SEMCOG recently launched a new MiBikematch service and the Free Press has an article it.

MiBikematch, a service to match up bike riders who would be more comfortable taking the trip with another rider, has been launched, the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments said Wednesday.

Users register there, entering their starting point, destination, days they ride and their work hours. That information is compared to other users for potential matches. Participants may contact potential riding companions through e-mail or the Web site. The service is free, SEMCOG spokeswoman Iris Steinberg said.

The program is part of an effort by state and local agencies to encourage folks to think beyond driving to ease congestion and improve air quality in a state among the tops in the nation in the percentage of drivers commuting alone by car.

Note that after signing up, you can select how you prefer to commute: by bike, car pool, van pool, or some combination of those.

It’s apparent that in order to make this service a success, we need a lot of bike commuters signing up.

$5 per gallon of gas would hurt the program either.

Both the Free Press and Daily Tribune are reporting on Ferndale Police efforts to catch bicycle thieves.

According to the Tribune:

Police have taken nearly 20 reports of stolen bicycles in the past six weeks. However, many such thefts aren’t reported and police believe the actual number of bike thefts in Ferndale is much higher.

“Basically they are stealing bikes to sell them for quick money,” Wilson said. “The suspects are a combination of adults who might have drug habits to support, and kids.”

One of their responses is to leave an unlocked bike under police surveillance. If someone takes the bicycle, the police can catch the thief. According to the Tribune it took 2 hours before the decoy was stolen by Browner, which doesn’t sound all that efficient.

Perhaps a better solution is finding where these stolen bikes are going and being re-sold to consumers. If there was less of market for stolen bikes, fewer might get taken.

Years ago the Royal Oak Police did just that and shutdown a bicycle shop on Eleven Mile Road that was selling stolen bikes.

The 2009 Oakland County Trail Summit: By Land, By Water is scheduled for October 8th at the Proud Lake State Recreation Area near Milford.

The details and agenda are on the registration page. Note that this event is limited to 150 registrants.

Later in the month (October 25th through the 28th) is the Mid-America Trails and Greenways Conference in Kalamazoo.

There is less than two weeks left to get the early registration price.

Here are some additional conference details from Nancy Krupiarz, executive director for the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance:

The 4th Mid American Trails & Greenways creates an excellent opportunity for all those involved in trails and greenways to share our experiences learn from each other and continue connecting our trails and greenways.

Sponsored by eight Mid America states of Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, and Kentucky, and supported by a host of national, state, regional and local trail agencies and organizations, the conference will feature interactive educational sessions and exciting mobile workshops bringing together the best presenters from Mid America and the nation. An update on the state of trails and greenways in Mid America will be followed by informative sessions that will look at all aspects of trail and greenway development and operations.

An exhibit area with more than forty exhibitors displaying their products and services will be a part of this event!

In my job at MTGA, I’ll be presenting on our trail and greenway efforts in Detroit.

After the conference, we’re looking at meeting in Detroit to discuss a new Adventure Cycling bike route we are developing. It will be a spur off of their existing Underground Railroad route and will extend from Ohio, through Detroit, into Windsor, and over to Toronto. We’ll also be discussing the U.S. Bicycle Route System and how it might be routed through Detroit.

Metromode media has an article discussing Oakland University’s new bike sharing program for students and staff.

Oakland University plans to start two new alternative transportation programs this fall: a bike-share and van-shuttle programs. These environmentally friendly services will be available to all university patrons for free.

The bike-share program is a student-led initiative that will depend on the honor system. It will feature 30 bicycles for on-campus use only at 30 different bike racks across the campus. The bikes will be stored in the winter term.

Another seven bike racks will be added to campus to facilitate the program. Student and university officials are also working on plans to make the commuter campus more bike-friendly by adding bike lanes and trails throughout the campus.

The university’s web site describes more about how it works.

Oakland University will provide this campus service at no cost to users. Using an honor system, the program offers the campus community 30 bikes and 30 designated bike rack stations. Students, faculty and staff will have access to the bikes from bike rack stations located throughout campus, ride and return the bikes to another bike rack. The bikes will be restricted to on-campus use.

Bikes will be provided from March to late October. Based on winter weather conditions the program may end sooner.

This is certainly a much welcomed endeavor. And Oakland University’s road network certainly could use bike lanes and improved non-motorized connections with the surround community.

Thanks to Jon Levin for passing along this information.

Here’s some media coverage related to biking in Detroit:

Make the Motor City Smaller

Free Press write Bill McGraw has an article in Newsweek about the need to manage shrinking in Detroit.

Detroit has been shrinking for 50 years. The city has lost more than half of the 2 million people it had in the early 1950s, but it remains 138 square miles. Experts estimate that about 40 square miles are empty, and [Mayor Dave] Bing has said that only about half the city’s land is being used productively.

The next steps are complicated and largely uncharted. Moving residents into more densely populated districts has legal and moral implications; it must be done with care and the input of those who would be moved. And what do you do with the empty space? The city is already dotted with big vegetable gardens, and one entrepreneur has proposed starting a large commercial farm. Some people advocate bike paths, greenways, and other recreation areas. Surrounded by fresh water, and buffeted by nature reasserting itself on land where factories used to be, Detroit could someday be the greenest, most livable urban area in the country. A city can dream, can’t it?

Of course the positve side to this abandonment is our roads have few motorists and it’s a great place to bike. This largely goes unrecognized because the yardstick for bikeability is how much money a city has invested in bike lanes and bike racks. That bike-friendly yardstick fails to acknowledge how a shrinking city can make a city more bikeable.

On a related note, I spoke briefly with Detroit council candidate Charles Pugh at Saturday’s Dally in the Alley. He wants to sit down and discuss how greenways fit into a plan for shrinking Detroit.

Right way is the only way to ride a bike

The Times Herald out of Port Huron has a well-written column about riding on the right side of the road. Apparently they had many of their reads call in regarding biking.

Of course, it is a less-than-scientific survey, but a majority of TalkBack callers believe bicycle riders should travel on the left side of the road, against traffic.

On this, as in many matters, a majority of TalkBack callers are wrong.

One additional point is that riding against traffic on a sidewalk or sidepath (also called safety path) is even more dangerous than riding against traffic on the road.

Campaign focuses on plight of Rust Belt

The Pittsburg Post-Gazette covered the Great Lakes Urban Exchange also known as GLUE, who asks the question, “I Will Stay If…” at events throughout the Rust Belt.

The Detroit party was “a qualified success,” said Ms. [Sarah] Szurpicki. “We had around 100 people and collected over 80 good photos” of participants holding a white board with the phrase “I Will Stay If …” completed.

“The photos show that people want better regional cooperation, public transit, bike lanes, curbside recycling, things like that. And what has come out of this is people saying ‘I am staying to be a part of something,’ ‘I am staying because I want to help build that curbside recycling program.’

“This is about place-building.”