It’s becoming increasingly challenging to highlight all the trail and bike media coverage for the city of Detroit.

We’re even seeing great photos like this one of regular people riding the “Dequinder” Cut in a Detroit News article about the weather.

Below are some updates primarily about the RiverWalk, ferry service, and TIGER grant.

Detroit RiverWalk’s 10th anniversary

The Free Press ran stories about the RiverWalk that were run during the RiverDays event. It’s great that Harriet Saperstein is part of the article as she’s been one of the longtime proponents of developing riverfront trails as well as other bicycling facilities throughout Detroit.

…Saperstein, who still visits the waterfront and Belle Isle on a regular basis from her Lafayette Park home, said the vision developed for the riverfront in the 1970s continues to motivate fans of the waterfront today.

“You stay patient and persistent, and you come at it again and again and again,” she said earlier this month.

The idea for Detroit riverfront trails is more than 10 years old. It pre-dates Saperstein and goes all the way back 113 years to Mayor Hazen Pingree.

The Free Press also created this video that interviews RiverWalk users.

Craig Fahle Show

Last Friday’s Craig Fahle Show included a more general discussion of trails and biking in Detroit, including changing perceptions of greenways, connecting greenways, the $10 million TIGER grant, public bike sharing, and more. A podcast of the show is available on-line.

Detroit & Windsor Ferry Service

This CBS Detroit article gives an optimistic update on ferry service between Detroit and Windsor, which may start as soon as next spring. As we’ve been saying for a few years now, this would be an ideal means for bicyclists to get across the Detroit River.

Detroit Port Authority Chairman Louis James told CBS Detroit this news.

“We’ve already been funded for the ferry, we have companies that are coming to us that own ferries who would like to contract with us, so I don’t really see any real cost at this time. We hope to have, as I said, private contractors to come in and operate them,” he said.

James said he views the ferry as being a People Mover on the water. He said there could be one big ferry or several smaller ferries along the river, transporting roughly 200 passengers at a time.

?This morning we had another inquiry from bicycle tourists looking to cross the river. We’re hoping to have a good answer for them soon.

First, The Hub of Detroit is having a bike drive and is seeking donated used bikes before September 1st.

We are currently trying to get 300 bicycles donated by Sept. 1st to continue our youth programming.

In 2011 alone, the Hub got over 300 youth on bicycles and taught mechanic skills to many more. In 2012 we are
providing more programming than ever in our 13 year history by having youth work in our shop 5 days a week.
This would not be possible without the help from generous people just like you.

The 2012 Bike Drive flier has all the details.

Hiring Earn a bike instructors

The Hub is also helping to hire a couple instructors for a youth Earn-a-Bike program in the Osborn Neighborhood. This program is the result of a grant via the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.

We are working on getting an Earn-a-Bike program started in the Osborn Neighborhood in collaboration with the Detroit Eastside Community Collaborative as well as the Rails-to-Trails Conservatory and other groups.

If you are interested, just email me (jason@thehubofdetroit.org) a resume and cover letter explaining why you would be perfect for this job. You can also drop off or mail a printed cover letter and resume to:

The Hub of Detroit
c/o Jason X
3611 Cass Avenue
Detroit, MI 48201

The Hub will be hiring and training folks for this job, but it isn’t our program, just one we are helping with.

Again, this position is NOT a job at the Hub.?It is a program that will take place in the Osborn Neighborhood near Outer Drive and Connor.

We highly encourage folks of all different types to apply for the job. Get a resume in by July 15th for consideration!

Apply now. It should be a very rewarding experience helping get more Osborn youth on bikes!

Despite what others have said or written, there is no accurate bicycle use data for the city of Detroit.

So, we rely on anecdotal evidence. Everyone we’ve spoken with have been impressed with the increased bicycle use during the past couple years.

Jason Hall wrote about it this excellent overview, The State of Biking in Detroit.

You see, bikes are becoming more and more a part of everyday life in the Motor City. On that very same 5 a.m. ride to work, I’ll pass five cyclists and maybe one car. I don’t know if it’s the fact that I ride all the time that I notice bicyclists more often, but the fact of the matter is that the bicycle community has grown.

