While giving public comment to the Road Commission for Oakland County about building bike lanes, one Road Commissioner kept his head cocked with a look of confusion that said, “Why are you here?”

The comments that the Road Commission wasn’t following best practices for bicycle design and that there were no excuses fell on deaf ears. There was no response.

Bike lanes are an easily dismissed request among the Metro Detroit’s three main counties. At one time all three county road agencies had unwritten policies against providing bike lanes.

But that has to change eventually. The cities of Detroit, Ferndale, and others are setting the example locally while the federal government is providing reinforcement from above.

And just last month Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood celebrated the opening of bike lanes on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C.

It was hot, sizzling hot, and summertime-in-DC humid. But I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

I’m talking about yesterday’s dedication festivities to inaugurate Washington, DC’s newest bicycle lanes. And these are not just any bike lanes. These lanes run right down the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue–America’s Main Street–from the White House to the U.S. Capitol.

For too long, walking and biking have been overlooked as important forms of transportation. Now we see local governments answering that call by creating new opportunities for people to take advantage of streetcars, transit, walking, and bike lanes. They’re taking the needs of pedestrians and cyclists into account like never before.

Building bike lanes on county roads is inevitable. When will the Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb Counties stop resisting and start building them?

When will Secretary LaHood celebrate bike lanes opening on county roads in Metro Detroit?

Copenhagenize recently highlighted snow removal from bike lanes and sidewalks in Copenhagen. It’s apparently a priority for both government and local business.

Snow removal and salting priorities in Metro Detroit are based on maximizing vehicle mobility.

For example, the Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) based their winter maintenance priorities on motor vehicle travel volumes. According to RCOC spokesman Craig Bryson, this priority is for safety — or more specifically, the safety of motorists.

The photo on the right is from the city of Southfield, Michigan where snow has been piled near a crosswalk. The streets are well cleared. Judging by the condition of the snow pile, it’d been there a while.

In this case, Southfield might as well keep the Don’t Walk signal on 24/7.

Some fancy solar powered crosswalk signs (the “Enhancer”) with lights, flashing beacons, and a pleasant spoken instructions have recently been installed in Lyon Township where the Huron Valley Trail crosses both a newly constructed road as well as Grand River. 

They’re expensive, obnoxious, and as far as we can tell, somewhat ineffective.

As for the obnoxiousness, here are the instructions.

“Hello. You’ve activated the crosswalk signal.

“Wait for traffic to stop before you cross.

“To show traffic you want to cross, place one foot near the curb line.

“And remember to thank the driver as you are crossing the roadway.”

Why are pedestrians and cyclists instructed to thank motorists just for following state and low crosswalk laws? Shouldn’t that be a basic expectation?

In this case, their ineffectiveness may stem from their poor location outside of the driver’s view. This is especially the case on Grand River. Once the trees leaf out, it’s uncertain how much of the sign will even be visible. With Grand River being rebuilt, Lyon Township and the Road Commission for Oakland County have an opportunity to make this crossing safe through bump outs, a refuge island, improved street lighting and zebra striping.

It should also be noted that these signs were installed on the wrong side of the trail. They should be on the right not the left. Their location is being changed. As you can see, such non-conformities can lead to driving tickets, as a police offer might have his own vision of a road situation. It is good to know that guys from Florida Ticket Firm can help you fight your driving ticket. You can visit their website to learn more on this issue.   

If we’re not mistaken, these were installed in the fall. Already a driver has taken one out. It’s being replaced.

And finally, while testing them on Grand River, a van never slowed when the sign was activated and we were trying to cross. It appeared they were texting.

Maybe we should thank those drivers that aren’t driving while distracted, too.

Menace to Society

Distracted driving by motorists certainly has gotten much media coverage of late due to a recent national summit. The Detroit News reported yesterday:

Secretary Ray LaHood kicked off a two-day summit on distracted driving this morning, calling it a “menace to society” and a “deadly epidemic.”

LaHood wants to crack down on texting behind the wheel and other activities that take drivers’ focus from the road as the government issued a report that said 6,000 deaths last year were linked to distracted driving.

We agree. Distracted driving is a menace to society and the ones who are most likely to pay the price are the most vulnerable: cyclists and pedestrians.

What we haven’t seen in print is the role road agencies play in accommodating distracted driving. Groups like the Road Commission for Oakland County provide wider roads and remove roadside trees in the name of safety. This PBS article discusses recent studies that show these forgiving roadways in more built up areas actually decreases safety.

Unwilling to accept Responsibility

According to the AAA Foundation, motorists have a “Do As I Say, Not As I Do” attitude.

American motorists blame other motorists for unsafe driving, despite the fact many admit to doing the same dangerous practices themselves, according to a new report out today by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. For example, Americans rated drinking drivers as the most serious traffic safety issue, yet in the previous month alone, almost 10 percent of motorists admitted to driving when they thought their blood alcohol content was above the legal limit.

And that same AAA study found:

• 82 percent of motorists rated distracted driving as a serious problem, yet over half of those same individuals admitted to talking on the cell phone while driving in the past month, and 14 percent even admitted to reading or sending text messages while driving.
• Over seven out of ten motorists rated red light running as a serious problem, yet over half of those same individuals admitted to speeding up to get through yellow lights, and 5 percent even admitted to having run a red light on purpose in the past month.
• Nearly three out of every four motorists rated speeding as a serious problem, yet 40 percent of those same individuals admitted to driving 15 mph or more over speed limit on the highway in the past month, and 14 percent even admitted to having driven 15 mph or more over the limit on a neighborhood street.

Since this is a self-reporting survey, the numbers are likely under reported.

Need further proof? WCBS has video coverage of the distracted driving issue, which includes their reporter driving while reporting! (via Streetsblog)

Blaming Bicyclist Behavior

Clearly a significant number of motorists practice unsafe driving habits and either fail to recognize it or take responsibility for it. They are an unreliable source for opinions on road safety.

It seems this is lost on some bicycle advocates and organizations who tell us that bicyclists must earn the respect of motorists. This is pure nonsense.

Bicyclists that practice unsafe cycling or who break the “rules of the road” are not a menace to society. They rarely if ever cause harm to other road users. The safety priority needs to be placed on motorists and road designers.

We need to ensure our road agencies design safer, livable roads that require the driver’s attention.

For perspective, today a motorist ignored a bus stop sign and hit two school children in Rochester Hills. From a safety standpoint, this single crash is perhaps more egregious than the sum of all objectionable Michigan cyclist behavior — ever.

Any focus on bicyclist behavior must be redirected to the real menace to society.

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.