We’ve heard it many times as if it were a given: You can’t live in Detroit without a car.

Really? And what about people living in Detroit today without a car?

We’ve many Detroiters that for one reason or another, don’t have a car. Some might prefer getting a car and some don’t. Everyone has different needs, resources, and priorities.

Of course being without a car is easier in some parts of Detroit than others.

One amenity that making it easier for some is Zip Cars at Wayne State. Having simple access to an on-demand rental car can address those times when biking, walking, or transit won’t cut it. Wayne Students and staff get special pricing, but community members can use the program as well.

And it’s been very successful. Wayne State has added cars to the fleet.

Detroit Unspun recently uploaded this video which highlights a car-free Alex Briggs. Briggs gives some interesting perspective on lifestyle changes that have made biking a transportation choice he can embrace in Detroit.

Yes, Alex. Those Trumbull bike lanes are coming both this year and next.

Anthony Wayne Drive on Wayne State’s campus was recently rebuilt. It was supposed to get bike lanes added, but where are they?

The answer is the weather has become too cold to apply the thermoplastic tape used to mark the lanes.  It will get completed once the weather warms in the spring.

Why mark use tape rather than paint. Tape costs more but lasts longer. However, the tape can get pulled up by snowplow blades. You may have noticed some of that occurred on the Dequindre Cut last winter.

One solution is to grind down the pavement just a little wherever you apply the tape. Having the tape just a little bit below the road surface keeps it from getting scraped by snowplows. We’ve been told that doing this means the tape can last up to ten years, while a painted line may need to be re striped every year.

Why did MDOT use paint then on Michigan Avenue? Our guess is this reflects their uncertainty about the future of these bike lanes. They have mentioned that the lanes would be removed if it became a major safety issue. It wouldn’t make sense investing in tape if you thought you might be pulling it up in a year or two.

New Atwater Bike Lanes

Also, what about the new bike lanes on Atwater near the Wheelhouse Detroit.  They’re not in yet the last we checked and we suspect it’s due to the cold weather as well.

It just means our new bike lanes mileage for 2011 will be that much higher with these projects as well as the Conner Creek Greenway additions, the Corktown/Mexicantown Greenlink, West Vernor, Second and Third Avenue. Detroit will likely be one of America’s top cities for newly constructed bike lane miles.

There’s been much discussion in the city of Detroit lately about adding more bike parking.

And during that discussion, we were sent this interesting link from Wayne State University. It shows bike racks on campus and around the perimeter. Clicking on the rack icon makes a window pop up with additional location information. Neat.

Wayne State University’s 7th annual Drive Safely to Wayne State Campaign begins today.

We think it should be renamed “Arrive Safety at Wayne State”. This name better reflects the many transportation options Wayne State University students have, which is truly a competitive advantage over suburban schools such as Oakland University.

The need to update the name should also be apparent since this year’s event coincides with changes to Anthony Wayne Drive.

According this this Free Press article:

Anthony Wayne Drive is getting new landscaping, more than 100 new parking spaces, streetlights and pedestrian crossing lights. Lanes will be reduced from four to two in each direction, and bike lanes will be installed. It’s part of an effort to make the street — between Warren and Kirby — more accommodating to pedestrians and retail customer vehicles.

The cost of the project is $900,000, with 80% of it being paid for by the Michigan Department of Transportation and the rest coming from WSU. The project should be complete by the end of October.

The bike lanes have not yet been striped as work continues on the pedestrian crossings and bump outs.

We do hope that the additional parking alleviates the need for double-parking as shown in the above photo. Or at least the added parking and bike lanes would mean stepped up local enforcement.

Construction season is upon us and there are many trail- or bike-related projects in the works. Here are some brief updates:

• Construction on the Clinton River Trail bridge over Telegraph in Pontiac is expected to begin in a month and be completed this year.
• The bridge construction which is causing weekday closures of the Dequindre Cut is apparently on schedule and should be completed by September.
• Atwater Street is also under construction between Rivard and Orleans in Detroit. When completed, we heard it will have bike lanes from the Ren Cen to Jos Campau.
• The city of Detroit is updating the bike lanes on Belle Isle and adding more on some of the internal roads thanks to some unexpected, but much welcomed grant funding.
• The contract for Wayne State University’s bike lane/streetscape project on Anthony Wayne Drive shows the project being completed by November.
• MTGA and others are still working with MDOT to try and get bike lanes on Michigan Avenue from Livernois to Rosa Parks in Corktown.
• Construction of the new MDOT trail along M-5 between 13 Mile and 14 Mile is underway — and it looks like the trail will be an awesome ride once completed.

And some non-construction updates:

• The city of Royal Oak has received their federal funding for their non-motorized planning efforts. We can expect them to start soon.
• The city of Novi has issued a Request for Proposals to develop a non-motorized plan.
• Wayne County has submitted an MDOT grant application which would extend the Conner Creek Greenway from the Mt. Olivet Cemetery to Eight Mile. This project is a mix of shared-use path and bike lanes.