There was a discussion of a Complete Streets ordinance at yesterday’s Detroit City Council Public Health and Safety committee. It seems the debate is whether or not city council should pass a Complete Streets resolution or ordinance. The latter is more binding and permanent. A resolution would likely call for the city to have a Complete Streets policy, but there would not be much teeth in making sure the policy is followed.

Four city departments spoke on the topic. The Department of Health and Wellness Promotion (aka the health department) has received grant funding that requires that a Complete Street ordinance be passed. They also spoke about the connection between Complete Streets and public health.

Next, the Department of Public Works (DPW) listed their current non-motorized efforts. One highlight: They’ve spent $38 million during the past 10 years on non-motorized facilities, which includes 20,000 ADA sidewalk ramps, 400 pedestrian countdown timers, and (by the end of this year) 73 miles of bike lanes. They said a resolution would suffice.

Next, the City Planning Commission voiced their support for an ordinance, saying it was “warranted.”

And finally the Law Department was neutral but would look into the health department’s grant language to make sure an ordinance is required rather than just a resolution. They also asked to see the proposed ordinance language which the Detroit Complete Streets work group has been developing.

Councilmember James Tate said he “support Complete Streets wholeheartedly” but would like to know what strings might be attached to the grant funding.

Councilmember Brenda Jones also voiced her support for Complete Streets as well.

During the public comment, two physically-challenged residents spoke in support of Complete Streets, though they were at the meeting to discuss other issues.

One sight-impaired woman spoke of the difficulty in getting on DDOT buses when they cannot pull up to the curb due to on-street parking. Although she didn’t mention it, having a bump out at transit stops around on-street parking would alleviate her concern. This demonstrates that Complete Streets affects more than just DPW.

On Monday, June 27th at 11AM, Detroit City Council’s Public Health and Safety committee is having a discussion on a Complete Streets ordinance.

11:00 A.M. – DISCUSSION – RE: Status of Complete Streets Ordinance. (City Planning Commission; Health and Wellness Promotion, Public Works and Law Departments)

The discussion is at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center on the 13th floor at 2 Woodward. This meeting is open to the public.

In late May, the Detroit Free Press published a couple editorials in support of Complete Streets: Caution: Walking may be hazardous to your health and Watch your steps — Without policy changes, expect more pedestrian fatalities.

Both pieces were inspired by the recent national report called Dangerous by Design. This report ranked Metro Detroit as a the 12th most hazardous for pedestrians. Given the city’s larger shared of pedestrians, Detroit helped push that rank up.
From the first Free Press editorial:

Designing walkable streets and public places is important to building healthy, livable cities that attract talented employees, innovative businesses and creative entrepreneurs. They don’t necessarily require spending more money, but they do require fresh thinking.

Balanced transportation policies mean designing roadways to include the needs of pedestrians and bicyclists, not just cars. That will save lives and encourage people to become more physically active.

We agree. And perhaps the biggest concern raised is how much more money Complete Streets will cost. But Complete Streets aren’t expensive says Scott Clein of Giffels-Webster. He wrote this article, Complete Streets Myths Debunked.

Designs in line with Complete Streets philosophies don’t have to cost a lot, especially when included in annual capital improvement projects. Most communities have existing funding for road maintenance and related upgrades. When resurfacing a roadway, for example, implement bike lanes for little to no added cost.

This piece-by-piece approach may seem out of place when attempting to promote connectivity, but it mimics road maintenance approaches and allows the largest benefits from shrinking budgets.

We’ll end with this interesting Complete Streets video from some MSU students. (Note that Detroit does have HAWK signals, Safe Routes to School, and is building some Complete Streets.)

Participation in bike rides within the city of Detroit continues to skyrocket.

Bike the Bridge had 180 riders last year and over 300 riders this year.

Colin Hubbell ride more than doubled last year’s numbers with over 200 cyclists.

The Tour de Troit started with a few dozen riders is now having to close registration with over 3,200 riders last year.

And if the weather holds out, this Friday’s Critical Mass ride could be the largest yet with nearly 700 people attending or maybe attending on the Facebook page.

Like most U.S. cities, there is no reliable data on how much people are bicycling, but these rapidly climbing participation rates show Detroit’s heading in the right direction.

Cycle-friendly City

A Christopher Tremblay of Canton, Michigan recently wrote in to the Detroit News with his recent experience.

When I just returned from a 33-mile bike ride throughout downtown Detroit — it was the Bike the Bridge event that linked us to our Canadian neighbors, I was reminded how great Detroit is. We saw some incredible sites of the city and learned about some historical locations, which made me an even prouder native Detroiter. Events like Bike the Bridge and the fall Tour de Troit remind us of how bike-friendly Detroit is and how it is becoming even more receptive to cyclists. To everyone who is advancing the bike trails and mission, thank you!

Colin Hubbell Ride

And speaking of last Saturday’s ride, the South End has written a real good article about it.

