Woodward Transit Community Meetings this week
Six meeting are planned this week to discuss the initial bus rapid transit (BRT) plans for Woodward Avenue.
- Tuesday, December 3 from 6 to 8 pm (Royal Oak and Birmingham)
Beaumont Hospital Administration Building, 3711 W. 13 Mile Road, Royal Oak, MI 48073
(Free parking in South Deck Parking, enter from Coolidge Highway.) - Thursday, December 5 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm (Berkley and Huntington Woods)
Berkley Community Center, 2400 Robina Avenue, Berkley, MI, 48070 - Saturday, December 7 from 11am to 1pm (Pontiac, Bloomfield Hills and Bloomfield Township)
St. Joseph?s Hospital, Anthony M. Franco Communications Center Auditorium,?44555 Woodward Avenue, Pontiac, MI, 48341 - Monday, December 9 from 6 to 8 pm (Detroit and Highland Park)
Michigan State University Event Center, 3408 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48201 - Tuesday, December 10 from 6 to 8 pm (Detroit and Highland Park)
Next Energy, 461 Burroughs Street, Detroit, MI 48202 - Wednesday, December 11 from 6 to 8 pm (Ferndale and Pleasant Ridge)
Coolidge Intermediate School, 2521 Bermuda Street, Ferndale, MI 48220
BRT is the preferred model for connecting Detroit and the suburbs for a lower initial cost when compared with light rail. A well-designed BRT can greatly increase bicycling as well. Bicycling is often used for the first and last miles of a transit ride.
One of the major concerns we have with this planning involves M1 Rail. As you probably know, M1 Rail will be predominantly curb-running on Woodward where cyclists now ride. Adding tracks to the roadway will make it much less safe. The mitigation proposed by MDOT is to improve Cass Avenue for cyclists, which parallels a portion of Woodward. There have been rumblings that M1 Rail may also force the BRT off Woodward as well — and on to Cass. This could make Cass much less bike friendly. Our preference is to keep BRT on Woodward where it belongs and make Cass more bike friendly. MDOT owes bicyclists a safe alternative to Woodward per their Complete Streets policy.