Today began the third annual Detroit Synergy bike to work day.  Today we had a great ride from Royal Oak to Campus Martius in Downtown Detroit.  Next Friday’s ride is from Dearborn to Campus Martius.

One of the riders today was going out of his way to ride with us.  His normal bike commute is from Royal Oak to Wixom.

Also, congrats to fellow bike commuter and Friend of the Clinton River Trail, Mark Pompetski.  He got some much deserved ink describing his bike commuting in the Hometown Life:

Three years ago, when Michigan’s perennial orange barrels sprouted along his route to work, Mark Pompetzki’s daily commute became even more of a grind than usual.

But prompted by a co-worker, Pompetzki found a way to take some of the pressure off the drive between Rochester and Southfield. He started riding his bike to work when the weather and his schedule permitted. He’s still doing it today, averaging one day a week.

Read the complete article

An article ran in this week’s Free Press, “Engineer pushes for biking, walking paths”

[Scott] Clein, an associate with Giffels-Webster Engineers in Detroit, helped chart out nearly 400 miles of potential routes ideal for walking and biking — with a few changes implemented by city officials.

Though his recommendations were adopted in the city’s Master Plan in 2007, Detroit’s movers and shakers have been sluggish in making the necessary changes to encourage more foot and pedal traffic, he said.

With few government officials willing to take the plunge, community groups and individuals will have to take charge if they want to see more bike and walking lanes, he said.

Clein also was a Metromode guest blogger last fall where he’s covered more details on road diets, zoning, planning, and more.  Scott’s entry below clearly represents the struggle cycle advocates face in Royal Oak and other nearby communities:

Many traffic engineers are stuck in old-school thinking. The old-school way of thought, for those of you not tuned in to the inner workings of transportation planning, can be summed up as follows:   more is better. The more vehicles we can get through a road segment, the better off we are. And a larger number of travel lanes mean more vehicles per hour.

We tip our collective m-bike helmet to Scott and look forward to working with him down the reduced-width road.

Thanks to Sean_of_Detroit for creating this on-line petition. It’s a simple and quick way to get your support heard.

For more information, visit this earlier m-bike entry regarding DDOT bus bike racks.

We just want a send a quick congrats and best wishes to Kelly and Karen. Together they’ve opened a bike rental, repair, and sales shop at the Riverwalk’s Rivard Plaza called Wheelhouse Detroit. The Metro Times wrote an excellent article about the shop.

And by the sound of it, their first weekend started strong.

Riding in Detroit is the cycling world’s greatest secret. Thanks to the Wheelhouse, more people will be discovering that.

SMART buses have them. Lansing CATA buses do too. Flint and Marquette buses are getting them thanks to recent MDOT grants.

So why don’t DDOT buses in Detroit have bike racks?

One big reason is they haven’t received many requests from their customers for them. That’s something we can change.

If having bike racks on DDOT buses is something you would use, please contact DDOT to let them know. Your options include:

• Writing them a letter (DDOT, 1301 E. Warren Ave, Detroit, MI 48207)
• Calling their customer service line at 313-933-1300.
• Attending the upcoming DTOGS public open house on May 7th at Wayne State. Talk with the DDOT officials about bike racks on buses. The DTOGS plan would allow bikes on the trains.
• Testifying at the City budget hearing on May 8th, 5:00 PM, Coleman A. Young Center, 13th floor. Ask City Council for more money than what the Mayor has recommended to help pay for bus bike racks. This gets the message to City Council and the Mayor’s office.
• Speaking about it at the monthly Customer Comment meetings, which are every third Thursday, 5pm at DDOT, 1301 E. Warren Ave, Detroit, MI 48207.
• Attending the monthly DDOT Advisory Commission meetings, which are held every third Wednesday at 10 am at DDOT, 1301 E. Warren Ave, Detroit, MI 48207.  You have the opportunity to bring it up during the open public comment period near the end of the meeting.

Make sure you’re clear about requesting bike racks on the buses versus just installing bike racks at the bus stops.  And, the more times and ways DDOT hears this message, the better our chances for success.

It should also be noted that there was initial opposition from SMART officials for their bike racks. Some of those who originally opposed them are now singing their praises. The rack usage was “far greater” than what they anticipated. It was a noted reasons for their increased ridership. SMART has even discussed upgrading their current 2-bike racks to 3-bike racks.

As for funding, MDOT’s Transportation Enhancements grants program has funded bus bike racks in other Michigan cities. Increased ridership can help offset any additional maintenance that these racks require.