m-bike.org

Author: Todd Scott

  • Lyon Township Trail Update

    There’s been a significant update since our report last week on Lyon Township’s plans for re-routing the Huron Valley Trail along a road with driveways.

    As we noted, the DNR was not going to allow driveways across the trail and that killed the deal.

    Very recently the Township met with the DNR to discuss a framework for a new, more trail-friendly proposal. And though that proposal has not yet been made, some of the ideas discussed include:

    • Keeping the trail on the original railroad right-of-way
    • Allowing the Township’s ring road to cross the trail with a redesigned crossing that emphasizes safety

    And because trail users are conceding this new road crossing, some additional trail improvements are expected in return. Those may include:

    • Additional connections to local schools, parks, local businesses
    • Lighting
    • A trail head/staging area
    • Eliminating or consolidating driveways near the Grand River trail crossing which make it messy
    • Working with the DNR to have a trail bridge over Pontiac Trail

    Overall, the theme of these possible benefits are safety and more connections — and protecting the public investment in this trail.

    We should know more once Township comes back with an updated proposal, but it seems as though things are moving in a better direction for trail users.

  • Lyon Township: Still trying to ruin a good trail

    ringroadThe Huron Valley Trail provides a connection between South Lyon to Wixom. People use the trail because it’s away from cars, it’s green and just a great place to get away.

    Lyon Township is trying to change that.

    They want to re-route the rail-trail just south of I-96 and east of Milford Road. Rather than run straight through some greenspace, they want to increase their sprawl and build a big ring road.

    Under the latest plan, the trail would be routed along this busy ring road. They also want to allow active driveways across the trail, which means it would no longer meet AASHTO guidelines — something that is required by township ordinance.

    The DNR is saying “no”. They own the trail property. It was purchased and developed with taxpayer dollars as a recreational facility. They are defending this public investment and rightly so.

    Another defender is Fred Dore, long time supporter and rider of this trail. He’s leading the grassroots effort to protect the trail from “being besieged by commercial development interests that may forever damage its utility, safety and natural beauty.”

    He’s urging trail users to contact the DNR and Lyon Township officials to prevent this damaging trail reroute.

    Link: Fred Dore’s letter to the DNR Director

    The sad part about this is Lyon Township officials are claiming this is preventing growth. Southeast Michigan is not growing. Lyon Township is only getting larger because some other community is shrinking.

    This is just another example of how the lack of regional planning hurts Metro Detroit’s long term economic health.

    It’s just sprawl. And it’s certainly no justification for damaging our public investment in trails.

  • Royal Oak says “YES” to Improved Biking

    At Monday’s City Commission meeting, our Bicycle Task Force recommended the City allocate $40K to hire a firm to develop a non-motorized transportation master plan for the city.

    Interim city manager Don Johnson has budgeted that expenditure using stimulus funding from Energy Block Grants. The city has received $543,400 in such funding.

    According to the Department of Energy (DOE), the purpose of these block grants are to:

    • reduce fossil fuel emissions in a manner that is environmentally sustainable and, to the maximum extent practicable, maximizes benefits for local and regional communities;
    • reduce the total energy use of the eligible entities; and
    • improve energy efficiency in the building sector, the transportation sector, and other appropriate sectors.

    The DOE notes the following activities are eligible for funding:

    • Development of infrastructure such as bike lanes and pathways and pedestrian walkways;
    • State/locals/regional integrated planning activities (i.e. transportation, housing, environmental, energy, land use) with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and vehicle miles traveled;

    So, it’s clearly appropriate for Royal Oak to allocate a portion of these funds to plan for improved biking and walking within the city.

    Thanks to the City Commission and staff for allowing this to move forward.

    Also, during Monday’s meeting Commissioner Carlo Ginotti moved that this project continue to move forward. It was passed unanimously.

  • Planning for Better Biking in Royal Oak

    At tonight’s Royal Oak City Commission meeting, city staff will recommend funding for a non-motorized transportation plan in the upcoming budget.

    This is great news.

    While everyone’s welcomed to provide public comment at tonight’s meeting, at this point it’s really not necessary — especially given the lengthy meeting agenda, the wintry weather, and some basketball game.

    We will be sure to attend and provide an updates from the meeting.

    Both the Detroit News and The Mirror have articles about tonight’s meeting.

  • Huge County Trail Loop planned for Macomb

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    Detroit Free Press

    The Detroit Free Press is reporting on Macomb County’s ambitious plans for a non-motorized trail which would encircle the county. The resulting trail would be 70 miles long and completed in 2011.

    An ambitious $8.5-million project is under way to connect several existing hike-bike trails into a giant, continuous loop that officials say will stretch from central to northern Macomb County and — hopefully — attract hikers, cyclers, runners and joggers from across the region.

    The plans call for the loop to connect the Macomb Orchard Trail in the northern section of the county, south to the Stony Creek Metro Park Trail, east to the Metro Beach Trail, through Mt. Clemens, and then back up to the Macomb Orchard Trail.

    This trail loop could connect to Detroit through a much-discussed connection to the Conner Creek Greenway. It could also connect to Madison Heights using a trail along the Red Run.

    Link: Macomb County Trailways Master Plan

    While this news is welcomed, we certainly would like to see equal effort put towards making Macomb County roads more bike-friendly.

    And as we noted earlier the Road Commission for Macomb County is uninformed and unwilling to implement safe cycling on their roads. That simply needs to change if Macomb County hopes to remain competitive with respect to creating liveable communities.