The recent reduction in posts to m-bike is largely due to the past eight days being absolutely packed with bicycle advocacy work in Detroit, Royal Oak, and across Michigan. Below is brief chronology for two of those days.

October 22nd: Royal Oak, Governor Milliken, the DNR and Detroit

The Active Transportation Alliance (ATA) was in town. The city of Royal Oak is contracting with them to develop a non-motorized master plan. I joined them in a morning meeting for a very early discussion on this future planning process. The city is expecting their grant money, which is funding this effort, will be available very early next year. When that occurs, the planning will begin.

After lunch, I dragged our ATA consultants down to the Detroit RiverWalk. As mentioned earlier, Tri-Centennial State Park has been renamed to honor former Governor William G. Milliken. I took advantage of many opportunities to share our Detroit Greenways Network brochure with those attending the renaming ceremony.

Among those attending was Senator Patty Birkholz. The Senator is leading efforts to create a sustainable funding source for our state parks. She gave me a quick update on the Recreation Passport legislation she’d introduced earlier this year. Among other things, this legislation would add an optional $10 fee when registering vehicles. In return, there would be no fees to enter state parks. Senator Birkholz says she doesn’t expect any progress until A.B. (“after budget”.)

That evening we pulled together a small group for dinner for a discussion on bicycling in Detroit and how we can vastly improve it. The meeting was graciously hosted by John and Vivian Stroh. Vivian’s two younger brothers started a little cycling company called SRAM. The meeting was filled with great information and energy. It was a big help have both Carolyn Helmke, the ATA’s senior planner, and Randy Neufeld, the former ATA executive director and now manager of the SRAM Cycling Fund and president of America Bikes. They brought both a Chicago and a national perspective to the meeting.

But for me, one local perspective was my biggest takeaway. Tawanna Simpson from Detroit Bike Riders United told the story of her running for the Detroit School Board. She rode her bike to a nearby forum. Some voters said they wouldn’t vote for her because she rode her bike to the event and that wasn’t normal. This really highlighted the community outreach we need to do in Detroit and beyond. Biking shouldn’t be viewed as a last choice for transportation. It should be better than normal. The fact that Tawanna is a positive role model for kids riding their bikes to school should gain her votes, not lose them.

October 23rd: The Chicago experience and WDET

The morning was filled with a monthly meeting of the Detroit Greenways Coalition. Carolyn and Randy were able to join us and give a brief overview of their Chicago bicycling efforts with an emphasis on programming. It seems we have a good understanding of how to build proper and safe bicycling and walking facilities in Detroit, but we come up short in programming. How do we overcome the barriers to people bicycling more in the city? Chicago has a long track record of success, some of which we may try duplicating in Motown.

Another key takeaway? Chicago relies heavily on Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) federal funding. Much of the Metro Detroit CMAQ funding is allocated by SEMCOG and their prioritization formula makes bicycle projects not competitive. Nationwide, 13% of CMAQ projects are biking and walking related, while 0% are in Metro Detroit. We need to change that.

Later that afternoon, Randy and I were guests near the tail end of the Detroit Today program on WDET. A podcast of that radio interview is on their web site. Detroit Today’s host, Craig Fahle is a former bike mechanic from Alfred E. Bikes in Kalamazoo.

The day’s heavy downpour led us to cancel plans for a Detroit bicycle tour. Still, I managed to drive our Chicago guests around Detroit, Highland Park, and Hamtramck to give them a quick overview of our cycling landscape. They gave some great cycling facility ideas along the way and were simply overwhelmed with the excessively wide and overbuilt roads.

Detroit is fortunate having another Midwestern city nearby that has invested so heavily in bicycling and walking. And while Randy mentioned how our situation is special and unique, there is still much opportunity to learn and apply what Chicago has done.

There really is no need to rebuild the bike wheel.

Portland, Oregon recently created a proposed bicycle plan.

One highlight of that plan is a supplement on Bicycle Design Best Practices, where they have compiled a very comprehensive and up-to-date collection of bicycle facilities. Some of the newer facilities (newer to the U.S. at least) include bicycle boulevards and separated bike lanes (a.k.a. cycle tracks.)

This report documents an extensive review of best practices from world‐class bicycling cities where the most innovative technology advances in designing for bicycle traffic have been proven effective. The purpose of the report is to create a guide for traffic engineers, designers and planners detailing tried and‐ tested bicycle facility designs along with essential considerations for their implementation.

Note that there are no side paths or “safety” paths shown in their best practices guide.

And while speaking of Portland, the Census Bureau recently released 2008 American Community Survey data. This data includes statistics on how people get to work. Portland not only leads the U.S. in this people biking to work, they are reporting a record increase.

