When it comes to understanding the needs of bicyclists, there are certain organizations and professionals that we don’t expect much from because they embrace the status quo even when it doesn’t work.

But planners should get bicycling. To be good, they must be looking forward and embracing the future.

That’s why it’s so very frustrating to review the work of planners that apparently don’t get it.

Examples include:

• A sustainability study for Farmington Hills that all but ignores increasing bicycle use (Hooker | De Jong)
• A county parks and recreation plan that assumes parks users won’t ride their bikes to the parks (Carlise Wortman)
• A trails and pathways plan for Oakland Township that ignores the basic AASHTO guidelines for good bicycle facilities (Carlise Wortman)

And perhaps we can add another plan, the Birmingham and Troy Transit Center.

The most obvious failing is the tunnel design which runs beneath the railroad.

According to a recent Metromode article, Carrie Zarotney, president of the Birmingham-Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce, noted the public interest in the center’s bikeabilty.

Last June, at the transit-oriented development charrette held to raise awareness of the project, the public made it “…very loud and clear that there was a need for pedestrian-friendly access and bicycle paths, so not only could you walk through the tunnel but you could bike through the tunnel.”

Then why does the August 2009 plan route cyclists onto a convoluted sidewalk route against AASHTO design guidelines?

The tunnel has very poor sight lines at the entrance and exit that are unsuitable for mixing cyclists and pedestrians. With this design, it may not take many?collisions?before bike riding in the tunnel is prohibited.

It appears there was little to no thought given to making a simple and clear bicycle pathway connection between the roads on either side of the railroad tracks. Did the planners not realize that a major residential area and downtown on one side of the tracks would generate bicycle traffic to the residential and shopping areas on the other side (and vise versa)? Why didn’t they accomodate it using the AASHTO bicycle design guidelines?

Right now there is no direct and safe way between these two areas for bicyclists. This plan does little to help that.

Another big issue is bike parking. It appears there are approximately 200 car parking spaces, yet there is one bike rack that should hold about four bikes.?The bike rack is also poorly located according to the Bicycle Parking Guidelines set forth by the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals. This bike parking does not appear to be covered.

There doesn’t seem to be a bike rack on the Birmingham side.

There are no bike racks near the bus stops (even though they are shown in the sample photos.)

Adding a bike rack is an easy point for buildings looking to gain LEED status, which this one apparently is.

We will be sure to submit these comments to Birmingham and Troy.

With Troy’s recent non-motorized planning efforts, this important tunnel connection must be properly designed to accomodate bicycles, whether they are using the transit center or not.

And if they are using it, they need adequate bike parking.

When talking about trails, water trails or blueways are often not given their due — especially in Detroit. But there are some groups working hard to change that.

Kelli Kavanaugh has an excellent article in Model D talking about a recent kayak adventure.

A blue heron rises gracefully into the air. A fish jumps, the splash rising just over my shoulder. A muskrat sleekly dives. My kayak cuts noiselessly through the water. All this, on Detroit’s East Side.

Riverside Kayaks has been at the forefront pushing these water trails along the Detroit River and others downstream. In my trails job with MTGA, I’ve been helping where I can.

One issue we’re working to resolve involves existing city ordinances. It’s illegal to launch a kayak from a city park unless you first get permission from the recreation department. This ordinance may be a holdover from the days of Prohibition and rum running across the Detroit River when Belle Isle might be a welcomed landing spot.

Riverside Kayaks and MTGA are working with Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel’s office to change that ordinance to exempt small, light craft such as kayaks. We hope to have that change completed this year prior to Ms. Cockrel’s retirement from Council.

Back to Kavanaugh’s Model D article, she also highlights some of the Conner Creek Greenway additions that are in the works.

DECC’s Libby Pachota… is working on raising funds for the Conner Creek Greenway that will ultimately run from the Detroit River to Eight Mile.

DECC’s greenway efforts have led to the construction of a 2 1/2-mile section near City Airport as well as a short stretch called Milbank. Next up: bike lanes on St. Jean between Mack and Jefferson that will then connect down to Maheras Gentry Park. A third phase will connect McNichols to Eight Mile along Outer Drive and Conner. Funds are committed and these four miles will be completed by 2011, says Pachota.

