John Gallagher has a fine article in today’s Detroit Free Press which discusses the Complete Streets legislation that was passed earlier this summer — but especially from a Detroit perspective.

This whole topic of complete streets has informed much of the discussion lately about how to reinvent Detroit. Many Detroiters now acknowledge that we have too much road capacity in the city for the amount of traffic. That’s an opportunity to repurpose at least some of our streets for more environmentally-friendly uses.

New uses might include running a light-rail line up some streets (as is now planned for Woodward Avenue). And it can mean we’ll see a lot more of those bicycle lanes that are starting to turn up here and there around the city.

Complete streets also can mean bus-only lanes, or wider sidewalks created as part of the network of greenways — nonmotorized transportation venues — that Detroit is slowly creating.

Gallagher also wrote the excellent book, Reimagining Detroit, which made the Huffington Posts’s Best Books 2010: 18 On Social and Political Awareness and the 2011 Michigan Notable Books list.

Chapter 4 of the book is “Road Diets and Roundabouts.”

And, Gallagher also wrote about the city officials recent trip to recovering cities in Germany and England .

In recent weeks, leaders from Detroit, Flint, Cleveland and other Midwest cities have traveled to Europe as part of a “Cities in Transition” exchange sponsored by the German Marshall Fund and the Kresge Foundation.

A trip this month took leaders to Leipzig, Germany, and Manchester, England, following an earlier visit to Turin, Italy. All three cities are reversing decades of job losses and population decline.

…the trips have injected a note of excitement into Detroit’s effort to reinvent itself through Mayor Dave Bing’s Detroit Works program.

It seems both Leipzig and Manchester have made significant investments in bicycling infrastructure.  We asked if those investments made any impression upon the Detroit officials, to which Gallagher replied, “We did see some of that, yet the weather wasn’t very helpful in that regard when we were there….”

Tonight (December 22nd at 7pm) is a fundraising event for Fender Bender Detroit. In short, they are raising funds for a mobile bicycle workshop trailer in Detroit.

More details are below.

From Fender Bender Detroit:

Hey lovely friends!

Fender Bender Detroit officially presents a group art show composed of many local detroit artists works at Motor City Brewing Works tonite!  7pm

The show is comprised of many local Detroit artists works generously donated. There will be a variety of mediums and subject matter.  Part of the show will be part a silent auction while other craft items and FBD mechandise will be sold as priced.  If you are unfamiliar with the silent auction style we will explain how to participate that night.  We are really enthusiastic to see all the creative works in one room and hope you are too!   So come out for this interesting and unique event in celebration of art and people and of course BICYCLES as we pace towards the actualization of our mobile bike shop.

This is a fundraising event for FBD and we hope to raise the remaining money neccessary in order to purchase the 6×12 enclosed trailor for build-out of our mobile “storefront” as well as one set of basic bike repair tools and a repair stand and truing wheel.Not to mention the Soltice has begun…which means winter night time darkness is only getting lighter!

The Future Is Mobile!

Sarah and Liz xo

Now and then an old Souvenir of Detroit item will appear on eBay.

These souvenir items often highlight the most memorable or unique locations within the city — the “must see” public spaces. This blue plate is one example.

If one were to make the plate for Detroit today, it would be a bit difficult choosing among the many site candidates: Campus Maritius, RiverWalk, Ambassador Bridge, Spirit of Detroit, Comerica Park, Fox Theatre, Dequindre Cut, Belle Isle, Renaissance Center, Book Cadillac, and the always-required Michigan Central Station.

The same cannot be said for many Detroit suburbs. What would you put on a Rochester Hills plate besides the Clinton River and Paint Creek Trail? It seems Troy’s choices drop off fast once you include Somerset Mall and their historic area. And what about Clinton Township?

So what? What’s the market for souvenir plates nowadays?

But it’s really not about plates. It’s about building memorable and unique public spaces that help attract and retain residents — something we’re not doing very well in Michigan.

According to a presentation given by Gary Heidel, Interim Director for the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (October 2010):

Heidel also adds that urban/city placemaking should include:

Expanding a waterfront walk and bicycle system, and promoting and contributing to an integrated regional bicycle trail system with excellent connections in the city and adjoining jurisdictions.

So placemaking is just another justification for promoting bicycling and trails in Detroit.

And good placemaking means good plate making.

Anthony Wayne Drive on Wayne State’s campus was recently rebuilt. It was supposed to get bike lanes added, but where are they?

The answer is the weather has become too cold to apply the thermoplastic tape used to mark the lanes.  It will get completed once the weather warms in the spring.

Why mark use tape rather than paint. Tape costs more but lasts longer. However, the tape can get pulled up by snowplow blades. You may have noticed some of that occurred on the Dequindre Cut last winter.

One solution is to grind down the pavement just a little wherever you apply the tape. Having the tape just a little bit below the road surface keeps it from getting scraped by snowplows. We’ve been told that doing this means the tape can last up to ten years, while a painted line may need to be re striped every year.

Why did MDOT use paint then on Michigan Avenue? Our guess is this reflects their uncertainty about the future of these bike lanes. They have mentioned that the lanes would be removed if it became a major safety issue. It wouldn’t make sense investing in tape if you thought you might be pulling it up in a year or two.

New Atwater Bike Lanes

Also, what about the new bike lanes on Atwater near the Wheelhouse Detroit.  They’re not in yet the last we checked and we suspect it’s due to the cold weather as well.

It just means our new bike lanes mileage for 2011 will be that much higher with these projects as well as the Conner Creek Greenway additions, the Corktown/Mexicantown Greenlink, West Vernor, Second and Third Avenue. Detroit will likely be one of America’s top cities for newly constructed bike lane miles.