Comments on: Royal Oak accepts non-motorized proposal http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2009/08/12/royal-oak-accepts-non-motorized-proposal/ Promoting non-motorized transportation in the Motor City Fri, 18 May 2012 06:22:20 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Todd Scott http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2009/08/12/royal-oak-accepts-non-motorized-proposal/comment-page-1/#comment-2214 Todd Scott Tue, 18 Aug 2009 02:44:18 +0000 http://www.m-bike.org/blog/?p=2608#comment-2214 Rory, As far as I know there isn't a national standard for non-motorized planners. There is little to stop a planner submit a low bid and produce a substandard product. And this extends beyond non-motorized planning. One local planner created a sustainability study for a local community that failed to address better bicycling facilities. I'm not sure what the solution is. I think the LMB needs to play an active role in monitoring and providing guidance on non-motorized planning. Planning organizations like SEMCOG and Oakland County should, but have not shown a willingness to lead. Rory,

As far as I know there isn’t a national standard for non-motorized planners. There is little to stop a planner submit a low bid and produce a substandard product.

And this extends beyond non-motorized planning. One local planner created a sustainability study for a local community that failed to address better bicycling facilities.

I’m not sure what the solution is. I think the LMB needs to play an active role in monitoring and providing guidance on non-motorized planning. Planning organizations like SEMCOG and Oakland County should, but have not shown a willingness to lead.

]]> By: Rory Neuner http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2009/08/12/royal-oak-accepts-non-motorized-proposal/comment-page-1/#comment-2213 Rory Neuner Tue, 18 Aug 2009 02:35:53 +0000 http://www.m-bike.org/blog/?p=2608#comment-2213 Glad to see that Active Trans is getting into the game here in Michigan. That can do nothing but raise the bar for other, in-state planning firms. That said, are the firms that provided the sub-par plans being contacted to inform them that they aren't even hitting national standards? I am not familiar with the standards for whether / how local governments contact losing bidders, but I think that in this case it might be useful to prevent this from happening again, particularly to communities less bike-savvy than Royal Oak. Glad to see that Active Trans is getting into the game here in Michigan. That can do nothing but raise the bar for other, in-state planning firms. That said, are the firms that provided the sub-par plans being contacted to inform them that they aren’t even hitting national standards? I am not familiar with the standards for whether / how local governments contact losing bidders, but I think that in this case it might be useful to prevent this from happening again, particularly to communities less bike-savvy than Royal Oak.

]]> By: Dave http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2009/08/12/royal-oak-accepts-non-motorized-proposal/comment-page-1/#comment-2210 Dave Mon, 17 Aug 2009 02:03:20 +0000 http://www.m-bike.org/blog/?p=2608#comment-2210 This makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Royal Oak borders Detroit so perhaps we may see some carry over. This makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Royal Oak borders Detroit so perhaps we may see some carry over.

]]> By: Joel Batterman http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2009/08/12/royal-oak-accepts-non-motorized-proposal/comment-page-1/#comment-2188 Joel Batterman Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:28:18 +0000 http://www.m-bike.org/blog/?p=2608#comment-2188 Wonderful news. A pity we don't currently have a broader range of local expertise, but at this point, the region could really benefit from some out-of-state experience. Plus, it's not like Chicago is all that far away. (High-speed rail will bring it still closer.) I look forward to seeing the results. Wonderful news. A pity we don’t currently have a broader range of local expertise, but at this point, the region could really benefit from some out-of-state experience. Plus, it’s not like Chicago is all that far away. (High-speed rail will bring it still closer.) I look forward to seeing the results.

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