Bikes on Buses

All SMART buses and about half of DDOT buses now have bicycle racks. DDOT expects all of their buses to have racks by the first quarter of 2011.

Weren’t they talking about possibly three-bike racks? Yes, but we were told there was an apparent design problem with those racks. When loaded, they blocked the bus left headlight. Not good. DDOT is also looking at funding bike racks near their transit stops.

DDOT’s Bikes on Buses brochure is on-line (PDF).

Lighting the viaduct

Model D is reporting on an effort by 100 Points of Light to light the W. Vernor viaduct at the Michigan Central Station.

Armed with a grant from Kresge Community Arts, the group — comprised of siblings Mary Beth and Patrick Carolan and Robert Reese — propose a series of solatubes paired with chandeliers inspired by those once found in the depot that are powered by light stored in solar panels. Eventually, excess power generated would be sold back to the grid, creating the possibility that the concept becomes not only self-sustaining, but profitable.

Over the next few months, 100 Points of Light will focus on cleaning up the underpass and replacing existing bulbs with high-efficiency LEDs while planning for installation gets underway.

A better lit viaduct will be very welcomed by cyclists. The darkness makes it difficult to see road hazard. Also, it’s difficult knowing how well motorists can see cyclists there. More light would be great.

The lack of light is one reason why the W. Vernor bike lanes (to be installed next year) end before going under the viaduct.

RiverWalk progress

A DNRE official was on the Craig Fahle show discussing the cleanup of the Uniroyal site. This site is on the Detroit River between two completed sections of the RiverWalk: Gabriel Richard Park and Mt. Elliot Park. Site cleanup could begin as early as next spring. This is a necessary step before this critical RiverWalk segment can be constructed.

And this Sunday the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy is leading a free guided tour of the RiverWalk from 10am until 11am at the Rivard Plaza. There are more details on their Facebook page. They are asking attendees to RSVP by tomorrow by sending an email to rsvp@detroitriverfront.org.

Reaching our goals together

There was a Greens Streets and Highways Conference in Denver this week. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood wrote about it on his blog, including this quote:

We have the tools, and are developing even more tools, to make sure that transportation doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game. Highway advocates, environmentalists, car owners, truckers, pedestrians, bicyclists, and preservationists can all reach their goals–together.

No more excuses for Metro Detroit road agencies.

We need leaders who find solutions to problems rather than continuing to find problems with solutions.

Tags: Bus Bike Racks, Corktown, DDOT, Detroit, Ray LaHood, Vernor

This entry was posted on Friday, November 19th, 2010 at 5:00 am and is filed under Detroit, General bike news, Public transit, Safety. 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.