m-bike.org

Author: Todd Scott

  • Bikes on Amtrak: Progress?

    What is the status of getting roll-on bicycle service for Michigan’s Amtrak trains?

    MDOT told us we’d have it over a year ago. That didn’t happen.

    A March article on MLive showed that Amtrak isn’t even close on this and that it’s become a bigger issue beyond Michigan.

    “We’re committed — in new equipment purchases there will be space for bicycles,” [Amtrak Chairman Thomas] Carper said. “How we retrofit old equipment that’s going to be phased out over the next two, three, four, five years — some of the equipment is older than I am. So there’s a balance, a cost balance in there. How we retrofit, there’s some engineering things that need to be taken into consideration.”

    He added that upgrading Michigan’s rail service for bicycles could likely come as part of an upgrade across the entire Midwest Amtrak fleet.

    Last week MDOT released a press released on the U.S. DOT’s plans to buy 130 new rail cars, 25 of which would be used on Amtrak’s Michigan lines.

    Rail car manufacturers across the country will have an opportunity to submit bids to produce the first American-made, standardized passenger rail cars, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced today.

    The $551 million Request for Proposals (RFP) to manufacture approximately 130 new bi-level passenger rail cars in America comes from a groundbreaking multi-state effort to jointly purchase standardized rail equipment to be used on Amtrak’s intercity routes in California, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Missouri, and potentially Iowa.

    These new railcars “will also offer greater bicycle storage.”

    Bids are due in a little over a month and the new rail cars will be delivered starting in mid-2015.

    What we don’t know is how many existing railcars will be retrofitted to provide roll-on service sooner.

  • 1903: Detroit Tigers 5, Detroit Wheelmen 3

    The Detroit Wheelmen was a premiere bicycle club during its era from the start of bicycling history through to the early 1920s. It was the top club in Detroit and in Michigan. Its members helped shape the city by pioneering America’s road and automobile industries.

    It was much more than a group of cyclists. It was a major social club, which was reflected in their final clubhouse on Adams, where Comerica Park is today.

    But they did more than ride bicycles. They hosted bike races on the national circuit. They held major boxing matches. Their annual circus became the forerunner to the Shrine Circus.

    And they played semi-professional baseball.

    In 1903, A. S. Burkhardt managed the Wheelmen’s baseball team and arranged an exhibition baseball game against the Detroit Tigers.

    It was October 2nd, 1903 and the Tiger’s last game for the year. They’d finished the year in fifth place with 65 wins and 71 losses. With the players season over, this game was an opportunity to send them off with a little extra money.

    According to the Detroit Free Press, the Wheelmen’s team had been “greatly strengthened for this game and [hoped] to give the American leaguers an argument.”

    Pitching for the Tigers was their ace George Mullin, who had a 19 and 16 record, a 2.25 ERA, and 170 strikeouts. Mullin still holds records with the Tigers for most innings pitched during a season and all-time. He has the second most wins in Tiger’s history. He also helped pitch the Tigers to three Pennants (1907-1909) along side teammates Ty Cobb and Sam Crawford.

    The Free Press added that having Mullin on the mound, made “the outlook for any great acquisition of cycling tallies very dubious.”

    Play Ball

    The game was played at Bennett Park, at the corner of Trumbull and Michigan. (In 1912 the Park eventually became Navin Field then Briggs Stadium and Tiger Stadium.)

    The threatening weather and muddy conditions kept many spectators away and the Tigers won, 5 to 3.

    Wheelmen pitcher Archie Neuschafer “pitched well” but his team couldn’t hit Mullin’s pitches when it counted. They left 15 men on base.

    The Free Press also included this colorful write up:

    The Dutchman pulled off a couple of shoe top catches that won him much applause. Donovan played Sunny Jim baseball, and helped to fill up the sacks in the ninth, to make the game interesting. Mullin, however, fanned Kustus, with a single good to tie and a double good to win. The sacks were filled in the eighth, also, but Carr pulled down a foul fly from Mogg.

    “Sacks” is a reference to the bases, while Sunny Jim is a character from Force cereal advertisements. The Dutchman was apparently “Wild Bill” Donovan, who was the top Tigers pitcher behind Mullin. He had four errors playing shortstop.

     

  • Ride your Bike to the Ball Park

    This Sunday, April 22nd is the Detroit Tiger’s Ride your bike to the Ball Park day. Tickets for this event are on sale only until midnight tonight.

    The Changing Gears web site posted this article about the event as well as cycling in Detroit.

    The team is hosting its first Ride to the Ballpark event, testing its theory that baseball fans and bicyclists are one and the same.

    “Detroit has a very cool, strong cyclist culture,” says Eli Bayless, the Tigers’ director of promotions and in-game operations.

    The Tigers are offering a $14 package that includes an upper deck ticket to the game, and a ticket for a bicycle valet. Cyclists will pull up to Columbia Plaza in front of Comerica Park’s Gate A entrance, and check their bikes.

    Of course you can ride to the ball park any day. On Sunday, you just won’t be able to use the valet parking without this special ticket.

    There are bike racks located in the parking lots near the northwest corner of the ball park.

    Group rides to the Game

    There are three group rides planned to the ballpark.

    As Bayless told Changing Gears, they’re hoping this will become an annual event and spur the organization to do more to accommodate cyclists.

  • Midtown and RiverWalk construction updates

    These updates are from Midtown Detroit:

    Midtown Loop – Phase II construction began on April 16th. Construction goes along the north side of Canfield Avenue from Cass to John R. and continues south along the east side of John R. to Mack.

    Second Avenue Two-Way Conversion Project – will convert Second Avenue to a two-way street with bike lanes from I-94 to West Grand Blvd. New decorative LED street lighting will also be installed. Construction will begin May 1st.

    Third Avenue Two-Way Conversion Project – will begin on May 7th and is planned to end on July 15th. This project will convert Third Avenue between Ledyard and Forest to two-way traffic, add bike lanes in both directions, and maintain parking along both sides of the street.

    Anthony Wayne Drive is also getting bike lanes which connects the Second and Third Avenue projects.

    Trumbull from Warren to Holden is also getting bike lanes this year, though it’ll likely happen later in the season.

    Mt. Elliott Plaza

    Current Mt. Elliott Park design / Photo from Detroit Riverfront Conservancy web site
    The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy will begin construction on an new plaza and splash park at Mt. Elliott Park this June. The construction should be completed in a year.

    The plaza will be similar in size to the one currently at Gabriel Richard Park at the foot of the bridge to Belle Isle.

    The splash park has a schooner theme with masts, waterfalls, a river, and water cannons. It looks very cool! It’s the kind of attraction that will definitely pull kids and families to the park.

    The schooner does not have a name, but you can change that by making a serious donation.

     

  • Bike lane education in Detroit

    Every city goes through an initial learning period with new road design elements. Local examples include HAWK signals and roundabouts.

    In Detroit, there have been discussions on driver and cyclist education on bike lanes. They’re relatively new to many neighborhoods. Eventually people learn how to behave around and in bike lanes, however, an effective educational campaign can speed up that learning process.

    And there are some potential educational options being discussed and even developed.

    At the state level, bike lanes are briefly and sporadically mentioned in the Secretary of State’s booklet, What every Driver Must Know.

    We really like this video that was produced by the city of Minneapolis.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeDDYfUP4BU

    They also have an educational video on shared road designs.