This is a tragic story of a 54-year old veteran biking to and from work on Detroit’s west side. On Monday morning at 5:30am, he was shot in the leg and his bike was stolen.

From Fox 2 Detroit:

Rick Neely is a 54-year-old. An army veteran who worked for a steel company for 20 years before losing his job in the economic crisis. Now, he rides dozens of miles to work each evening for his midnight shift at a packing plant.

But Monday morning, as he was riding home about 5:30, his family says four men on bicycles surrounded him – demanded his bike. They then shot him in the leg.

Neely has had his bike stolen twice before. He just got a new one last week. Now it’s gone too and he’s hospitalized.

Neely’s sister has already bought him a new bike. We wish him a speedy recovery.

Based on Fox 2’s reporting, it appears the crime happened on Michigan Avenue just east of Wyoming.

Property crimes and shootings are far from uncommon in Detroit. But before concluding the safety of biking in the city, one should recognize the likelihood that a greater number of pedestrians are assaulted and motorists carjacked. Still, it’s something to be aware of in most any major urban environment.

Fox 2 News Headlines

The Henry Ford has some key bicycle history. Perhaps the most well-known is the Wright Bicycle shop that Henry Ford worked with Orville Wright and relocated to Greenfield Village in 1937.

The museum also owns a considerable amount of other bicycle history, which they are digitizing. There are over 8,000 items in the collection now and 197 match the keyword “bicycle.”

Most of the bicycle items appear to be from other parts of the county. Still there are a few local favorites.

We especially love this “tweed ride” photo of Edison Illuminating Company employees in 1895.

In the 1890s, the safety bicycle became a way for many workers to travel to and from their jobs. This group of employees from the Edison Illuminating Company poses with their bikes for a photograph taken about 1895. The photographer was a fellow employee at the company and also owned a bicycle, Henry Ford.

Mr. Ford was better at building cars than framing his photograph.

Also among our favorites are these photos of Henry Ford with his bicycle in 1893 and famous Detroit bicycle racer Tommy Cooper in 1890-1891.

They also have the only known version of the ten-person Oriten bicycle by Orient. They also have a photo of it from 1899 on a street in Detroit .

Despite what others have said or written, there is no accurate bicycle use data for the city of Detroit.

So, we rely on anecdotal evidence. Everyone we’ve spoken with have been impressed with the increased bicycle use during the past couple years.

Jason Hall wrote about it this excellent overview, The State of Biking in Detroit.

You see, bikes are becoming more and more a part of everyday life in the Motor City. On that very same 5 a.m. ride to work, I’ll pass five cyclists and maybe one car. I don’t know if it’s the fact that I ride all the time that I notice bicyclists more often, but the fact of the matter is that the bicycle community has grown.

Jason Hall and I were on the FlashPOINT program with Devin Scillian. (The bicycling segment begins at 16 minutes.) Scillian noted the increasing number of bicyclists at the Detroit fireworks.

And we just came across this document from 2004, Detroit’s Downtown Transportation Master Plan. Yes, it calls for improved biking and walking facilities, but what we found more intriguing is its assessment of bicycling in downtown Detroit circa 2004.

Bicycling is currently one of the least used of all transportation modes in the downtown area. According to SEMCOG, less than 1 percent of home-based trips into and out of downtown are made by bicycle. While recreational bicycling is relatively common along the riverfront areas, little utilitarian bicycle use has been observed within downtown, as a lack of roadway facilities and end-of-trip amenities (such as bicycle parking or shower/change facilities) is prevalent throughout most of the area. In addition, inclement weather during significant portions of the year diminishes the ability for individuals to consistently use of bicycles for non-recreational transportation.

We disagree with their take on weather, but not on their observation of few people using for bicycles for transportation back then.

That’s not s a statement one could make today.

The Downtown Plan also adds this:

Between the years of 1997 and 1999, approximately 15 bicycle-automobile crashes occurred downtown, with no fatalities. Because of the low volume of bicycle activity occurring downtown, the number of crashes occurring indicates a need to further consideration of bicycle safety and the improved integration of bicycles into the transportation fabric of downtown.

