This is an interesting Disney animation from 1950 that shows how “normal” people can become maniacal behind the wheel of a car. Sadly enough, cyclists and pedestrians are still the brunt of this motorist abuse 58 years later.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZAZ_xu0DCg
[Source: Commute by Bike]
Bike lanes in Ferndale
here’s been much discussion on this web site concerning bike lanes.
In summary, bike lanes…
In addition, the Road Commission for Oakland County and Wayne County Road Division have undocumented policies that prohibit bikes lanes.
Now this Macomb Daily article notes that old school opposition to bike lanes is in Macomb County as well.
Robert Hoepfner, chief highway engineer for the road commission, has no complaint with bicyclists. But he is concerned about safety. Many county roads simply aren’t wide enough for the kind of designated lanes Forlini described, Hoepfner said.
If county residents want designated areas for bicyclists, “Then let’s build bike paths and make them safe,” he said.
Apparently Mr. Hoepfner has not done his homework. Bike side paths are significantly less safe than bike lanes. If he was truly concerned about bicycle safety, he’d be building bike lanes. And if a county road is not wide enough for bike lanes, widen it. There is non-motorized funding available for this.
There are no excuses for not providing safe cycling opportunities in Metro Detroit.
First, let’s clarify what safety paths are. The term safety path is apparently a local definition usually nearly exclusively within Oakland County, Michigan. AASHTO’s Guidelines for the Development of Bicycling Facilities contains the generally accepted standard terms and definitions for bicycle facilities. According to AASHTO’s definitions, safety paths are wide sidewalks.
Also from the AASHTO guidelines:
Utilizing or providing a sidewalk as a shared use path is unsatisfactory for a variety of reasons. Sidewalks are typically designed for pedestrian speed and maneuverability and are not safe for higher speed bicycle use. Conflicts are common between pedestrians traveling at low speeds and bicyclists… At intersections, motorists are often not looking for bicyclists.
It is important to recognize that the development of extremely wide sidewalks does not necessary add to the safety of sidewalk bicycle travel. Wide sidewalks might encourage higher speed bicycle use and increase potential for conflicts with motor vehicles at intersections, as well as with pedestrians and fixed objects.
There are two major studies that compared bicycle safety on roads and sidewalks.
In a prior post, we noted that many road agencies and municipalities in Metro Detroit are the major roadblock to getting safe bicycling facilities.
For example, the Road Commission of Oakland County refuses to acknowledge much less use best practices for bicycling facilities. They ignore the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHTO) guidelines for bicycling facilities. They ignore Federal Highway Administration guidance. They ignore bicycling safety studies that show their policies have been consistently found to be unsafe.
We appreciate the fact that Craig Bryson, Public Information Officer for the Road Commission for Oakland County responded:
The Road Commission for Oakland County has no objection to bikers. We simply have no money available to make costly improvements to roads to allow bikers. We cannot afford to simply maintain smooth pavement on the roads or even begin to address the massive congestion that clogs our roads everyday. It would be very difficult to justify spending scarce resources on bike facilities when we can’t maintain the existing roads. If you are proposing additional funding just for bike facilities, we’re more than willing to listen.
However, Craig isn’t correct. It’s not about the road money.
Royal Oak is tops in Oakland County, but this time it’s not a good thing.
For 2007, Royal Oak had the most reported bicycle and pedestrian crashes in Oakland County. For bicycle crashes, it wasn’t even close. We had 50% more than second-place Troy. For pedestrian crashes, we were second to Pontiac.
m-bike provided copies of these crash data charts to Royal Oak’s City Commission yesterday. After a couple failed previous attempts, we’re hoping this time there’s enough resolve and momentum to pursue our recommended first step: a non-motorized transportation plan for Royal Oak.