m-bike.org

Category: General bike news

  • Pedal Press: Biking in the Metro Detroit

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

    Biking on the Dequindre CutMake 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.”

  • Ontario Bicycle Summits

    This month there are two bicycle summits in nearby Ontario.

    The first is the Ontario Bicycle Summit which runs from September 20th through the 21st. The location is Waterloo, which is about 3.5 hours from Detroit via car.

    Although there are not many details yet on the planned workshops, they do have an impressive list of speakers, including Congressman James Oberstar and Researcher Todd Littman.

    • Oberstar plans to discuss the latest updates on the U.S. federal transportation bill he’s been crafting for months (which is currently stalled.)
    • Littman is the founder of the Victoria Transport Policy Institute, which has a wealth of excellent research on bicycling in both their TDM Encyclopedia and documents page.

    The other event is the 2009 Ontario Mountain Bike Summit hosted by IMBA Canada. This event runs from September 25th through the 27th. The location is Kitchener, which is right next door to Waterloo.

    Topics will include the creation of a provincial leadership body, bike parks and sustainable trails, youth outreach, and growing local capacity for the 40+ clubs and patrols in IMBA’s Ontario network. In addition to informative seminars and networking, the gathering will feature great parties and plenty of riding.

    Of course, don’t forget the Mid-America Trails and Greenways Conference in Kalamazoo, Michigan at the end of October. For more information, visit the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance web site.

  • Pedal Press around Metro Detroit: September 1st, 2009

    m-bike is still here! We’ve been enjoying (and recovering from) a crazy adventure in Colorado for the past couple weeks…

    Here’s a collection of recent media coverage regarding trails and biking across Metro Detroit.

    Orion Township

    The Oakland Press is reporting on improvements to the Polly Ann Trail extension. This extension runs from the south border of the Indianwood Golf Course to just south of Waldon. This is 3.5 miles in total. The new surface is apparently crushed limestone similar to the Paint Creek.

    Unfortunately Orion Township is still pushing side paths (known as safety paths in Oakland County) as bicycling facilities despite the national guidelines saying they shouldn’t be. While sidepaths and sidewalks are fine for pedestrians and less skilled riders, they should not be designated bicycle facilities. Instead the township should be calling for safe on-road bicycling facilities that meet the AASHTO national guidelines.

    Shelby Township

    The Free Press gave brief mention to the trail construction underway in Shelby Township as part of the much larger Macomb Trail Loop.

    Construction is under way for a hiking and bike trail that is designed to eventually link to a loop around central and northern Macomb County.

    Crews are building a 1-mile trail in River Bends Park near 22 Mile and Shelby Road in Shelby Township that will link up with a trail that runs along the Clinton River in Dodge Park in Sterling Heights.

    Leaders plan to eventually have a 70-mile trail loop. So far, 44 miles are completed.

    Detroit RiverWalk

    Crain’s Detroit Business has thorough article on the Detroit RiverWalk and Dequindre Cut — they’re current status, planned construction, and future developments.

    The pace of private investment in the riverfront district has slowed with the economy, but plans to bring aesthetic improvement and ease accessibility to the river are to be finished or expanded.

    Current public space improvements will serve as a foundation for renewed private development on the water once the economy rebounds, said Faye Alexander Nelson, president and CEO of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy.

    Two of the six major residential developments that were in the planning process in 2007 are still moving; one has been reconfigured as an office/industrial building.

    The DNR is also continuing to move forward with future enhancements to Tri-Centennial State Park next to the Rivard Plaza. The next phase will certainly include yet another RiverWalk path extension and an improved connection to the Dequindre Cut.

    Detroit’s Green Task Force

    M-Live has a great written and audio coverage of Detroit’s Green Task Force, which headed by Detroit Council President Ken Cockrel, Jr.

    Bicycle trails and greenways trough out the City of Detroit are part of the Green Task Force’s non-motorized plans.

    “At least during the warm weather months, I like to bike a lot, and I’m a big fan of the Dequindre Cut, the new trail opened up earlier this year for walkers, joggers and bikers,” Cockrel says. “And we want to do more of that in Detroit.”

    Yes we do want to do more of that! In fact, in my role as Detroit Greenways Coordinator for MTGA, we recently proposed an eight-figure stimulus request which would effectively extend the Dequindre Cut around the city’s midsection. While this proposal is not looking too likely today, there is a great deal of interest among many parties to make it happen somehow.

    Pizza Super Highway

    Model D has a very cool article on Detroiter Karen Gage. Given that Karen’s an owner of Wheelhouse Detroit, it’s no surprise bicycling is entertwined in her daily routine.

    Noon: A slice at Supino Pizzeria in Eastern Market. If she can squeeze it in, she loves to grab lunch at this relatively new spot next to the region’s premier farmers market. “It is hands down the best pizza I’ve ever had,” she says. The Wheelhouse crew often bikes there on the Dequindre Cut bike path, which opened this year. With graffiti encouraged, the $3 million, 1.2 mile greenway replaced a former depressed rail corridor. And now Karen and the bike shop crew call it their “pizza super highway.”

    With her job at the New Center Council, Gage is also active in promoting non-motorized transportation, including potential bike lanes along Second Avenue, which would connect the Fisher Building to the Wayne State Campus.

    Getting Outdoors

    And finally, the Detroit News is reminding everyone to get outside as summer wraps up and take advantage of the many opportunties that we have in Metro Detroit. Our favorite quote is from another Wheelhouse Detroit owner.

