Today (Monday, January 26th) at noon I’ll be on CJAM radio (95.1 FM) to discuss biking in Detroit.

The program is called Scaledown Radio and it hails from Windsor.  The program hosts also have a web site call Scaledown with a vision to “connect every Windsorite to their own walkable neighborhood that has its own public spaces, local independent businesses and artists.”

Though the CJAM  listening area is limited to Windsor and Southwest Detroit, you can listen to it as an audio stream on the Internet.  Just visit the CJAM web site to lean more.

We previously discussed the plans for the Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) bridge and whether it will accommodate bicycling.

Yesterday, the Federal Highway Administration made the following announcement:

Plans to build a second border crossing between Michigan and Ontario have received the necessary environmental approvals from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The “record of decision” (ROD), signed today by U.S. officials, represents the Detroit River International Crossing’s (DRIC) final environmental clearance and allows Michigan to begin right-of-way acquisition and construction planning for the bridge.

If completed, the project – including a plaza where tolls and U.S. border inspection activities will occur, and an interchange connecting it to I-75 – would span nearly seven miles. Under current estimates, the new crossing is expected to be open to traffic in 2013.

Prior to this announcement, MTGA and other groups (including the Detroit Mayor’s Office of Energy and Sustainability) submitted comments that encouraged biking and walking on the bridge.

These comments generally asked:

• How does this project positively impact Detroit greenways and the City’s non-motorized plan?
• How does the bridge accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians?

MTGA comments noted that not all of the greenways in the DRIC’s vicinity were included, nor was there any mention of Detroit’s non-motorized plan.  MDOT said they “will investigate ways to integrate these projects.”

MTGA also asked for clarification on how bicycle would be routed on the bridge.  (There is a sidewalk planned for pedestrians.)  MDOT  responded:

The accommodation for bicycles on the new river bridge is likely to be the right shoulder. When exiting the bridge, a bicyclist would remain to the right of traffic and proceed to a separate building near the primary processing booths for vehicles. After processing, there would be an exit to Jefferson Avenue. All of this is subject to the determination of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and its Canadian counterpart to allow bicycle use of the new Detroit River bridge.

That last statement could be a deal killer, though it’s difficult to imagine how a bicycle could be any more of a threat than a car or truck.

Still,  it may make sense to involve folks like Senator Carl Levin early on.  Senator Levin has been a major supporter of the Detroit Riverwalk and there’s every reason to believe he would go to bat for allowing bicycling across the bridge.

Bikes are not allowed on the Ambassador Bridge or in the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel.  They certainly aren’t allowed on the railroad tunnel beneath the Detroit River.

If you’re lucky, you might be able to talk the Truck Ferry operator into a ride.

Or you can take the Windsor Transit Tunnel Bus.  But, unlike all the other buses in the Windsor fleet, you aren’t allowed to use the bus bike rack.  You must disassemble your bike, put it in a bag, and carry it on the bus — not a practical solution.

Groups like Southwest Detroit Environmental Vision (SDEV) and MTGA are working to add a better option with the proposed new bridge over the Detroit River.  (The bridge is more properly called the Detroit River International Crossing or DRIC.)

The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) says:

The new bridge over the Detroit River and the plaza will be engineered to accommodate bicycles and pedestrians. U.S. Customs and Border Protection and its Canadian counterpart (Customs and Border Services Agency) will determine whether this traffic is allowed.

That’s a great start.  MTGA and others have submitted comments in support of making the new bridge a practical non-motorized connection between Windsor and Detroit.

Imagine the boost to cycling tourism.  Imagine how valuable an international connection would be between two cities both developing bike and greenway networks.  Imagine the Tour d’Troit heading over to Windsor on a new bridge.

The FEIS also includes more good news:

Bike lanes will be added to both sides of Jefferson Avenue and Clark Street, linking the Rouge River Gateway Master Plan Trail and potentially the proposed West Riverfront Greenway. Non-motorized paths will be included in the buffer zone surrounding the plaza.

Some of our friends in Windsor are also pushing for this crossing as well.

In the meantime, efforts are underway to determine if and how the Transit Windsor Tunnel Bus could better accomodate bikes.

EDIT: There is a Yahoo! discussion group dedicated to this topic.

There’s a lot going on in Windsor, Ontario with respect to biking.  Despite being just across the Detroit River, there hasn’t been much interaction and exchange between bike advocates and even bicyclists — that should change in the future.

But first, lets begin by highlighting some Windsor stories on biking that have come up during the past couple months.

To begin with, a recent Windsor Star newspaper article spoke of efforts to improve biking on Riverside Drive:

Windsor has rolled a little closer to the longtime but controversial goal of having a bike path stretch from the Ambassador Bridge to the east end’s Ganatchio Trail.

A recent ruling by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment allows the city to widen parts of Riverside Drive — against the wishes of some residents — in order to create an unbroken bike path along 16 kilometres of waterfront.

The Windsor Star even printed an opinion piece in support.

One of the biggest supporters for biking in Windsor right now is Councilor Alan Halberstadt.

Mr. Halberstadt was also involved in a flap over ticketing cyclists that ride on sidewalks (and endanger pedestrians.)  One problem is some streets are not properly designed for bicyclists and high-speed, high-vehicular traffic counts. As a result, many cyclists feel forced to use sidewalks.

One such example is Windsor’s Tecumseh Road.  A cyclist challenged him to ride Tecumseh during rush hour to eyewitness the problem and he did.

Their two-wheeled adventure took about 15 minutes. More than once the much faster motorists were hitting the brakes as they slowed behind the cycling duo. Some impatient drivers farther down the line even hit the horn before darting out into the other lane. Graber said he wanted the councillor to experience what cyclists go through every day.

“So he could have more insight when he’s making decisions,” said Graber, who rides 15 kilometres to work each day. “I gotta take my hat off to him. He really stepped up. He was out there and a city bus came within two feet of him, so I really have to give him credit.”

Halberstadt said his ride, while hair-rising at times, hasn’t changed his outlook.

“Not really,” said Halberstadt. “I’ve been saying for 10 or 12 years, since I’ve been council, that we need to improve our cycling network. If the attention this has brought helps move this along, then I’m thrilled.”

And if you’re really interested, there’s a video of this ride as well.

Windsor Star also ran an editorial Bike Paths would Boost our Quality of Life.  It was great to read except it didn’t mention Detroit and our biking efforts.

Expect that to change.

NEXT UP: Getting bicyclists across the border