m-bike.org

Category: General bike news

  • New US DOT Policy: Making our communities livable

    "We do have many modes of transportation in this country, many different ways of getting around. Why not make room at the table for bicycling and walking?"

    It started at the National Bike Summit when Ray LaHood, Secretary of Transportation addressed the crowd. Rather than take the podium, he climbed on top of a table and spoke loudly. He spoke of transportation’s role in building livable communities, which certainly included better and safer accommodations for people on bikes.

    Days prior to the speech, he’d unveiled a new USDOT policy that supported this effort. He highlighted both in his Fastlane blog.

    Today, I want to announce a sea change. People across America who value bicycling should have a voice when it comes to transportation planning. This is the end of favoring motorized transportation at the expense of non-motorized.

    We are integrating the needs of bicyclists in federally-funded road projects. We are discouraging transportation investments that negatively affect cyclists and pedestrians. And we are encouraging investments that go beyond the minimum requirements and provide facilities for bicyclists and pedestrians of all ages and abilities.

    To set this approach in motion, we have formulated key recommendations for state DOTs and communities:

    • Treat walking and bicycling as equals with other transportation modes.
    • Ensure convenient access for people of all ages and abilities.
    • Go beyond minimum design standards.
    • Collect data on walking and biking trips.
    • Set a mode share target for walking and bicycling.
    • Protect sidewalks and shared-use paths the same way roadways are protected (for example, snow removal)
    • Improve nonmotorized facilities during maintenance projects.

    Now, this is a start, but it’s an important start. These initial steps forward will help us move forward even further.

    There was opposition to this policy from those protecting the status quo. Some of that is documented in LaHood’s interview in the New York Times. The League of American Bicyclists rebutted the opposition’s arguments.

    And as LaHood noted in his more recent blog entry, this policy just reflects what Americans want.

    So how does this improve biking in Metro Detroit?

    First, this is a federal policy but without big teeth. It gives direction but doesn’t spell out penalties for those transportation agencies that ignore them.

    Even still, it’s a very, very positive step. It supports the Complete Streets effort taking place at the local, state, and federal levels.

    It’s worthwhile to keep a copy of this policy with you whenever you discuss improving bicycling conditions in your community.

  • Tuesday roundup: Detroit biking in the media

    First, NBC is in Detroit today for an upcoming national story which includes biking in Detroit. It is expected to air later this month….

    Detroit on Two Wheels: Wheelhouse

    A short article from Papermag gives some love to the Wheelhouse Detroit, which is now open for business.

    Not every form of transportation in the Motor City requires an engine. Wheelhouse Detroit, a bicycle shop in downtown Detroit, that offers rentals, retail, and service. They also offer tours that help make little-known tourist gems more accessible in a city that is spread across many miles.

    Detroiters Kelli Kavanaugh and Karen Gage opened Wheelhouse two years ago and they emphasize the ecological practices of their business, including the t-shirts and sustainable water bottles they sell. “Our store is an opportunity to get to talk to people about road safety and spread the word that cars need to share the road with riders,” said Gage, who also works as an urban planner in the city.

    Real Detroit also ran a nice article on the shop.

    Big plans for the future Detroit

    The Detroit Free Press published a big article which compiles the various plans for Detroit — including the greenway and non-motorized plans.

    The city plans to put up about 30 miles of bike lanes and more than 12 miles of routes designed for cyclists starting in September in southwest Detroit, near Wayne State and on the east side. The aim is a network of hundreds of miles of biking and walking paths connecting neighborhoods and attractions across the city.

    There’s also updates on the RiverWalk and Midtown Loop. The Free Press did a find job creating a map showing bike lane projects planned for this year.

    The same issue included an editorial.

    For all its troubles today, Detroit is also a place brimming with hope for tomorrow.

    When you assemble all the proposals, plans and dreams that have been advanced in recent months, the city of 2020 looks dramatically different than it looks today: smaller, smarter, greener, more mobile, with more job opportunities — and once again the pounding heart of a metropolitan region.

    You see thousands of kids attending schools that work for them. You see people using light rail and boarding buses in a transit system that serves them. You see a gleaming, growing medical complex; banners being hoisted to the rafters of a new sports arena; and people tending little farms that nourish their neighborhoods in more ways than one. You see convention-goers strolling a crowded RiverWalk and bicyclists coasting the downhills of a new trail network.

    Bicyclists coasting the downhills? It’s a nice thought, but with Detroit being built on a former lake bed, there aren’t going to be many downhills of note.

