change this will have in the grant process, but it should make trails in Southeast Michigan a bit more attractive.

Detroit Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings

The group Bike Riders United and MTGA attended today’s Detroit Police Commission meeting. Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings clarified the bike license issue. She said the rationale for this is specific to returning stolen property. It was not her intent to have officers write tickets. The police are not looking to enforce the penalty portion of the licensing issue.

The Chief did acknowledge that is was a mistake to not work with community groups, including cyclists prior to issuing the initial press release about the licensing.

She added that she is a cyclist and may join the Bike Riders United “Cycling Awareness” ride scheduled for August 1st.

The next step is to correct work with City Council to make this license ordinance more clear and reasonable while still giving the Police the tools necessary to identify and return stolen property.

Common Ground

There is near unanimity among the cyclists we’ve spoken with. No one is opposed to any Michigan city registering bicycles. Cyclists are opposed to (a) a city ordinance applying to non-residents, and (b) the Detroit Police Departments threat of enforcement.

Many Detroit cyclists have reported difficulty in getting the licenses; either their local precinct has been out of stock or hours of availability are too limited.

800 Free Licenses for Kids

From a recent Detroit Police Department press release:

Police Chief Ella M. Bully-Cummings along with the Detroit Police Department’s executive team, the three police unions, and the Detroit Firefighters Association have come together to provide a special gift to the children of Detroit. On Saturday, July 12, 2008, from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m., more than 800 FREE bicycle licenses will be available for children 15 and under (first come, first served) at various locations citywide.

From the Wheelhouse Detroit

Here’s some interesting (and positive!) news from our friends at the Wheelhouse:

We got all of our bikes licensed, and are currently working with DPD to even sell them here. Although we still have a fear, like many of the people we talk to, that licenses will be used for harassment rather than for the stated purpose of reducing bike theft, but we can only hope. And we’ve been talking to a lot of officers, all of whom feel like ticketing suburbanites — or residents for that matter — without licenses is just not going to happen. It’s not worth a trip to court for a ticket that will likely get thrown out.

Bike Riders United

A new Detroit bicycle group has formed that among other things, hopes to change this city ordinance. They have already gone before a city council committee. Some rapid remedy may be in the works.