This web site has been a labor of love for some time now, but perhaps more lately. It’s been a challenge publishing so much information.

But, the results have been very encouraging. According to Google, our web visits have increased by 105% this year over last. We’ve been getting some of our articles picked up in the local and national blogosphere.

What are your thoughts on making this site better or more effective?

This site was originally created to fill a void in Southeast Michigan in terms of bicycle advocacy — a void that unfortunately remains after our unsuccessful attempt to improve our local bike advocacy.

And with the exception of a handful of local communities, Southeast Michigan has become less bicycle friendly through the years — unless you’re lucky enough to be on a trail. Bicycling has received lip service and maps, but not much in terms of leadership and funding that could make some real changes on the ground. A lot of people, including cyclists seem quite satisfied with the status quo.

Vehicle mobility continues to trump the safety of all roads users. As a result, best practices and AASHTO guidelines for safe bicycling facilities are routinely ignored.

The bright spots for bicycling progress in the Tri-county region are Detroit, Troy, Royal Oak and Novi. The latter three have or are about to begin non-motorized transportation planning with qualified planners. Of course Ferndale has been a leader in the past as well. Is this enough of a critical mass to get other communities and the county to do the same? What will be the implementation timeline?

And 2010 should see Detroit emerge as the clear non-motorized transportation leader within the three counties. But, for the time being, Oakland and Macomb have a firm grip as the two worst counties for bicycling in Michigan and we don’t see that changing.

Nine bike racks were installed around Royal Oak during the past year thanks to the DDA and SMART, but that’s not enough for a city of this size.

One solution is to require new developments and streetscaping projects to include bicycle racks from the beginning. It’s often cheaper and certainly easier to install them during construction than to add them later.

That said, it’s frustrating to see this not happening, especially since the Master Plan calls for making Royal Oak more bicycle friendly.

Two recent examples are on tonight’s city commission agenda: the massive EMagine Theater project and two streetscaping projects.

We’ve sent the following public comment to the Commission:

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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.

The Mid-America Trails and Greenways Conference is underway in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It’s a well-attended event and a great chance to hear how others are developing trails throughout the Midwest.

Yesterday’s sessions included one very interesting topic: Rails-with-Trails (RWT).

Rails-to-Trails are more common. A railroad abandons a rail line, the tracks are removed, a public agency purchases the rail corridor, and resurfaces it for trail use.

But sometimes it’s feasible having a trail alongside an active rail line. Sometimes it’s the only option.

There isn’t a one-sized solution for implementing RWT. The variables include how wide the right-of-way is and the speed/frequency of the trains.

One possible RWT in Southest Michigan would be the Grand Trunk/CN line between downtown Royal Oak and Bloomfield Hills. Two parallel tracks were built with plans to add two more. The Great Depression stopped plans for the latter (as well as plans for an overhead expressway built on top of the railline for autos.)

While there is spare room alongside the Grand Trunk line, it’s not clear how one would propose separating the rail from the trail. Some RWT examples use walls and fences.

Of course the big issue is getting the railroad to grant an easement. Putting people near an active line takes convincing, especially with respect to safety. But RWTs have a great safety record across the U.S. And one also has to consider the alternative. RWTs have a greater safety record than riding on roads.

We’ve tried pushing this issue in the past with no success. With the non-motorized planning for both Royal Oak and the Woodward Corridor, it’s probably worth revisiting.

A common message from bicycle organizations and advocates is bicyclists must follow all the rules of the road.

We believe that those who stand firm by that message (a) aren’t doing as they say, or (b) don’t live in urbanized areas with stop signs on every other residential block, which makes cycling impractical. This message is the easy way out since it puts the burden on bicyclists.

Instead, that message needs to be turned around. It should be that we need to change the rules of the road and our road infrastructure to better accommodate bicycling. This message requires more effort and puts the primary burden on bicycle advocates and local governments.

We’ve already highlighted one change to the rules of the road that would be highly beneficial to bicycling: rolling stops. Rolling stops could improve cycling safety according to a recent BBC article, which notes that “an internal report for Transport for London concluded women cyclists are far more likely to be killed by lorries because, unlike men, they tend to obey red lights and wait at junctions in the driver’s blind spot.”

And, you can’t have group bike rides without rolling stops.

Stop signs don’t calm traffic

One beneficial change to the road infrastructure includes removing unnecessary stop signs in residential neighborhoods.

Most of these signs were installed because there was a perception that it would slow speeding motorists. Studies show that that perception is wrong. Motorists actually speed more between stop signs to make up the time lost to stopping — actually only slowing in most cases. These stop signs are not warranted according to state and federal guidelines. They waste fuel, create more pollutants, and help create more noise.

And in most cases, these stop signs are irrelevant for cyclists. We’re not the ones speeding through the residential streets and putting children, pets, and pedestrians at risk. Cyclists, pedestrians, horses, and street cars were doing fine for 36 years without any stop signs. Stop signs were invented in Detroit in 1915 to deal with the mass adoption of motor vehicles.

Removing stop signs

Yesterday’s Free Press has an article on cities removing stop signs in residential areas. Livonia has removed an estimated 1,500 stop signs. Other cities are doing the same, though to a lessor extent.

Grosse Pointe Woods has removed 18 stops signs since November, and Livonia police Sgt. Dave Studt, the person in charge of his city’s traffic bureau, said Farmington Hills and Novi have expressed interest in Livonia’s efforts.

“By removing these stop signs, we’ve just made it safer for a pedestrian to cross the road,” Studt said. He noted that drivers tend to roll through intersections without stopping completely when a street is oversigned or they speed between stop signs in order to make up time.

He said signs are removed only where they are unwarranted because of traffic flow and other factors.

As a member of the Traffic Safety committee in Royal Oak, we see a half dozen requests for new residential stop signs annually. What the residents really want is a means for slowing speeding motor vehicles while reducing cut-through traffic and noise. On some streets, the majority of motorists are speeding. Royal Oak does not have the resources to police this. The residents need real traffic calming solutions, like neckdowns and roundabouts. Those can be implemented in ways that accomodate bicycling.