Last Tuesday, the full Detroit City Council approved two resolutions relating to the Non-Motorized Transportation Master Plan.

Why a Master Plan?

Municipalities develop non-motorized master plans to look at their entire area and creates a vision for improved biking and walking facilities based on public input and various data sources.  Typically the plan calls for modifying existing road right-of-ways to better and more safely accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians.  It would also consider non-motorized trails needs as well as related amenities, such as bike racks.

And of course, a good plan would make recommendations on how to change city policies in order to make the planning vision a reality.

Having a good non-motorized plan helps municipalities implement them as road construction projects are planned.  Similarly, it obligates other road agencies (e.g. MDOT) to implement the plan on roads they own within the municipality.

And finally, having system-wide plans such as these improves the chances for grant funding to help implement the plan.

Detroit’s Plan

MDOT funded a non-motorized plan for Detroit.  Giffels-Webster along with other firms and the City of Detroit developed the plan.   The plan calls for various improvements for walking and biking in Detroit, including nearly 400 miles of bike lanes.

Link to Detroit Non-motorized Transportation Master Plan

City Council Resolutions

The plan was first presented to Council President Ken Cockrel Jr.’s Green Task Force.  We received a very favorable response and Mr. Cockrel got this on a council committee agenda.  With a solid showing of public support, the committee created resolutions to approve it.

Both resolutions are shown below:

RESOLUTION ENDORSING THE NON-MOTORIZED MASTER PLAN FOR THE CITY OF DETROIT

WHEREAS the benefits of bicycle lanes, trail systems, and other greenways for non- motorized transportation have generally long been recognized and are being addressed in an urban contexts, including the City of Detroit;

WHEREAS other major cities have achieved significant quality-of-life benefits by, in part, improving access to and the quality of non-motorized transportation systems;

WHEREAS the City of Detroit has undertaken the development of a Non-Motorized Urban Transportation Plan (the Plan);

WHEREAS the Plan was developed with funding from the Michigan Department of Transportation;

WHEREAS additional funding for implementation of the Plan may be available from various sources if the City of Detroit, and particularly the City Council, approves the Plan;

WHEREAS preparation and adoption of the Plan are important steps toward improving – access to, and the quality of non-motorized transportation in the City of Detroit, NOW THEREFORE BE IT

RESOLVED the Detroit City Council endorses the Non-Motorized Transportation Master Plan for the City of Detroit, prepared by Giffels-Webster Engineers, Carter Burgess, ArchiveDS, and Brogan & Partners, and funded by a grant from the Michigan Department of Transportation. AND BE IT FURTHER

RESOLVED that the Plan for the City of Detroit shall be incorporated into the proposed revised City of Detroit Master Plan of Policies. AND BE IT FURTHER

RESOLVED That a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Mayor’s Office, the Department of Public Works Traffic Engineering Division; the Green Task Force; the Planning and Development Department, the Detroit Department of Transportation, the Recreation Department, the Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan Greenways Initiative, SEMCOG and the Michigan Department of Transportation.

RESOLUTION URGING THE MAYOR TO IMPLEMENT THE NON-MOTORIZED URBAN TRANSPORTATION MASTER PLAN

WHEREAS there is broad recognition of the health, economic development, environmental and social benefits, bicycle lanes, related facilities and improved pedestrian infrastructure generate;

WHEREAS the City of Detroit has undertaken the development of the Non-Motorized Urban Transportation Master Plan (the Plan), and

WHEREAS the Detroit City Council, by resolution, has endorsed the Plan and called for it to be incorporated into the proposed revised City of Detroit Master Plan of Policies. NOW THEREFORE BE IT

RESOLVED the Detroit City Council urges the Mayor of the City of Detroit and the Administration to take the actions necessary to implement the Plan. BE IT FURTHER

RESOLVED that the Detroit City Council specifically supports and approves the plans:linking Corktown and Mexican Town, the Dequindre Cut Greenway, the Conner Creek Greenway, and the Southwest Detroit Bike Path. AND BE IT FURTHER

RESOLVED that appropriate aspects of the Plan be considered in developing the 2009- 2010 budget for the City of Detroit, as well as the 2008-09 through 20 13-1014 Capital Agenda. BE IT FURTHER

RESOLVED that the Mayor consider formation of a Non-Motorized Task Force or similar entity as suggested in the Plan, dedicated to implementation of the Plan. BE IT FURTHER

RESOLVED That a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Mayor’s Office, the Department of Public Works Traffic Engineering Division; the Green Task Force; the Planning and Development Department, the Detroit Department of Transportation, the Recreation Department, the Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan, Greenways Initiative, SEMCOG and the Michigan Department of Transportation.

Tags: bike lanes, Detroit, MDOT, Planning, Trails

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 21st, 2008 at 6:42 pm and is filed under Detroit, On-road bicycling, Planning, Quality of Life, Trails. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.