Seeing the number of bicycle crashes, we looked at the most recent three years of data. From 2009 to 2011, there were just 7 crashes and no fatalities. In fact, most of the crashes didn’t involve injury.

This is a significant drop from the late 90s. It may indicate that the increase in cyclists has helped changed drivers expectations.

There is safety in numbers, and Detroit’s cycling numbers have definitely grown.

After about 18 months of planning and community engagement, the GREEN plan was revealed, a plan for greenways throughout the Detroit’s lower eastside.

The GREEN Task Force, a coalition of Detroit-based non-profit groups, presents to you a vision and a realistic plan for creating a network of greenways on Detroit’s greater riverfront east. Just as greenways serve many functions – from recreational venues to economic linkages between neighborhoods – this report also aims at many goals. This plan serves as a catalyst for:

• Economic development
• A tool for bringing communities together
• A way of defining a new future for Detroit’s greater riverfront east

Modeshift covered this story a couple weeks ago.

“It’s evident things like greenways and bike lanes are good for community development,” [Villages CDC executive director Brian] Hurttienne says. “Otherwise we wouldn’t spend the money we do.”

“Greenways provide much more than ways to get somewhere without a car,” says Maggie DeSantis, chair of the GREEN Task Force and board member of the Detroit Eastside Community Collaborative. “Greenways improve health and safety by creating recreational venues, beautifying neighborhoods, creating nodes of economic development, and by connecting neighborhoods and residents to each other, and to the broader city.”

Since the unveiling, the GREEN task force has been presenting this plan to many different groups and exploring funding options.

And some of the routes are closer to implementation than others.

• The city has initial plans to add bike lanes to this segment of Kercheval next year.
• The East Jefferson Corridor Collaborative continues their efforts for bike lanes on E. Jefferson. They are focusing on the roadway between Belle Isle’s bridge and Indian Village. They have a few different design options, two of which are physically-separated bike lanes, also known as cycletracks. They are currently doing a traffic study to ensure the required road diet would not be a roadblock.

The project furthest from implementation is likely the Detroit RiverWalk extension to Alter Road. The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy is focusing on completing the eastern portion of the existing RiverWalk before shifting resources to the western portion between Joe Louis Arena and Riverside Park/Ambassador Bridge.

Speak up for Complete Streets

We’re asking people to attend tomorrow’s (7 pm, Wednesday, June 27th) Mayor’s Community Meeting at city hall to speak in favor of a Complete Streets ordinance in Detroit. An ordinance has been drafted and is being reviewed by the Law Department. The Department of Public Works is opposed to an ordinance, while others are in support.

The Mayor’s office holds much sway in determining how this will play out. We hope to encourage the Mayor to support the ordinance. This meeting is one opportunity to do that.

Mode Shift published this article with more details:

Bring your friends, neighbors, co-workers, colleagues and moms, dads, sisters and brothers to come tell officials why a bikeable, walkable, transit- and disabled-friendly city is crucial to the progress and revitalization of Detroit!

We plan on arriving a bit early in order to get on the list to give public comments.

If you cannot attend and want to show your support, you can submit a letter of support. A sample letter with information on where to send it are available here.

Streetlights

There’s been much discussion over public lighting in Detroit and Highland Park. Both cities have removed or are removing more lights. Many lights are no longer work due to their outdated design, equipment, and scrappers.

It’s been reported that 40% percent of Detroit’s 88,000 streetlights are broken. Highland Park just removed nearly 70% of their streetlights.

What we’ve learned through community workshops across Detroit is that public lighting is a key reason why people don’t walk or bike more.

Woodward Avenue

Woodward could get a bit safer for biking and walking.

From the Birmingham Patch:

The Woodward Avenue Action Association (WA3) has been awarded a $30,000 grant to support its efforts to develop a Complete Streets master plan for Woodward Avenue.

The grant is from the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan and complements the $752,880 grant that was previously awarded by the Federal Highway Administration for the initiative.

The association, an economic and community development organization based in Royal Oak, plans to develop a “Complete Streets” master plan that will transform the 27-mile corridor – from the Detroit River to Pontiac – into a complete, compatible and integrated roadway.

Certainly Woodward looks different across its 27 miles. Those differences will call for different Complete Street solutions.

We’re just excited that this discussion is underway.