Portland experienced the largest one-year increase in bicycling as commuters primary mode of transportation ever, according to the Census Bureau’s annual American Community Survey.

“Our small investment in bicycling infrastructure and education are paying off in a big way,” Mayor Sam Adams said. “Once again the data backs up our belief that when Portlanders are given a safe, convenient alternative to driving they will get out of their car and onto a bike.” Adams has been in charge of the Portland Bureau of Transportation since 2004.

The data released Monday showed 6.4 percent responded to the survey that they bicycled to work in 2008. This makes Portland number one in bicycle commuting among the 30 largest cities in the country. The percentage of walkers and transit users also rose.

The city of Detroit and Metro Detroit bike commuting numbers were fairly flat. This is surprising given the greater number of bicyclists on the roads (though they may not all be riding to work.) Or they are biking to work and using transit, in which case it’s unclear how they would have responded to this census survey.

That said, there was a decrease in car use which appears to have shifted to transit.

When it comes to understanding the needs of bicyclists, there are certain organizations and professionals that we don’t expect much from because they embrace the status quo even when it doesn’t work.

But planners should get bicycling. To be good, they must be looking forward and embracing the future.

That’s why it’s so very frustrating to review the work of planners that apparently don’t get it.

Examples include:

• A sustainability study for Farmington Hills that all but ignores increasing bicycle use (Hooker | De Jong)
• A county parks and recreation plan that assumes parks users won’t ride their bikes to the parks (Carlise Wortman)
• A trails and pathways plan for Oakland Township that ignores the basic AASHTO guidelines for good bicycle facilities (Carlise Wortman)

And perhaps we can add another plan, the Birmingham and Troy Transit Center.

The most obvious failing is the tunnel design which runs beneath the railroad.

According to a recent Metromode article, Carrie Zarotney, president of the Birmingham-Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce, noted the public interest in the center’s bikeabilty.

Last June, at the transit-oriented development charrette held to raise awareness of the project, the public made it “…very loud and clear that there was a need for pedestrian-friendly access and bicycle paths, so not only could you walk through the tunnel but you could bike through the tunnel.”

Then why does the August 2009 plan route cyclists onto a convoluted sidewalk route against AASHTO design guidelines?

The tunnel has very poor sight lines at the entrance and exit that are unsuitable for mixing cyclists and pedestrians. With this design, it may not take many?collisions?before bike riding in the tunnel is prohibited.

It appears there was little to no thought given to making a simple and clear bicycle pathway connection between the roads on either side of the railroad tracks. Did the planners not realize that a major residential area and downtown on one side of the tracks would generate bicycle traffic to the residential and shopping areas on the other side (and vise versa)? Why didn’t they accomodate it using the AASHTO bicycle design guidelines?

Right now there is no direct and safe way between these two areas for bicyclists. This plan does little to help that.

Another big issue is bike parking. It appears there are approximately 200 car parking spaces, yet there is one bike rack that should hold about four bikes.?The bike rack is also poorly located according to the Bicycle Parking Guidelines set forth by the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals. This bike parking does not appear to be covered.

There doesn’t seem to be a bike rack on the Birmingham side.

There are no bike racks near the bus stops (even though they are shown in the sample photos.)

Adding a bike rack is an easy point for buildings looking to gain LEED status, which this one apparently is.

We will be sure to submit these comments to Birmingham and Troy.

With Troy’s recent non-motorized planning efforts, this important tunnel connection must be properly designed to accomodate bicycles, whether they are using the transit center or not.

And if they are using it, they need adequate bike parking.

Dan Burden in Southwest Detroit

In July, MDOT brought Dan Burden to a number of Michigan cities for walkability audits. Burden is from Glatting Jackson and is acknowledged as among the leading authorities on improving streets for walking and biking.

One visit was in Southwest Detroit. The audit was on Vernor Avenue from Clark to Livernois. We were joined by a couple city of Detroit traffic engineers who are looking to improve pedestrian safety along this specific stretch of road.

Some of Burden’s ideas included painted bike lanes (painted as in the entire lane, e.g. blue or green), a couple minor roundabouts (to slow traffic), and improved pedestrian crossings. And he also emphasized the need to change the facades. Too many of the buildings have covered or blocked their front windows. It would be best if these were unblocked so that there are more “eyes on the street” and adding to the pedestrian comfort levels.

Burden also visited Hamtramck. Model D Media has a coverage of his Detroit visits.

Dan Burden on Woodward

Next, Burden headed over the Woodward Avenue and stopped in communties between Birmingham and Ferndale. Some of his suggestions were noted in a Free Press article (no longer on-line):

City planners could revive Woodward Avenue with bike lanes, slower traffic, 100,000 new trees and big improvements at pedestrian crossings.