“This event had two purposes,” [Trish] Hubbell said. “First, to give the riders a glimpse of Detroit — because being on a bike is a much different experience than being in a car — and second, to promote Midtown and support small businesses and entrepreneurship. In Midtown, everybody comes together to help one another and we want to keep that spirit going.”

“These routes give people a flavor of the good, the bad and the ugly of Detroit,” Trish Hubbell said, “but mostly the good, aiming to take the scaryness out of the city and change how people view it.”

Fortunately I had the opportunity to ride with Trish she shared a great number of stories about Colin and his love for bicycling as transportation.

One has to imagine that he’d be quite thrilled to see more and more people on a bike in Detroit.

Put it in Gear

Portland puts a bird on it. Detroit puts a fist. PassingLeft has an neat Detroit bike T shirt for sale on Etsy.

Green Garage Update

Final construction is underway with the Green Garage in Midtown. The Garage will make it easy for tenants to bike to work.

The Green Garage added an indoor bike rack and a shower to their building plans as well. “If we are encouraging employees to bike into work here, it only makes sense that we give them everything they need to truly be green” Mrs. [Peggy] Brennan told me.

Could they become another Bicycle Friendly Business in Detroit?

Hostel Detroit Bike Pavilion

We saw this interesting slideshow about a Detroit Bike Pavilion and we had to learn more. They were good enough to write a summary of the project:

The Detroit Bike Pavilion is a Design/Build project run as a summer graduate studio as part of the University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. The project team consists of two professors and 9 graduate students, including myself. Our mission is to design, fabricate and install a (roughly) 300 sq/ft pavilion in Detroit which will act as a place to store bikes, hold concerts and other various community events.

Our client is Hostel Detroit, which is a non-profit organization recently established in the corktown region of Detroit. In addition to serving as a youth hostel, they routinely rent out bikes and thus are in need of a place to store them.

Detroit Bike City

Jason Hall from Bikes and Murder posted this article entitled Detroit Bike City. It highlights some of the Detroit bicycle scene.

We sometimes forget what the world is really like outside of our little bubbles. What I mean by that is when you’re in a car driving with your music up, it’s easy to forget to look around you and see what’s really going on. I had become a victim of that very thing. I would drive my car three blocks for a soda, a mile to see a friend. When I got on a bike I had to face realities and fears that keep us grounded. I saw neighborhoods I hadn’t EVER seen. Went places I had never even gone in a car. I soon became a converted bike rider.

Suburban Critical Mass

Yes, the Detroit Critical Mass is a great time. This Friday’s event already has 401 attending and 227 maybe attending on their Facebook page. It’ll be huge, but it’s not making much of a statement. It’s a city that’s already super bicycle friendly with city staff are becoming quite supportive of biking as transportation.

It’s quite the opposite story in most of the Detroit suburbs. That’s where a Critical Mass ride could serve its original intent.

So on July 22nd there will be the first Suburban Mass Ride starting at Royal Oak Farmers Market parking lot. It meets at 6:30pm and rolls out at 7pm. There is additional information on Facebook.

New Pistons owner

At a recent press conference, Piston’s owner Tom Gores noted the difficulty (Okay, near impossibility) of inner city families getting to the Palace of Auburn Hills without a car. He said he couldn’t see Piston games as a kid because he only had a bike to ride. Though Gores didn’t mention it, if the stadium was in Foxtown, those transportation hurdles go away.

Chicago’s mayor wants more bike lanes

Chicago’s new mayor, Rahm Emanuel is also a “bike enthusiast” and wants to add 100 miles of protected bike lanes in Chicago — the first of which just opened. He also wants Chicago to be the “bike friendliest city in the U.S.”. He cited bike facilities as an essential tool for quality of life and economic development.

Mopeds are the “ultimate gas savers?”

According to Tom Greenwood’s column in the Detroit News, mopeds are the ultimate gas savers. Really? More than bicycles, walking, electric vehicles, and public transit?

Over 300 riders from the U.S. and Canada rode in the 2011 Bike the Bridge event.

Those starting in Detroit checked in at the Milliken State Park on the RiverWalk. The group rode to the Ambassador Bridge and over to Windsor. It was here that 90 Windsor bicyclists joined the group and rode back over the bridge to Detroit.

Cyclists were reminded to keep moving and not stop. It’s not everyday that traffic across one of the world’s busiest international crossings is stopped for bicyclists.

Once back at Milliken State Park, riders ate breakfast before heading out on either a 24-mile or 45-mile guided tours. The shorter tour included the Dequindre Cut, Eastern Market, Belle Isle and Indian Village.

Perhaps one of the best comments on the event came from Tristan via Facebook.

Wow! Yesterday’s tour was an amazing experience. I have a very different perspective on the City of Detroit. Thank you to the organizers and volunteers who put so much work into this. I can’t imagine how much time it must have taken. Looking forward to seeing everybody next year.

More photos on Flickr: Ravenswift and OurWindsor