    “Biking is absolutely the best way to see Detroit,” says Kelli Kavanaugh of Wheelhouse Detroit, which rents bikes and also provides bike tours of the city. “It’s flat and fast and, since our roads were built for a population of 2 million, there is plenty of room on them for bikes,” Kavanaugh says. “It’s healthy … it’s green, and most of all it is super fun.”

  • Updates from Portland, New York and Detroit

    Portland: Attracting or Converting

    There was an interesting article in Boston.com that discusses Portland, the apparently self-annointed Bike City USA.

    One question: “Is [Portland] just filling a niche and attracting bicyclists from elsewhere, instead of changing the habits of residents?

    According to Metro Councilor Rex Burkholder, “We’re not draining the world of people who like to ride bikes. It’s facilities that make people switch over, not philosophy.’’

    But perhaps the best quotes are from Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in response to George Will.

    Even if they could be replicated, however, the city’s policies have also made it a lightning rod for criticism from conservatives, who have derided the administration’s embrace of the city. Newsweek columnist George Will referred to Portland as “the P word’’ in a column in the spring and accused officials of pursuing “behavior modification’’ to coerce people out of cars.

    In an interview with the Globe, LaHood said that such critics were “living in the past’’ and that continuing to build more highways was also coercive. “We’ve created a system that requires people to get in their cars if they want to get anywhere,’’ he said.

    Cyclists and pedestrians have lived through over 80 years of coercion. It took a while, but the pendulum is swinging back a little.

    Portland: How much for a used bike?

    One side effect of more Portlanders taking up cycling is their used bike prices have increased.

    Thankfully we haven’t heard of a similar price rise in Detroit. Such an increase could keep many Detroiters from jumping into the sport.

    New York: Biking on the rise

    WCBS TV has quoted  City Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan saying biking is New York City’s “fastest growing mode of transportation.”

    And article continues with:

    The number of cyclists has jumped by 80 percent in the past decade — to 185,000 among the more than 8 million city denizens.

    City officials say they’ve worked to make the city more biker friendly. They note the hundreds of miles of marked bike paths created in recent years, safety awareness campaigns and handouts of free helmets to unprotected cyclists.

    Over that time, bicycle accidents have fallen more than 40 percent.

    Unfortunately we do not know the number of cyclists on the road. The only information we have is from the Census Bureau. They keep track of the percent of people who bike to work. The percentage is low enough to not be very useful. In addition it does not include those cycling for transportation outside of work or for recreation. Children and seniors are also not included in the Census numbers.

    Given the economy and proposed bus cuts in Detroit, the fastest growing mode of transportion in the city might be biking or walking.

    Detroit is Lonely

    Brian Kennedy is a former Detroiter now living in Chicago. And he’s a cyclist.

    He recently visited Detroit and wrote this interesting ride report.

    There are some updates to his story:

    • Comerica Park has or will soon install two bike racks near the stadium
    • Secondhand sources say that DDOT buses will have three-bike racks by Spring 2010. There had been some debate between the two- and three-bike racks, which are from different manufacturers.
    • Through my job with MTGA, I have been in contact with Brian and the Active Transportation Alliance about getting roll-on service for Amtrak trains running between Chicago, Ann Arbor, and Detroit. (“Roll-on” means you can roll your bike onto the train without having to disassemble or box it.) With the great cycling environment in all three cities, this seems like it could become very popular.

    Brian also plans on returning for the Tour-de-Troit next month — and he plans on riding the Dequindre Cut and visiting the Honey Bee Super Mercado, too.

  • Keeping a tighter leash on kids in public

    LiveScience has an interesting article, Kids Today on Tighter Leash, But Wild at Home. It suggests that today’s kids have less independent mobility, perhaps due in part to the bike unfriendly designs of newer communities.

    Parents today give their children more freedom at home but keep them on a tighter leash in public, a new study finds. This is the reverse of what was considered good parenting in the early half of the last century, the researcher showed.

    The loss of public freedom could reflect social changes, including the current design of towns and suburbs, which focus mostly on the convenience of auto traffic, not kids.

    In the early 20th century, advice columns tended to promote obedience, with children listening to parents regarding diet, appearance and other personal matters.

    While tightening the leashes at home, parents often gave their kids free rein outside, allowing them to play sports, ride bikes and toddler scooters, buses and subways all over town, and even hitch rides.

    The Free Press recently published a similar article, Fear and technology are keeping kids indoors.

    U.S. children spend 50% less time outdoors than they did 20 years ago, says the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan.

    The lack of running or biking or splashing around in the sprinkler is one likely factor in rising childhood obesity rates, said education professor Rhonda Clements, who conducted a 2004 study, “An Investigation on the Status of Outdoor Play,” for Manhattanville College in Purchase, N.Y. In it, 85% of mothers reported their children spend less time playing outside than they did growing up.

    This reduction in child mobility is also reflected in the number of kids walking or biking to school.

    From a 2004 CDC study,

    • In 1969, 42 percent of children 5 to 18 years of age walked or bicycled to school. In 2001, only 16 percent did.
    • In 1969, 87 percent of children 5 to 18 years of age who lived within one mile of school walked or bicycled to school. In 2001, only 63 percent did.

    The distances to schools and the traffic-related dangers were most often cited as barriers.

    While the Safe Routes to School initiatives are addressing these barriers, it’s really something all of us need to keep pushing.

    We need Complete Streets and well-designed communities that accomodate safe accessibility and mobility for future generations of kids — and that don’t require parent chauffeurs.