Today’s Free Press has additional coverage of this tragic event, including comments from the victim’s family:

“I’m glad to see there was an arrest. Now we just have to see how justice turns out,” said Heather Weeks, Robinson’s cousin. “You have to wonder because you’d think a normal person would stop even to help an animal.”

The victim’s cousin said the arrest brings a measure of relief but no closure.

“We still have two little kids who are going to have Christmas without their mom,” Weeks said.

Reminder: Donations can be made in the name of Robinson’s mother, Judith Parent, who is caring for the boys. The address is Bank of America, 28746 Woodward, Royal Oak 48067.

ClickonDetroit also has an article on-line along with this older, but well-done video coverage. It’s clear that the victim’s family and Royal Oak Police are supportive of the ghost bike since it memorializes Ms. Robinson and may have helped in the investigation.

The video image of her bike clearly showed a very damaged rear wheel and an undamaged front wheel. This appears to confirm the police report that she was traveling north on Woodward and was struck from behind.

Yesterday morning, an arrest warrant was issued for Kimberly Cooley Dancy, a 44-year old Royal Oak resident who is charged with the fatal hit-and-run crash that killed cyclist Jacqueline Marie Robinson.

The charges?  According to the Daily Tribune, “Leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison, a $10,000 fine or both; leaving the scene of a serious injury accident, a felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison, a $5,000 fine or both; and malicious destruction of property over $1,000, a felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison, a $10,000 fine or both.”

Dancy is expected to turn herself in on Monday.

According to the Daily Tribune:

Dancy tried to mask the damage to her white 2008 Jeep Liberty by driving it into a parked car one day after Jacqueline Marie Robinson, 40, of Detroit was killed, Royal Oak Detective Frank Bonnette said.

“She intentionally damaged her vehicle by striking another vehicle,” Bonnette told 44th District Court Magistrate Kenneth Roy, who signed an arrest warrant. The experts in Rosemead area criminal defense lawyers can help in such cases.

“It was the only vehicle in the parking lot and she rammed her Jeep into it at the same point of impact where the bicyclist was struck,” he said at a hearing Wednesday.

According to a story in The Mirror, Dancy had filed a lawsuit against the City of Royal Oak for impounding her vehicle as evidence. The Police were planning on arresting her when she appeared for the initial hearing at the 44th District Court.

She never showed.

While there are still a few hours left on this day, there’s no better time to give thanks to the Royal Oak Police Department for their investigative efforts in this crime.

These photos are from the Michigan DNR and were taken last week. Phase II of Tri-Centennial State Park is coming along.  It’s going to be a great addition to the Detroit Riverwalk.

According to the DNR, this construction is very dependent on the weather, but they are hoping to get many of the key elements completed before winter really hits.

You can see in some of the photos where sand is being placed along the bottom of the wetland area.  This will be the base for the clay liner, which should hopefully be installed soon.  A layer of top soil will be placed on top of the clay liner, preferably before winter really sets in.

The state park construction is expected to be completed by Fall 2009.

Although they’re not required at Tri-Centennial, keep in mind that buying motor vehicle passes does support our state parks — and they make great gifts.

www.pedbikeimages.org / Dan Burden

Ever wonder how many people are biking or walking to work in Metro Detroit?  How do we compare with the bike friendly cities of Chicago and Portland?

Fortunately the U.S. Census publishes statistics on how people get to work. The below numbers are from 2007, which is before gasoline hit $4 a gallon and encouraged increased bike commuting.  We look forward to seeing the 2008 numbers.

Note that the Metro Detroit error margins are generally +/- 0.1%. For cities, the error margins are much larger which makes comparing these numbers somewhat precarious.

One conclusion that can be drawn is women don’t bike to work as frequently as men, but especially in some areas such as Wayne County, Southfield, and Grand Rapids.  Even in more bike friendly cities like Ann Arbor, Chicago, and Portland, women workers are much less likely to bike to work.  There is no corresponding gender difference among those walking to work in many of these regions (the City of Detroit is an exception).  In Metro Detroit, women  walk to work more often than men (1.6% vs. 1.4%).

Another conclusion: Detroit has much room for improvement compared to places like Ann Arbor, Chicago, and Portland.

One question we have is how does the Census Bureau count workers that use bus bike racks?  Are they counted as public transit commuters, as bicyclists or both?

This brief interview with Congressman Earl Blumenauer was recently published in Parade Magazine:

Why care about cycling now?
Right now, the U.S. consumes about 10% of the world’s oil supply just to get back and forth to work. If we are able to reintroduce the bicycle into our communities, we are going to make it easier for people to break our addiction to oil. I have cycled to work in Washington, D.C., for 12 years. I’ve burned over 300,000 calories and saved $94,000 in car costs, 206 gallons of fuel, and 4800 pounds of carbon dioxide.

Your city—Portland, Oregon —is very bike-friendly. What has worked?
We have expanded the number of bike lanes, established bike routes throughout the city, and turned major streets into “bike boulevards” so there is less through traffic. It’s making a huge difference. People in Portland use their cars much less than the American average. That translates into savings of more than $2500 per year per family. There should be a bicycle master plan for cities large and small.

How do you balance the competing demands of cyclists who want more lanes and drivers who worry about congestion?
It’s not about competition. Cycling actually helps improve traffic flow on roads. If all of those thousands of people who bike every day in Portland were to get back in their cars, we would have more traffic congestion and more frayed nerves. Cycling helps with parking, too—you can fit a dozen bikes in the space one car would take.

Link: A Greener Commute by Meg Massey