    Michigan residents are winners under new state parks passport law

    Howard Meyerson, a columnist with the Grand Rapids Press, has covered the state park funding situation for years. His latest column celebrates the passage of the Recreation Passport legislation. He also shined some light on those that opposed or at least delayed these bills.

    It wasn’t an easy passage. The Chamber of Commerce and transportation lobby opposed it. Speaker of the House Andy Dillon held it up over the holidays, reportedly to help an old college buddy, now a transportation lobbyist.

    But in the end, wiser heads prevailed.

    Yes, wiser heads did prevail. The new payment system begins this October, so everyone will still need to purchase their 2010 Motor Vehicle Pass stickers.

    Detroit was represented well at the 10th annual National Bike Summit in DC

    And, Model D just published an article on the recent National Bike Summit. They referenced our review of the event. Thanks, Model D!

  • Exposing the double-standard

    ″I′ll be more OK…

    A 49-year-old Chesterfield Township man disgruntled over a traffic ticket and crash with a Roseville Police car admitted he’s been dumping screws and nails in the Roseville city hall and police department parking lots once or twice a week since late February, blowing out tires, according to investigators.
    Detroit Free Press, March 24th, 2010

    …with bikes sharing the roads with cars…

    About 10 minutes after a Westland mother drove drunk and broadsided another vehicle in Ferndale, then fled with her 4-year-old in the backseat, police said, Jean Timlin’s Honda CRV was pulled over.
    Detroit Free Press, March 5th, 2010

    …when the bikers start following…

    Six preschoolers were injured Tuesday after they were struck by flying glass and debris when their teacher accidentally backed her SUV through a side window wall of their Franklin village school, police said.
    Detroit Free Press, March 10th, 2010

    …the same rules of the road.”

    Charges have been filed against the Dearborn Heights man accused of running over a corporal in the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office with the officer’s own car.

    Jeffery Lamar Jones, 32, was charged with two counts of assault with intent to commit murder; two counts of felonious assault; carjacking; two counts of fleeing and eluding; felonious driving; resisting and obstructing a police officer causing serious impairment; failure to stop at a personal injury accident; operating with a suspended license; and marijuana possession, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office.
    Detroit Free Press, March 16th, 2010

    The italicized quote shown above is from a Royal Oak web forum, but it’s not an uncommon statement. Some consider it okay to consider cyclists as a collective group — a group that bears responsibility for everyones individual actions. This is perpetuated by cyclists who say we all need to uphold the collective reputation of cycling.

    It’s nonsense.

    Do individual motorists accept responsibility for all motorists? Do motorists feel compelled to uphold their collective reputation every time they get behind the wheel?Are motorists at risk of losing access to all public roads because of the egregious behaviors listed above? Of course not.

    Michigan law grants roads access to individuals riding bicyclists just as it does for motorists.

    The bottom line is there’s no double-standard.

    WashCycle’s The Myth of the Scofflaw Cyclist does an admiral job discussing this issue in greater detail.

  • APBP transportation cycling survey for women

    From the APBP (via Streetsblog):

    The Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals (APBP) is interested in gathering input on transportation cycling issues.

    This particular survey is just for women and girls.

    How long does this survey take? 15 minutes on average.

    Can I share this survey with other women? Please do. The more women and girls you refer to this survey, the more it assists us in figuring out what factors need to be addressed to encourage women to cycle more places more often. The survey will remain open until Saturday May 15, 2010.

    Take the Survey

  • Biking is not alternative transportation

    While at a conference in Buffalo last year, Dom Nozzi corrected me. Biking and walking are not alternative transportation. Alternative transportation is an auto-centric term which implies that only motor vehicles are mainstream transportation.

    It’s a loaded term and one worth dropping, especially given the U.S. DOT’s recent policy statement that encourages government agencies to consider “walking and bicycling as equals with other transportation modes.”

    That said, the “alternative transportation” theme was commonly used in the recent Let’s Save Michigan poster contest. Many of the submitted posters highlighted cycling and transit as a positive part of Michigan’s future.

    The critic’s choice poster by Jonathan Wilcox is shown. Wilcox included this explanation for his inspiration.

    Truly embracing alternative forms of transportation, such as trains and bicycles, could be a good way to increase travel into, out of, and within cities, and between city and suburb, while also easing the environmental issues of having so many cars on the road. Michigan has long been known for its commitment to transportation and it’s time we think and act accordingly in this new decade.

    Great poster, great direction.