On June 12th, the busiest North American international border crossing will be closing very briefly for bicyclists riding in the Bike the Bridge event.

The only way to register for this event is on-line and that is now open.

This is a very special Biking event. The Ambassador Bridge, spanning from Detroit to Windsor, is shut down to car traffic. Canadians will be able to ride across the entire bridge. American riders will ride to the middle of the bridge, meet the Canadians, and ride back to Detroit. Breakfast will be provided after the bridge ride, on the Detroit Riverfront, at William G. Milliken State Park. Then one of two tours can be selected. The short tour will be approximately 15 miles in length. The Long tour will be approximately 45 miles in length. The details of the tours are still being planned.  If you want to attend this event you must have a valid Passport, Passport card, enhanced driver’s license, or Nexus.

No riders under age 16 please.

Registration closes early — May 27th — so that the information can be forwarded to the U.S. and Canadian Customs. Don’t delay!

There is also a Bike the Bridge page on Facebook.

So often m-bike has focused on Detroit bike history prior to 1900.  However, much history was made after that, especially through the Wolverine Sports Club.

Last year the Wolverines’ Clair Young passed. He was a ten time Michigan State Champion during the 1940s and 1950s. That’s dominant.

His daughter Sheila Young went on to a very distinguished racing career in both cycling and speed skating — winning some Olympic medals along the way.

Endless Road Media produced this excellent mini-documentary on Clair Young.

The Detroit RiverWalk remains closed near Hart Plaza. This closure is due to the construction of the new port and wharf for cruise ships and ferry service.

There is a ribbon cutting being planned for June. However there’s a chance this section of RiverWalk will be opened closer to the beginning next month.

The Detroit Free Press recently had an article regarding this project.

The port authority is working with officials in Windsor, local businesses and private ferry consultants on a market study to determine the feasibility of ferry service between Detroit and Windsor, Kerr said. Service could begin as early as 2012.

Supporters say a ferry could have a built-in demand from tourists and an estimated 6,000 commuters who work in one country and live in the other, including about 4,000 health care workers.

As we mentioned before, this international ferry service would be invaluable for cyclists wanting to get between Detroit and Canada.

Here’s a corny but cute video from MDOT that is “intended to help people explore alternate modes of transportation.”

Their timing is great given that May is National Bike Month and that gas prices are reaching new records in Michigan. According to an unscientific Free Press on-line survey given last month, over 60% of the respondents said they were “making changes to their living habits.” Perhaps more will discover biking as cost effective transportation.

But at the risk of sounding hypercritical, why is Wally wearing an orange safety vest during the day? Is cycling that unsafe that you can’t ride to the neighborhood coffee shop without one? It’s too bad he didn’t look a little more normal. That said, at least he’s not wearing spandex.

Below is the MDOT press release announcing the video and their micommute web page.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE THURSDAY, MAY 5, 2011

CONTACT: Janet Foran, MDOT Office of Communications, 517-335-7176
foranj@michigan.gov
Josh DeBruyn, MDOT bicycling and pedestrian coordinator, 517-335-2918

MDOT promotes bicycling on new Web site and YouTube

May 5, 2011 — As National Bike to Work Week (May 16-20) approaches, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is promoting a new video about the benefits and savings of bicycling on the MDOT YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/MichiganDOT. It is part of the new “Mi Commute” Web site that includes tips and tools to help with the cost of commuting. The Web site www.michigan.gov/micommute explores bicycling, public transportation, and other modes of travel that may help commuters save precious gas dollars.

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The Detroit Works Project is hosting a series of topic-specific meetings to continue gathering community input in the effort to re-imagine Detroit.

Thursday, May 5th from 4pm until 8pm is the Environmental Summit which includes transportation among its many topics. It will be held at the Gleaners Food Bank (2131 Beaufait in Detroit.)

We will discuss: air, waste, water, land, pollution, energy, zoning, green jobs, greenways, environmental justice, remediation, sustainability, energy efficiency, recycling, composting, agriculture, and more…

Share what you are doing to make Detroit a greener city.

Tell the City your environmental vision for Detroit.

Learn about major issues and key opportunities.

Bring your environmental perspective into the Detroit Works Project

Dinner will be provided.

If you’re really industrious, you can review the policy audits which were developed earlier in the Detroit Works Process through consultants. The City Systems – Infrastructure, Transportation, and Sustainability audit covers roads. It’s long and rather dull.

The Landscape, Ecology, and Open Space audit does cover trails, greenways, and parks, while Land Use and Urban Form touches on roads, walkability, bike lanes, and more. The Environment, Remediation and Health audit does connect transportation with health impacts.

There’s much data here and unfortunately it’s spread between these four large PDFs. Still, it looks like a very good starting point.

The Detroit Environmental Summit artwork is by Bec Young. Her artwork is available on-line at justseeds.org.