Another section of the Conner Creek Greenway was opened yesterday in Detroit on Arbor Day — a holiday for tree planting created by a J. Sterling Morton, a Michigan Wolverine from Monroe, Michigan.

The event at Maheras Gentry Park began with a parade, music, and a long line of kids from the Detroit Merit Charter Academy. The kids were dressed in frog costumes they had made earlier. The frog theme was a nod to the parks historic condition as marshland. It was an amazing site to see.

Following the parade, remarks were made by those who helped make this greenway possible (i.e. the funders): Karla Hall of the DTE Energy Foundation, Tony Kratofil of MDOT, and Tom Woiwode from the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan.

During his remarks, Kratofil announced MDOT’s commitment to funding the next portion of the Conner Creek Greenway. That portion is along Conner Avenue from McNichols to Eight Mile. That project includes a new section of sidewalks, bike lanes, bike routes, and some landscape improvements.

Wayne County Commissioners Tim Killeen and Bernard Parker also presented a resolution from the commission as well.

The new sections of greenway had been mostly completed late last year. That included bike lanes from Jefferson to Maheras Gentry Park along Clairpointe and a shared-use path from the park entrance to the existing paths near the river. The bike lanes on St. Jean built earlier last year were also part of the opening celebration.

Crain’s Detroit Business and Model D has media coverage prior to the event, while TV20 News has post-event coverage.

Last August, MDOT solicited comments on the State Rail Plan.  We asked cyclists to comment in favor of AMTRAK allowing roll-on bicycle service for all of its trains in Michigan. Currently AMTRAK requires bicycles to be partially disassembled and boxed.

In the last legislative session, a rider was attached to the 2010 MDOT budget appropriation bill which said:

For rail passenger service supported in any part through capital or operating assistance from funds appropriated in this act, the department shall work with the rail carrier to identify ways in which reasonable transport of bicycles by passengers can be accommodated.

There are three AMTRAK lines in Michigan. Only two, the Pere Marquette (Grand Rapids to Chicago) and the Blue Water (Chicago-Lansing-Port Huron) are provided operating assistance from MDOT.

Our concern was the Wolverine line (Chicago, Ann Arbor, Detroit, and Pontiac) would not get roll-on bicycle service.

We spoke with an MDOT staff person yesterday. She said AMTRAK has told them all three lines will have roll-on bicycle service and they are aiming for spring.

We asked if the bicycles would be in a separate baggage car but apparently AMTRAK is removing some seats and installing bicycle racks. We don’t know how many bikes these train will accommodate. It varies among the current AMTRAK lines, with some allowing three bikes per passenger car.

Apparently one potential hold up is their reservation system needs to be updated.

There are more details on AMTRAK’s onboard bicycle rack accommodations on their web site, including:

You can reserve space for bicycles when you make a ticket reservation. We charge a fee (generally ranging from $5 to $10 depending on route and distance traveled) for reserving a space in the bike rack. If space is available, you will be issued a ticket for bike rack space. Be prepared to give this ticket to the conductor when boarding with your bicycle.

However, you will not be able to use the onboard racks if you have a “tandem, recumbent or other unusual bikes.”

Start planning your summer bicycle trip to Chicago now… Hopefully Amtrak will have the service up and running by then.

Detroit’s loss of population is well documented. No matter where the recent census counts fall, the reality is Detroit has a million fewer residents since the 1950s.

And since the 1950s, Detroit lost its streetcar network while gaining one of America’s most extensive urban expressway networks.

This has resulted in roads like Forest just east of Dequindre. Five lanes one-way with limited hours of parking.

Despite its one-way design, the road’s recent repaving and lack of traffic makes this ideal for biking.

And from 2004 to 2009, there are no reported motor vehicle crashes involving bicyclists or pedestrians on this segment of Forest from Dequindre to Gratiot.

Marked in Red

However, the MDOT and SEMCOG bicycle maps say otherwise. Both bicycle maps show this road in red, which means it’s generally unfavorable for bicycling due to the heavy traffic.

Huh?

