Please take 10 minutes to complete this survey on greenways, bike lanes, and more in Detroit. The survey only runs through Wednesday! For more information on this project, visit the Villages CDC web site.

Dear Friends,

Your participation in a survey is requested to assist in the planning of a network of greenways in the Greater Riverfront East District of Detroit. This area is also known as the Lower Eastside. Its boundaries are the Detroit River to the south, Mack Avenue to the north, the Dequindre Cut to the west, and Alter Road to the east.

The survey should take about 10 minutes to complete. The survey will run until September 1, 2010. Please feel free to share this survey with others whom you think would be interested.

Please click on following link to complete the survey:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/765DW9R

Thank you for your time and participation.

The Greater Riverfront East Environmental Network (GREEN) Task Force

P.S. If you would like to receive paper copies of this survey, or if you have a question, please contact:

Sheu-Jane Gallagher
The Villages CDC
theVillagesofDetroit@gmail.com

Earlier this month we attended a public meeting in Southwest Detroit to discuss the westward expansion of the Detroit RiverWalk. This would be the 2-mile segment of RiverWalk from Joe Louis to West Grand Boulevard/Riverside Park.

The interest was very high as the room quickly filled to standing room only.

The initial plans looked great to us. This portion of the RiverWalk would look more like Belle Isle than the often hard-surfaced RiverWalk East. This is due in part to the larger land holdings, including the old Free Press printing plant site and Riverside Park. Of course the railyard in between adds a significant challenge.

It was noted that being able to bike and walk under the Ambassador Bridge would be quite a sight and quite a unique draw. It was good to see Dan Stamper of the Detroit Bridge Company in attendance to show their apparent support of the RiverWalk West concept.

A recent Model D article also added:

Faye Alexander Nelson, president and CEO of the Conservancy, had to remind the audience on several occasions that the planning is beginning now and the community will be a big component of the process.

“This will be challenging,” [Conservancy Chair Matt] Cullen says. “But a real exciting opportunity.”

The Conservancy says they’ll continue to have public meetings as the process for the West Riverfront moves a long.

Raising the millions in funding for this project is a major task, but the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy has a track record of getting it done. We see no reason why this won’t come to fruition.

From the People’s Yoga Detroit web site:

YOGA FOR CYCLISTS WORKSHOP
Saturday, August 28, 3-5pm $20
with Caitlin Brown

Caitlin is an avid cyclist and yogi. She went on a three month bicycle tour in summer 2008 and has since become a car-free, dedicated cyclist. During her bike trip she found that not only did her regular yoga practice, but also the timely guidance from her Marianne Wells Yoga Instructor, allowed her to stay flexible and helped her become more in touch with her body. Cultivating body/mind awareness in yoga helped her realize early… when a body part was overworking or overcompensating for another when riding, allowing her to fix the imbalance before injury occurred. Deep yogic breathing helped her control her breath on steep uphills. The focus and meditation yoga encourages helped her have patience during a particularly long or grueling day.

Since the trip Caitlin has become a certified yoga teacher at the 200hr level and has loved sharing her passion for yoga. She is excited to be able to combine her loves of yoga and biking, which to her is a very important coupling. In this workshop students will explore asanas or postures that will open and release areas particularly tight in cyclists, such as the hips, quads, hamstrings, low back and shoulders. In addition, the workshop will explore how a regular yoga practice, with a focus not only on movement but on breath, meditation, and mind/body awareness, can benefit all cyclists, from the occasional leisurely cruisers to professional racers.

Yoga can inspire and inform meaningful personal change and People’s Yoga creates a safe, inclusive and non-judgmental space where ALL are welcome to explore empowerment through new ways of breathing, moving and simply being. Common ground in our diverse community is found through the breath and we practice from that foundation.

Doors open a half an hour before class. Enter on MLK and please lock your bike inside. We practice in the 2nd floor gym. Yoga Mats are available, but we encourage you to bring your own if you have one!

Spirit of Hope Church – 1519 Martin Luther King at Trumbull
To register please email caitlin@peoplesyogadetroit.org – Space is limited
More Info: http://peoplesyogadetroit.org/ – 313.316.1411

Tomorrow, August 27th is another Critical Mass Ride in Detroit. The rides leaves at 7 PM from the corner of Trumbull and Warren.

As you may know Critical Mass rides began in San Francisco. On Facebook, 1,233 people like the San Francisco Critical Mass compared with 979 for Detroit’s. It’s surprisingly those numbers are not that far apart.

There are thee other events planned in conjunction with the tomorrow’s ride in Detroit.

First is a Pre-Critical Mass Ride that begins at 5pm at the Rivard Plaza on the RiverWalk.

Second is an Aftermass Firkin Ride with $2 Motor City Brewing Weeks Firkin pints at the Cass Cafe, Park Bar, Foran’s, and Third Street Saloon.

And third is movie night at the beautiful Peck Park. According to Wheelhouse Detroit:

We are happy to partner with Walk-in Theatre to present a double feature of TRON and Breaking Away this Friday night! Come after Critical Mass!

That question was recently posted on the Detroit Bikes email list.

Perhaps it’s best to first answer the question, “What are sharrows?”

Sharrows are standard pavements markings as shown on the right. They are used on roads that are designated bike routes where there is not enough pavement to include a bike lane. The sharrows provide guidance to the cyclists on where to ride on the road. Cyclists should ride through the center of the marking.

Of course these pavement markings also let drivers know about the presence of cyclists.

All signs and pavement marking designs and uses are defined by the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). We’ve listed the MUCTD information at the end.

Would Sharrows work in Detroit?

Yes, but only in limited instances, primarily when:

• There is not enough road width for bike lanes (even after a Road Diet)
• There is either no on-street parking or high-use on-street parking

Most city of Detroit roads do not meet the above checklist.

There is enough room for bike lanes on a majority of roads. For example, a recent non-motorized planning analysis found that over 90% of the roads in Detroit’s near east side would support bike lanes without any widening. The planner said 50% is considered excellent in other cities. He’s never seen a street network more readily available for bike lanes.

On Detroit roads without enough room for bike lanes, the parking is typically sporadic and not high-use. Why is this a big deal? On streets with parking, the sharrows would be located 11 feet from the curb. But, if there are rarely any parked cars on a road, does it make sense to ask cyclists to bike 11 feet from the curb irregardless? Probably not.

But there are some Detroit streets that could benefit from sharrows. For example, the curved entrance ramps from Jefferson and the Macarthur Bridge (to Belle Isle) could use sharrows to lead cyclists to and from the bike lanes.

Another good use of sharrows is to provide continuity to a bike lane when some sections of the road become too narrow. We’ve heard excuses that a road can’t have bike lanes because one short section is too narrow. Sharrows eliminate that excuse.

Of course the Detroit suburbs may also have more opportunity for sharrows since their roads are less overbuilt compared with Detroit’s.

Currently the cities of Flint and South Haven have sharrows with at least a couple others looking into them.

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