Detroit Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings

The group Bike Riders United and MTGA attended today’s Detroit Police Commission meeting. Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings clarified the bike license issue. She said the rationale for this is specific to returning stolen property. It was not her intent to have officers write tickets. The police are not looking to enforce the penalty portion of the licensing issue.

The Chief did acknowledge that is was a mistake to not work with community groups, including cyclists prior to issuing the initial press release about the licensing.

She added that she is a cyclist and may join the Bike Riders United “Cycling Awareness” ride scheduled for August 1st.

The next step is to correct work with City Council to make this license ordinance more clear and reasonable while still giving the Police the tools necessary to identify and return stolen property.

Common Ground

There is near unanimity among the cyclists we’ve spoken with. No one is opposed to any Michigan city registering bicycles. Cyclists are opposed to (a) a city ordinance applying to non-residents, and (b) the Detroit Police Departments threat of enforcement.

Many Detroit cyclists have reported difficulty in getting the licenses; either their local precinct has been out of stock or hours of availability are too limited.

800 Free Licenses for Kids

From a recent Detroit Police Department press release:

Police Chief Ella M. Bully-Cummings along with the Detroit Police Department’s executive team, the three police unions, and the Detroit Firefighters Association have come together to provide a special gift to the children of Detroit. On Saturday, July 12, 2008, from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m., more than 800 FREE bicycle licenses will be available for children 15 and under (first come, first served) at various locations citywide.

From the Wheelhouse Detroit

Here’s some interesting (and positive!) news from our friends at the Wheelhouse:

We got all of our bikes licensed, and are currently working with DPD to even sell them here. Although we still have a fear, like many of the people we talk to, that licenses will be used for harassment rather than for the stated purpose of reducing bike theft, but we can only hope. And we’ve been talking to a lot of officers, all of whom feel like ticketing suburbanites — or residents for that matter — without licenses is just not going to happen. It’s not worth a trip to court for a ticket that will likely get thrown out.

Bike Riders United

A new Detroit bicycle group has formed that among other things, hopes to change this city ordinance. They have already gone before a city council committee. Some rapid remedy may be in the works.

We believe the Monkey was lost due to the Lafayette Ramp access

The Detroit Free Press is reporting today that the Dequindre Cut is at least 6 weeks away from opening.

The graffiti, some of it spectacular, is staying. It decorates the old bridge abutments and helps to create a dazzling visual effect — gritty artwork, old walls and big shade trees contrasting with the newly paved path, plantings and modern lights and security phones. Fixtures for the lights and phones are in place but remain unfinished.

Above the trail, you can see the Mies van der Rohe towers of Lafayette Park and the 19th-Century steeple of St. Joseph Church. The dominant sound, at least on a Sunday, was bird songs.

Cyclists often speculate about why Metro Detroit doesn’t offer safer biking options.

A common culprit is our motor city heritage.

I disagree. I think it’s because we just don’t ask.

In communities where residents have effectively asked for biking options, they got them. Ferndale is a prime example. Troy could be the next one. Both communities surveyed their residents and the number one response was for better biking and walkability.

So how do you ask? Here’s a great option that’s painless and probably somewhat fun.

The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) is hosting meetings where “the public is invited to express their opinions regarding the future of Southeast Michigan’s transportation system.”

The meetings are next week at three different locations:

• Monday, July 21, 2008, SEMCOG offices, 535 Griswold, Suite 300, Detroit; 4-7 p.m. (formal presentations begin at 4:10 p.m. and 5:40 p.m.);
• Tuesday, July 22, 2008, Southfield Public Library, 26300 Evergreen Rd, Southfield; 4-7 p.m. (formal presentations begin at 4:10 p.m. and 5:40 p.m.); and
• Wednesday, July 23, 2008, Washtenaw Community College, Morris Lawrence Building, Ann Arbor; 9 a.m.-12 noon (formal presentations begin at 9:10 a.m. and 10:40 a.m.)

Please attend one of these meeting and make your “ASK” for better bicycling facilities in Southeast Michigan.

If you’re unable to attend, you can email your comments to infocenter@semcog.org. You can also take their on-line survey.

Here are additional details from SEMCOG’s press release: Read the rest of this entry »

Today’s Detroit News has an article titled Cutting the Cost of Commuting. It discusses how some Michigan companies are helping their employees cope with higher fuel costs.

What’s great is the more progressive companies like Google and Herman Miller are promoting bike use.

Google’s Ann Arbor office donates $5 per day to a charity of choice for those who walk or bike, according to spokesman Patrick McLaughlin. About half the workforce take public transportation, walk, bike, or carpool.

Brian Walker, CEO of Zeeland-based furniture manufacturer Herman Miller and an avid bicyclist, decided to discourage the use of cars altogether when he implemented a “bike pooling” system that matches other cyclists by location and schedule.

Rather than offer stipends to buy gas, the company provides one-time reimbursements of $100 for bicycles, $50 for helmets, and $500 for hybrid cars.