Jason Hall and I were on the FlashPOINT program with Devin Scillian. (The bicycling segment begins at 16 minutes.) Scillian noted the increasing number of bicyclists at the Detroit fireworks.

And we just came across this document from 2004, Detroit’s Downtown Transportation Master Plan. Yes, it calls for improved biking and walking facilities, but what we found more intriguing is its assessment of bicycling in downtown Detroit circa 2004.

Bicycling is currently one of the least used of all transportation modes in the downtown area. According to SEMCOG, less than 1 percent of home-based trips into and out of downtown are made by bicycle. While recreational bicycling is relatively common along the riverfront areas, little utilitarian bicycle use has been observed within downtown, as a lack of roadway facilities and end-of-trip amenities (such as bicycle parking or shower/change facilities) is prevalent throughout most of the area. In addition, inclement weather during significant portions of the year diminishes the ability for individuals to consistently use of bicycles for non-recreational transportation.

We disagree with their take on weather, but not on their observation of few people using for bicycles for transportation back then.

That’s not s a statement one could make today.

The Downtown Plan also adds this:

Between the years of 1997 and 1999, approximately 15 bicycle-automobile crashes occurred downtown, with no fatalities. Because of the low volume of bicycle activity occurring downtown, the number of crashes occurring indicates a need to further consideration of bicycle safety and the improved integration of bicycles into the transportation fabric of downtown.

Seeing the number of bicycle crashes, we looked at the most recent three years of data. From 2009 to 2011, there were just 7 crashes and no fatalities. In fact, most of the crashes didn’t involve injury.

This is a significant drop from the late 90s. It may indicate that the increase in cyclists has helped changed drivers expectations.

There is safety in numbers, and Detroit’s cycling numbers have definitely grown.

After about 18 months of planning and community engagement, the GREEN plan was revealed, a plan for greenways throughout the Detroit’s lower eastside.

The GREEN Task Force, a coalition of Detroit-based non-profit groups, presents to you a vision and a realistic plan for creating a network of greenways on Detroit’s greater riverfront east. Just as greenways serve many functions – from recreational venues to economic linkages between neighborhoods – this report also aims at many goals. This plan serves as a catalyst for:

• Economic development
• A tool for bringing communities together
• A way of defining a new future for Detroit’s greater riverfront east

Modeshift covered this story a couple weeks ago.

“It’s evident things like greenways and bike lanes are good for community development,” [Villages CDC executive director Brian] Hurttienne says. “Otherwise we wouldn’t spend the money we do.”

“Greenways provide much more than ways to get somewhere without a car,” says Maggie DeSantis, chair of the GREEN Task Force and board member of the Detroit Eastside Community Collaborative. “Greenways improve health and safety by creating recreational venues, beautifying neighborhoods, creating nodes of economic development, and by connecting neighborhoods and residents to each other, and to the broader city.”

Since the unveiling, the GREEN task force has been presenting this plan to many different groups and exploring funding options.

And some of the routes are closer to implementation than others.

• The city has initial plans to add bike lanes to this segment of Kercheval next year.
• The East Jefferson Corridor Collaborative continues their efforts for bike lanes on E. Jefferson. They are focusing on the roadway between Belle Isle’s bridge and Indian Village. They have a few different design options, two of which are physically-separated bike lanes, also known as cycletracks. They are currently doing a traffic study to ensure the required road diet would not be a roadblock.

The project furthest from implementation is likely the Detroit RiverWalk extension to Alter Road. The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy is focusing on completing the eastern portion of the existing RiverWalk before shifting resources to the western portion between Joe Louis Arena and Riverside Park/Ambassador Bridge.

If you were at RiverDays, you might have seen the below graphic. (Click on the image to enlarge it.) It’s a conceptual plan for expanding Milliken State Park and the Detroit RiverWalk.

What do you think about this vision? The Michigan DNR is asking that you send you email your comments.

A copy of the original PDF is available.