And that’s just the start of a vision that consultant Dan Burden shared last week with local officials, road engineers and residents, as he led what he calls walkability audits in Pontiac, Birmingham, Royal Oak and Pleasant Ridge.

To attract “the creative class” that can jump-start a region’s growth: “You start with paint. You put in bike lanes and get trees planted, and that brings the speeds of motorists down, and then the buildings start to come back, and with that, the tax base. That lets you redesign the streets,” he said.

Some of Burden’s suggestions were simply no-brainers. While auditing the crosswalks at 13 Mile and Woodward, we noted that MDOT had placed a sign that blocked the pedestrian walk signal. Another Don’t Walk signal was barely working.

Near Pasquale’s, there’s a sign telling pedestrians not to cross there. Burden correctly deduced that these signs are put up by cities when pedestrians are killed, rather than fix the problem. In this case, using a signalized crosswalk would require more than a half-mile of walking, which is completely unrealistic.

This isn’t Burden’s first visit to the area. Years ago Burden had advised Ferndale to narrow 9 Mile, which led to a huge turnaround and improvement to the area.

Unfortunately this time around, not all the communities were as receptive.

During a walking audit in Pleasant Ridge, Burden told local officials, “I can’t help you if your community wants to be auto-dependent.” Burden suggested they convert some of their mostly unused (and often inaccessible) green space into high density, mixed-use development. Sure, trees are “green”, but it would be more “green” if their residents could walk or bike rather than drive to nearby coffee shops, an ice cream parlors, or convenience stores.

Woodward: Next Steps

But there’s more momentum to improving Woodward for biking and walking than these audits, as evidenced by this press release:

The Woodward Avenue Action Association is pleased to announce that in partnership with engineering firm Giffels-Webster, we are closer to finding ways to make Woodward more pedestrian & bike friendly. The Woodward Avenue Non-Motorized Plan will focus on Woodward between 8 mile and Maple will identify ways for communities to plan and zone safer routes for non-motorist users of Woodward. Some of the elements being looked at for this plan include reducing speed limits, developing landscaped buffer zones and more countdown times at crosswalks.

This study was prompted by the city of Royal Oak, who is now doing a non-motorized study for the entire city. Other cities who have become examples of getting non-motorized plans right include the city of Ferndale. Since the early 1990’s the city has transformed its downtown which sits squarely along Woodward, from desolate streets into a thriving bustling district. Improvements such as parking lots developed behind stores, reduction in traffic lanes and lowered speed limits have all contributed to the economic boos Ferndale is currently experiencing. For more information on this program please contact, Nicole Klepadlo, WA3 Program Manager.

The Oakland Press recently ran an article that also discussed Woodward Avenue and this planning effort.

Of course beyond the communities that are dug in and ready to defend status quo, there’s MDOT. They’ve been willing to listen to these sorts of efforts but haven’t been overly interested in any plans that they think would reduce Woodward’s level of service.

That’s a level of service for motorists, of course.

However, they have acknowledged that the vehicle counts on Woodward have been declining. They should drop even further once Woodward gets light rail north of Eight Mile.

Here’s some breaking news from Rory Neuner from the Michigan Environmental Council and a League of Michigan Bicyclists director:

The Lansing City Council voted unanimously tonight (Monday) to adopt a Complete Streets / Non-Motorized Plan ordinance. We’re thrilled!

What does this mean?

There’s more information on this ordinance and how the Lansing Walking & Bicycling Task Force got to this milestone on their web site. But in summary, this ordinance:

1. Requires the City of Lansing to adopt a Non- Motorized Network Plan.
2. The Non-Motorized Network Plan would include, at a minimum, accommodations for accessibility, sidewalks, curb ramps and cuts, trails and pathways, signage, and bike lanes, and shall incorporate the principles of Complete Streets and maximize walkable and bikeable streets within the City.
3. To the extent financially feasible, future construction or reconstruction of City rights-of- way or any parts thereof shall be in conformity with the Non-Motorized Network Plan.
4. Encourage adequate funding for the plan.
5. Require an update of the Non-Motorized Network Plan every five years from the date of adoption.

Passing an ordinance up front is a slightly different route than what was taken in Royal Oak and Troy, but definitely works.

And perhaps the biggest benefit to what Lansing has achieved is the funding. Making plans is easy. It’s a major challenge finding the money to implement them, especially in these economic times.

Under current Michigan law (called Act 51), a minimum of 1% of the state road funds each city, village, and county receive must be spent on non-motorized facilities like bike lanes and sidewalks. Some follow this law and some don’t, but that’s a whole other topic.

The city of Lansing currently spends 2% to 3% for non-motorized facilities. Under this ordinance that  is raised to 5%.

Congratulations, Lansing!