We looked at the SEMCOG traffic counts and did not find any relevant traffic counts near this section of Forest. There was one count from June 2006 taken on Forest west of Dequindre however Forest is now closed at Dequindre. Even still, that traffic count was only 6,823 vehicles during a 24-hour period. The MDOT map says over 15,000 cars a day use this section of Forest.  SEMCOG map says there are over 10,000 vehicles per day.

Unfortunately it appears Forest is not the exception on these maps. There are other super wide, one way Detroit roads with little to no traffic that are shown in red, including Rosa Parks and 14th from Warren to I-75. Second Avenue from Forest to Temple is red on SEMCOG’s map despite its lack of traffic.

This really just reinforces the idea that Detroit needs a good bike map that is designed for cyclists and provides recommended routes — like Forest.

Road Diet?

Does road dieting a road without cars make it more bike friendly? Is a road with so few cars a Complete Street? These are questions that don’t get asked in most cities but are very relevant in Detroit.

Perhaps it makes more sense to approach this with a financial perspective. Could a road diet reduce the road maintenance costs and storm water runoff? Could we convert those outside travel lanes to half bike lane, half pervious surface. The pervious surface (perhaps as bio swales) would provide some separation between the parking/vehicle travel lanes and the bike lane while also absorbing the road’s storm water runoff. Could the city maintain (e.g. sweep) a physically-separated cycle track?

Eliminating vehicle lanes on Federal aid roads (such as Forest) affects Michigan’s federal transportation funding formulas. The state would get the same amount of funding, but less would be distributed to counties and cities like Detroit. There is a financial incentive for not losing vehicle lanes on federal aid roads, but is it enough to justify the added cost?

Hopefully the answer to these questions will emerge over time from the Detroit Works Project and more analysis.

But until then, go bike on E. Forest and enjoy the wide open road.

The opening of another segment of the Conner Creek Greenway is scheduled for Friday, April 29, 2011 at Maheras Gentry Park in Detroit.

Please join us to celebrate the addition of two new miles of the Conner Creek Greenway along St. Jean and Clairpointe to the Detroit River.

• 9:00 am DTE Energy Green Team Tree Planting
• 11:00 am Arbor Day Parade (Open To The Public)
• 11:45 am Remarks
• 12:00 pm Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

Motorist directions from I-94: Take the Conner exit. Head south on Conner 2.4 miles into the park.
Motorist directions from Downtown: From Woodward, take Jefferson Avenue east 5 miles to Conner/Clairpointe and turn right. Take Clairpointe into the park.

This event is made possible with the support of DTE Energy and the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan.

All three of Detroit’s three Bike Friendly Businesses are hosting events this Saturday, April 23rd.

10am until 1pm

OmniCorpDetroit has their Uber Back event at 1501 Division in Eastern Market — and they’ll have frankenbikes.

Come give us a look and make yourself some swag at OCD’s first UBER HACK! There will be music, our very own Tesla Coil, Paper Helicopter workshops, Seed Bomb demonstrations, Frankenbikes and other fabulous disruptions. Curious about our space? Come and check it out, we’ve spring-cleaned just for you! You can even bring the wee ones, as there will be plenty for all to make and enjoy.

They’ll have some pickle lights, too.

12pm to 3pm

The Wheelhouse Detroit has already kicked off their bike touring season. This Saturday is their Belle Isle tour ($25 or $35 with bike rental)

Explore the architecture of Detroits island gem, including the Eero Saarinen-designed Flynn Pavilion, the Albert Kahn-designed Aquarium, the Boat and Yacht Clubs, the Casino and Livingstone Lighthouse. A sampling of the parks numerous statues will be discussed, including General Alpheus Starkey Williams and his famous horse Plug Ugly and Scott Fountain. The tours includes stops at the Conservatory, Nature Center and Dossin Great Lakes Museum.

4pm to 7pm

The Hub of Detroit is having their Spring Open House.

This basically gives everyone a chance to come by and see our space, ask questions and find out how they can link into what we do. If we’ve ever been too busy to answer a question of yours, now is the time to come ask. We will also have many of our community partners on hand to tell you about their projects as well.

We’re not sure if the scheduling of these events was intentional, but one could certainly do all three.