We mentioned Detroit submitted a TIGER III transportation grant that would have extended the Dequindre Cut and Midtown Loop. built bike lanes from Eastern Market to the planned Hamtramck Trail, and made major street improvements at Eastern Market.

That grant wasn’t funded though the city was told by one congressional office that it scored near the top.

The City is submitting an improved version of the grant request this round.

Competition?

One interesting wrinkle this time is it appears the M1 Rail group is applying for a $25 million TIGER IV grant as well. Even though it would be from the transit portion of TIGER IV, it’s unlikely two big grants would come to Detroit.

From the Detroit News:

[U.S. DOT Secretary Ray] LaHood said in January the government will consider awarding Detroit’s light-rail project up to $25 million on top of $25 million awarded for a bus rapid transit system.

LaHood told The Detroit News he is willing to offer additional government money if the M-1 light rail coalition can show it is financially viable.

Congressional aides said the M-1 plan assumes it will win the $25 million grant, which the FTA says is not certain.

The Detroit News is reporting the the U.S. DOT has “serious concerns” about the M1 Rail’s viability. The Detroit Free Press reports a more moderate response.

…while no decision has been made, there is skepticism in Washington, including concerns that the M-1 plan’s cost estimate — at $125 million — is too low and that the group of private investors won’t pull together enough private financing to qualify for a $25-million federal grant for the project.

Of course the other issue with M1 Rail and bicycling is their plan to run the street cars along the curbs. As we’ve said before, curbside alignments are problematic for cyclists and Complete Streets advocates.

Seattle cyclists sue

The street car tracks are a major safety issue and liability. At least a half-dozen Seattle cyclists have lawsuits against the city for crashes due to street car rails. We spoke with an attorney handling these cases and they said this would be a class action lawsuit if their office had the capacity to organize such an effort.

Does MDOT really want to open themselves up to that?

MDOT should know it’s a hazardous design for bicyclists — it’s mentioned as such in Detroit’s Woodward light rail reports.

There are safety concerns for bicycle users with [the curbside designs] due to the potential for bicycle tires to be caught within the rail flange space in the road. While alternative rail types may reduce this potential conflict, it cannot be fully mitigated.

Of course the odds are that neither project will receive the funding. It’s a hyper-competitive grant source.

Then again, Michigan’s only successful TIGER III grant was a road to a landfill, so anything is possible.

Hats off to the Palmer Woods Association and Hamilton-Anderson for making changes to the proposed street closure at Strathcona and Woodward.

The new design still prohibits motor vehicles from entering Palmer Woods, while accommodating bicyclists and pedestrians.

The other road closures on Woodward and Seven Mile won’t have a major impact on area bicyclists as there are other options. That really wasn’t the case for Strathcona.

Hopefully in the near future, the Complete Streets planning for Woodward can make it more welcoming for less confidant cyclists. A two-way, physically-separated bike lane from Eight Mile to McNichols would be one possible solution.

Other improvements

The Palmer Woods Association is also making other changes in the neighborhood, including adding internal traffic diverters (with accommodations for bikes), repaired sidewalks, and improved lighting. They are one of the three areas targeted under the Detroit Works Project. The work done here can serve as models for other neighborhoods in Detroit.

Actually, this street closure is a model for other areas throughout Metro Detroit and beyond.

Many know about Back Alley Bikes/The Hub of Detroit. It was the City’s first Youth Earn-a-Bike program and it’s been around for over a decade now.

Youth Earn-A-Bike sessions are where youth ages 8-16 are able to earn a single bicycle of their choosing by building and repairing this bicycle with our qualified staff and volunteers for three (3) Earn-A-Bike sessions. Each session is approximately three (3) hours in length, and they are held on Saturday afternoons during the summer.

But there are other Earn-a-bike programs in other parts of the city, including the Mt. Elliott Makerspace located at 231 East Grand Boulevard at Lafayette in the Messiah Episcopal Church.

And the Mt. Elliott Makerspace has some other real interesting programs that focus on transportation, but more specifically:

Human-powered and alternative-energy-powered vehicles designed to enhance mobility, safety, and enjoyability. E.g. bicycles and bicycle trailers, alternative energy vehicles

They also bring in electronics as they build lights and music to create “Tron” bikes.

This video shows more of what they do. It includes a great quote, “I wasn’t getting enough exercise until I earned my bike.”

Detroit-based MASH Magazine is starting a bike club.

Haven’t heard of this publication? “MASH Magazine fuses modernism, beauty, high fashion, and design for the multicultural audience.”

Their recently published second issue includes the article, “Changing Gears: Detroit to go from four wheels to two.” It mentions the recent and forthcoming improvements that are making Detroit an even better place to ride.

The article also mentions their new summer group ride.

MASH is going to continue to encourage out young and fabulous women to partake in this wonderful past time – join us for a MASH ride.

The MASH Bike Club rides are from June 2nd though September 22nd on every other Saturday.

The ride meets at the LaSalle Garden Park at noon. The Park is between Linwood and 14th, just north of Grand Boulevard and a couple blocks west of Henry Ford Hospital.

State Representative Maureen Stapleton is hosting a transportation town hall meeting on Monday, March 11th at 6pm.

According to the Detroit Free Press, the discussion will be about “roads, transit and related infrastructure issues.”

Officials will speak with residents about roads and road funding — and as the Legislature considers establishing a regional transit authority in metro Detroit, they’ll discuss what such an agency would mean for southeast Michigan, organizers said.

Stapleton will host the meeting along with Rep. Fred Durhal Jr.; both are Detroit Democrats. Representatives from the Detroit-based advocacy group Transportation Riders United, the Michigan Department of Transportation, Wayne County and the County Road Association of Michigan will be on hand too.

The meeting will be held 6 p.m. Monday at Plymouth United Church of Christ, 600 E. Warren at I-75 in Detroit.

CRAM

It’s interesting that the County Road Association of Michigan (CRAM) will be present. They have been on the wrong side of some very good state legislation.

For instance, they were basically the only opposition to the national award winning Recreation Passport program which is now successfully funding our Michigan State Parks. They claimed it was unconstitutional in front of a combined Senate/House committee where legislators told them otherwise.

They also unsuccessfully tried amending the Complete Streets legislation by removing the long-standing requirement that a minimum of 1% of state road funding go toward non-motorized transportation. It is still among their legislative priorities to undo this 1% state funding requirement.

They are supportive of a terrible bill (HB 4021) that would divert state park funding to pay for roads and airports even though Michigan voters changed the state constitution to prevent such funding raids.

Ironically enough, it was bicyclists, including Edward N. Hines that led efforts to create county road commission in 1893 and 1894. Prior to changing the state constitution in 1894, it was unconstitutional for counties or county road commissions to build and maintain roads.