The 2009 Oakland County Trail Summit: By Land, By Water is scheduled for October 8th at the Proud Lake State Recreation Area near Milford.

The details and agenda are on the registration page. Note that this event is limited to 150 registrants.

Later in the month (October 25th through the 28th) is the Mid-America Trails and Greenways Conference in Kalamazoo.

There is less than two weeks left to get the early registration price.

Here are some additional conference details from Nancy Krupiarz, executive director for the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance:

The 4th Mid American Trails & Greenways creates an excellent opportunity for all those involved in trails and greenways to share our experiences learn from each other and continue connecting our trails and greenways.

Sponsored by eight Mid America states of Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, and Kentucky, and supported by a host of national, state, regional and local trail agencies and organizations, the conference will feature interactive educational sessions and exciting mobile workshops bringing together the best presenters from Mid America and the nation. An update on the state of trails and greenways in Mid America will be followed by informative sessions that will look at all aspects of trail and greenway development and operations.

An exhibit area with more than forty exhibitors displaying their products and services will be a part of this event!

In my job at MTGA, I’ll be presenting on our trail and greenway efforts in Detroit.

After the conference, we’re looking at meeting in Detroit to discuss a new Adventure Cycling bike route we are developing. It will be a spur off of their existing Underground Railroad route and will extend from Ohio, through Detroit, into Windsor, and over to Toronto. We’ll also be discussing the U.S. Bicycle Route System and how it might be routed through Detroit.

On another web site, someone commented that the communities in Southeast Oakland County have ridiculous bike rules unlike the west side.

The reason we didn’t list any weird west side rules is because we hadn’t looked there.

So, in order to be balanced, here are some more true or false questions:

1. You cannot sell ice cream from your bike in West Bloomfield
2. It’s illegal to drive into Kensington Metropark with your bicycle on a rack.
3. Plymouth police can impound residents’ unlicensed bicycles and it costs $3 to get them back.
4. It is illegal to use a child trailer on your bike in Northville.

(more…)

How does your community compare with others with respect to pedestrian and bicycle crashes in 2008?

Here are the Oakland County communities with the most crashes according to the Office of Highway Safety and Planning, Michigan State Police:

Vehicle-Pedestrian Crashes

1. Pontiac 24, 2 fatal
2. Southfield 28, 2 fatal
3. Royal Oak 17, 1 fatal
4. Waterford 11, 1 fatal
5. Oak Park 10

Others: Ferndale had 7 with 1 fatal and Birmingham had 6.

Vehicle-Bicycle Crashes

1. Royal Oak 27, 1 fatal
2. Farmington Hills 17
3. Pontiac 16
4. Southfield 16
5. Troy 16
6. Madison Heights 15
7. Waterford 15
8. Ferndale 12
9. Hazel Park 12
10. Rochester Hills 12

Others: Birmingham had 5, Oxford had 1 fatal

Royal Oak is tops for combined crashes just as they were in 2007. It’s expected that their upcoming non-motorized planning can address this dubious distinction.

From the Free Press:

The Oakland County Sheriff’s Re-CYCLE for Kids Program is accepting donations of new, used or in-need-of-repair bicycles, bike accessories and parts.

The program, sponsored by the Sheriff’s Office and started in 2006, refurbishes bikes using inmate labor and then makes them available to children and adults in need through local charitable organizations.

Bicycles can be donated at any of the following sites:

• Lighting Supply Co., 28525 Beck Road in Wixom, 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays.
• 1-800-Mini-Storage, 26660 Greenfield in Oak Park, 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays.
• 1-800-Mini-Storage, 2477 W. Maple in Troy, 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sundays.

If you read the Road Commission for Oakland County web site you’d see their claim that the county has “the safest roads in the world.”

They’re wrong.

To jump to this conclusion, they divided the number of fatalities by 100 million vehicle miles traveled. The more miles driven on the expressways, the safer the rest of the roads look.

And in 2008, 27% of all Oakland County road fatalities were pedestrians and cyclists. To divide those fatalities by the number of vehicle miles traveled is clearly invalid — and it reflects the low priority the Road Commission places on road users who are not inside a motor vehicle.

What the Road Commission should be reporting is the fatality rate based on the population size.

Here are the 2008 fatality rates per 100,000 people (based on 2008 SEMCOG population estimates):

• Oakland County 13
• Macomb County 13
• St. Clair County 18
• Wayne County 20

These are not world class when compared with other countries.

The U.K.’s Department for Transport’s recent report “A Safer Way: Consultation on Making Britain’s Roads the Safest in the World.” (via How We Drive) compiles road fatality rates for many countries (See the above chart).

Our county rates show we are among the least safe. Oakland and Macomb counties are only marginally better than the U.S. average, yet double the Canadian average.

We’re apparently neck and neck with Bulgaria.

Oakland County clearly does not have the safest roads.