From metromode:

Geysering fuel prices and the clamor for sustainable lifestyles and cityscapes bode well for bicycle commuters, with Oregon congressman Earl Blumenauer leading the pack. As head of the bi-partisan Congressional Bike Caucus, a group promoting public investment in bike transportation, Blumenauer’s regular coasts to the office and the White House are Washington, D.C. legend.

Cities from Portland, Oregon to Boulder, Colorado are threaded with cycling networks.

So will the Motor City region (with three Congressional Bike Caucus members) shrug off its shroud of automobile exhaust and feel the oxy rush from the two-wheel revolution?

Complete Article

From MDOT…

I-275 Bike Path Asset Management Study

You are invited to join MDOT and their consultants, Wilbur Smith Associates and Wade Trim, at an Open House to review and provide input on the draft results of the existing conditions analysis for the I-275 Bike Path that has recently been completed. This work is the first step in an overall analysis of what will be needed to allow this 40+ mile path to become an integral piece of the regions bicycle and pedestrian circulation system. Information will be available for individual reviews between 3 and 5 PM on January 30, 2008 in the Freedom Room on the lower level of the Canton Administration Building, 1150 S. Canton Center, Canton, Michigan. There will be a short presentation of the draft conclusions of the existing conditions analysis at 3:30 PM.

The project team is looking for local input and review of the draft conclusions before finalizing them and moving onto the development of improvement recommendations. The project team is also interested in hearing any suggestions you may have about trail improvements, possible connections, or other recommendations relating the reinvigoration of the I-275 Bike Path.

There will also be two evening public work session. The first will be the evening of January 30, 2008, also in the Freedom Room in Canton starting at 5:30 PM. The second will be in the Activity Room in Willow Metropark on January 31, 2008, starting at 6:30 PM.

(more…)

From the Michigan Land Use Institute: “It’s not that Mr. Burden dislikes cars. It’s just that he is certain that the quality of life improves if people don’t spend so much time sitting in them. And, like everybody else, he can’t stand congestion. He’s come up with some unexpected solutions. The answer to traffic congestion in most towns isn’t making roads wider, says Mr. Burden. Just the opposite: Roads need to be put on a “diet.” Taking lanes away slows traffic but, surprisingly, the road then actually carries more vehicles more efficiently. Mr. Burden has other traffic remedies, such as shrinking intersections, constructing roundabouts, building boulevards with divided medians, and designing places where people can walk, bike, and ride public transit.”

Smart Growth America: “Three-fourths of Americans believe that being smarter about development and improving public transportation are better long-term solutions for reducing traffic congestion than building new roads, according to a survey sponsored by the National Association of Realtors and Smart Growth America. The 2007 Growth and Transportation Survey details what Americans think about how development affects their immediate community. Nearly three-quarters of Americans are concerned about the role growth and development play in climate change, as well as remaining concerned about traffic congestion. Half of those surveyed think improving public transit would be the best way to reduce congestion, and 26 percent believe developing communities that reduce the need to drive would be the better alternative. Only one in five said building new roads was the answer.”

The below street design concept had been proposed for Woodward Avenue from Ferndale to Birmingham. Rather than remove a traffic lane, the parking areas would have been redesigned.

A Busy City Street Makes Room for Bikes – New York Times:
“The city is planning to remake seven blocks of Ninth Avenue in Chelsea into what officials are billing enthusiastically, perhaps a bit hyperbolically, as the street of the future.

“The most unusual aspect of the design, which will run from 16th Street to 23rd Street, is that it uses a lane of parked cars to protect cyclists from other traffic.

“I think it’s a sneak peek at the future streets of New York,” said Janette Sadik-Khan, the city’s transportation commissioner. “It represents the kinds of innovative ideas that we can explore to make the streets more livable.”