While the city had hoped to have the St. Jean bike lanes in this year, they’ve been pushed back to next year. (This Saturday’s Tour de Troit metric century route will include this section of St. Jean.)

We’re also working with Macomb County to continue the Conner Creek Greenway north of Eight Mile, perhaps taking advantage of some upcoming improvements to Van Dyke.

Here’s some media coverage related to biking in Detroit:

Make the Motor City Smaller

Free Press write Bill McGraw has an article in Newsweek about the need to manage shrinking in Detroit.

Detroit has been shrinking for 50 years. The city has lost more than half of the 2 million people it had in the early 1950s, but it remains 138 square miles. Experts estimate that about 40 square miles are empty, and [Mayor Dave] Bing has said that only about half the city’s land is being used productively.

The next steps are complicated and largely uncharted. Moving residents into more densely populated districts has legal and moral implications; it must be done with care and the input of those who would be moved. And what do you do with the empty space? The city is already dotted with big vegetable gardens, and one entrepreneur has proposed starting a large commercial farm. Some people advocate bike paths, greenways, and other recreation areas. Surrounded by fresh water, and buffeted by nature reasserting itself on land where factories used to be, Detroit could someday be the greenest, most livable urban area in the country. A city can dream, can’t it?

Of course the positve side to this abandonment is our roads have few motorists and it’s a great place to bike. This largely goes unrecognized because the yardstick for bikeability is how much money a city has invested in bike lanes and bike racks. That bike-friendly yardstick fails to acknowledge how a shrinking city can make a city more bikeable.

On a related note, I spoke briefly with Detroit council candidate Charles Pugh at Saturday’s Dally in the Alley. He wants to sit down and discuss how greenways fit into a plan for shrinking Detroit.

Right way is the only way to ride a bike

The Times Herald out of Port Huron has a well-written column about riding on the right side of the road. Apparently they had many of their reads call in regarding biking.

Of course, it is a less-than-scientific survey, but a majority of TalkBack callers believe bicycle riders should travel on the left side of the road, against traffic.

On this, as in many matters, a majority of TalkBack callers are wrong.

One additional point is that riding against traffic on a sidewalk or sidepath (also called safety path) is even more dangerous than riding against traffic on the road.

Campaign focuses on plight of Rust Belt

The Pittsburg Post-Gazette covered the Great Lakes Urban Exchange also known as GLUE, who asks the question, “I Will Stay If…” at events throughout the Rust Belt.

The Detroit party was “a qualified success,” said Ms. [Sarah] Szurpicki. “We had around 100 people and collected over 80 good photos” of participants holding a white board with the phrase “I Will Stay If …” completed.

“The photos show that people want better regional cooperation, public transit, bike lanes, curbside recycling, things like that. And what has come out of this is people saying ‘I am staying to be a part of something,’ ‘I am staying because I want to help build that curbside recycling program.’

“This is about place-building.”

On another web site, someone commented that the communities in Southeast Oakland County have ridiculous bike rules unlike the west side.

The reason we didn’t list any weird west side rules is because we hadn’t looked there.

So, in order to be balanced, here are some more true or false questions:

1. You cannot sell ice cream from your bike in West Bloomfield
2. It’s illegal to drive into Kensington Metropark with your bicycle on a rack.
3. Plymouth police can impound residents’ unlicensed bicycles and it costs $3 to get them back.
4. It is illegal to use a child trailer on your bike in Northville.

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How well do you know the “rules of the road?”

True or False:

1. It is illegal to follow the designated bike route from Birmingham to Royal Oak in the early morning and late afternoon.
2. Cyclists must ride on Woodward when leaving the American Cycle and Fitness/Trek store in Royal Oak.
3. You must have a front and rear light when riding your bicycle in Detroit during the day.
4. Anyone who buys a bicycle in Birmingham, must tell the police or they can impound it.
5. When braking, cyclists must remove their hand from their left brake lever first.
6. Some folding bicycles and recumbents do not have rights to ride on the roads in Oak Park.
7. Clawson ordinances prevent bicyclists from signaling their turns.
8. All cyclists on the Wednesday Wolverine ride must get their bicycles licensed by the city of Birmingham first.
9. Oak Park police can impound your bicycle if you are caught drinking water from your bottle while biking.

Answers below the fold.

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