Senator Tom Harkin from Iowa has introduced the Complete Streets Act of 2008. According to the Senator’s web site, “To reduce accidents, legislation will create ‘Complete Streets’ to keep motorists, transit vehicles, bicyclists, and pedestrians safe.”

Making our streets bike and pedestrian friendly is a win-win for us all. It not only promotes healthier lifestyles, it lowers the amount of traffic congestion that many people deal with every day.

So, what would this bill do for the Detroit area? It would require M-DOT and SEMCOG to adopt policies ensuring “that the safety and convenience of all users of the transportation system shall be accommodated.” That means all new road construction and reconstruction should include bicycle facilities unless very specific justifications can be documented.

Some U.S. cities and states already have Complete Streets policies. In Michigan, only the City of Jackson has done so.

What can you do to help? Make a quick call to Senators Levin (202.224.6221) and Stabenow (202.224.4822) to let them know you support Senator Harkin’s Complete Streets Act of 2008. If no one answers, just leave a message of support, your name, and address. (more…)

The video below is from the Knippels Bridge in Copenhagen during rush hour. If this were in Detroit, people would assume it’s an organized group ride. Is it any wonder than Danes make up the happiest nation?

Note that a dedicated bus (and tulip truck) lane provides some separation between the cars and bikes.

Imagine how many more lanes of roadway would need to be built if these cyclists were in their own individual cars.

Thanks to the Copenhagen Cycle Chic blog for originally posting this video — “bike advocacy in heels.”

There’s a new blog GoogleMapsBikeThere.org that’s leading a petition to get bike directions added to Google Maps. In other words, when you type an address into Google Maps, you could request biking directions instead of driving directions.

In some cities, there is an option to select public transit options rather than driving directions. It’s called Google Transit and Detroit SMART bus routes are included. It’s a very cool mashup.

So why not do that for bikes? Google apparently likes bikes. They sell Google bike jerseys. Their Ann Arbor office has secure bike parking. They encourage their Birmingham employees to commute by bike.

I think the biggest problem is safety. (more…)

In Ferndale

The City is installing at least five new bike racks in Downtown. And according to this, they won’t be your run of the mill, cold gray steel variety. Ferndale is Fashionable even when it comes to bike racks!

Bicycling in Ferndale is about to become a bit easier and more secure this spring. The city plans to install at least five new artistic bike racks in the downtown area as part of its on-going effort to encourage more non-motorized traffic. The city expects to put in the bike racks in March or April. Each rack will be able to hold a handful of bikes and will be decorative and artistically unique. City officials are still determining where to put the new racks and what they will look like. Cost of the project is estimated at a few thousand dollars.

In Detroit

The City of Detroit is making some streetscape improvements downtown which are mostly covered by a Transportation Enhancements grant through MDOT. Some of those improvements include bike racks. The streets to be improved are Park Street, from Woodward to Adams Streets; Witherell, from Woodward to Adams; Adams, from Park to Witherell, Grand River Avenue, from Washington Boulevard to Broadway Avenue; and Clifford/John R., from Washington Boulevard to Broadway Avenue. (more…)

Building a bike facilities is a great start, but you also need to devote some resources to getting the word out. We did this in Ferndale by creating videos that described why and how the bike network came about, as well as how to properly use them from a cycling and driving perspective. These videos were run on the local public access channel.

This week I came across a couple excellent public service announcements that also get the word out and get more non-cyclists on a bike.

This first one is from London, England (where they apparently had a decent budget):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rK5K6pNBEes

(more…)