Detroit Free Press

The Detroit Free Press is reporting on Macomb County’s ambitious plans for a non-motorized trail which would encircle the county. The resulting trail would be 70 miles long and completed in 2011.

An ambitious $8.5-million project is under way to connect several existing hike-bike trails into a giant, continuous loop that officials say will stretch from central to northern Macomb County and — hopefully — attract hikers, cyclers, runners and joggers from across the region.

The plans call for the loop to connect the Macomb Orchard Trail in the northern section of the county, south to the Stony Creek Metro Park Trail, east to the Metro Beach Trail, through Mt. Clemens, and then back up to the Macomb Orchard Trail.

This trail loop could connect to Detroit through a much-discussed connection to the Conner Creek Greenway. It could also connect to Madison Heights using a trail along the Red Run.

Link: Macomb County Trailways Master Plan

While this news is welcomed, we certainly would like to see equal effort put towards making Macomb County roads more bike-friendly.

And as we noted earlier the Road Commission for Macomb County is uninformed and unwilling to implement safe cycling on their roads. That simply needs to change if Macomb County hopes to remain competitive with respect to creating liveable communities.

www.pedbikeimages.org / Dan Burden

Ever wonder how many people are biking or walking to work in Metro Detroit?  How do we compare with the bike friendly cities of Chicago and Portland?

Fortunately the U.S. Census publishes statistics on how people get to work. The below numbers are from 2007, which is before gasoline hit $4 a gallon and encouraged increased bike commuting.  We look forward to seeing the 2008 numbers.

Note that the Metro Detroit error margins are generally +/- 0.1%. For cities, the error margins are much larger which makes comparing these numbers somewhat precarious.

One conclusion that can be drawn is women don’t bike to work as frequently as men, but especially in some areas such as Wayne County, Southfield, and Grand Rapids.  Even in more bike friendly cities like Ann Arbor, Chicago, and Portland, women workers are much less likely to bike to work.  There is no corresponding gender difference among those walking to work in many of these regions (the City of Detroit is an exception).  In Metro Detroit, women  walk to work more often than men (1.6% vs. 1.4%).

Another conclusion: Detroit has much room for improvement compared to places like Ann Arbor, Chicago, and Portland.

One question we have is how does the Census Bureau count workers that use bus bike racks?  Are they counted as public transit commuters, as bicyclists or both?

Bike lanes in Ferndale

here’s been much discussion on this web site concerning bike lanes.

In summary, bike lanes…

1. Have been found to be the safest place for bicyclists to ride.
2. Can be funded from a variety of sources dedicated to non-motorized transportation.
3. Are not a significant liability concern for road agencies according to the state attorney general’s office.

In addition, the Road Commission for Oakland County and Wayne County Road Division have undocumented policies that prohibit bikes lanes.

Now this Macomb Daily article notes that old school opposition to bike lanes is in Macomb County as well.

Robert Hoepfner, chief highway engineer for the road commission, has no complaint with bicyclists. But he is concerned about safety. Many county roads simply aren’t wide enough for the kind of designated lanes Forlini described, Hoepfner said.

If county residents want designated areas for bicyclists, “Then let’s build bike paths and make them safe,” he said.

Apparently Mr. Hoepfner has not done his homework. Bike side paths are significantly less safe than bike lanes. If he was truly concerned about bicycle safety, he’d be building bike lanes. And if a county road is not wide enough for bike lanes, widen it. There is non-motorized funding available for this.

There are no excuses for not providing safe cycling opportunities in Metro Detroit.

Cyclists often speculate about why Metro Detroit doesn’t offer safer biking options.

A common culprit is our motor city heritage.

I disagree. I think it’s because we just don’t ask.

In communities where residents have effectively asked for biking options, they got them. Ferndale is a prime example. Troy could be the next one. Both communities surveyed their residents and the number one response was for better biking and walkability.

So how do you ask? Here’s a great option that’s painless and probably somewhat fun.

The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) is hosting meetings where “the public is invited to express their opinions regarding the future of Southeast Michigan’s transportation system.”

The meetings are next week at three different locations:

• Monday, July 21, 2008, SEMCOG offices, 535 Griswold, Suite 300, Detroit; 4-7 p.m. (formal presentations begin at 4:10 p.m. and 5:40 p.m.);
• Tuesday, July 22, 2008, Southfield Public Library, 26300 Evergreen Rd, Southfield; 4-7 p.m. (formal presentations begin at 4:10 p.m. and 5:40 p.m.); and
• Wednesday, July 23, 2008, Washtenaw Community College, Morris Lawrence Building, Ann Arbor; 9 a.m.-12 noon (formal presentations begin at 9:10 a.m. and 10:40 a.m.)

Please attend one of these meeting and make your “ASK” for better bicycling facilities in Southeast Michigan.

If you’re unable to attend, you can email your comments to infocenter@semcog.org. You can also take their on-line survey.

Here are additional details from SEMCOG’s press release: (more…)

The 2007 bike and pedestrian crash results for the four counties in the MDOT Metro Region have just been added to our on-line database.

In summary, while pedestrian crashes have dropped, bicycle crashes increased by over 13%. As noted by SEMCOG, “traffic crashes involving bicycles are more severe than overall crashes.” In other words, they cause a much higher percentage of injuries. Bikes don’t have bumpers, crash cages, and air bags.

The only “good” news is there were 6 bicycle fatalities this year, down from 13 last year. Still, 23% of all traffic related fatalities in the Metro Region were pedestrians or cyclists.

These numbers only provide more justification for road agencies (like Wayne County and the Road Commission of Oakland County) to begin implementing best practices for safe biking. Agencies and municipalities need to create and implement non-motorized plans on how to reduce these crashes.  Road projects that increase bicyclist safety should be rewarded, not penalized as they can be today in Oakland County.

SEMCOG has released their 2007 Traffic Crash Report. The Michigan State Police should be releasing theirs sometime this month.