Congratulations to Robert Burns Elementary in Detroit for its recent Safe Routes to School grant.

Here’s the official announcement from MDOT:

The following was issued by MDOT Director Kirk Steudle and sent to all MDOT employees on August 5th, 2010:

“Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful, it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful, it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident, it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better.”
- King Whitney Jr., 1967

These words about change are as true today as they were in 1967. On Aug. 1, Gov. Granholm signed into law Complete Streets legislation to advance cooperation and coordination among transportation and local governmental agencies: Public Act 135, which amends Public Act 51 of 1951 governing the expenditure of state transportation funding; and Public Act 134, which amends the Michigan Planning Enabling Act. While it might be tempting to attribute the passage of these bills to pressure from one group or another, it is worth noting that both bills passed the Michigan House and Senate by wide margins: 85-21 and 31-0, respectively.

Here is a summary of the changes to Act 51 under PA 135:

Revisions to Act 51, Section 10(k)

• Requires counties, cities, villages, and MDOT to consult with one another when planning a nonmotorized project affecting a transportation facility that belongs to the other.
• Requires Section 10(k) improvements meet accepted practices or established best practices.
• Requires Act 51 agencies to notify one another when their five-year nonmotorized programs are finalized.

New Act 51 Section 10(p)

• Requires the State Transportation Commission (STC), within two years, to adopt a Complete Streets policy for MDOT, and to develop model Complete Streets policies for use by others.
• Requires state and local agencies to consult and agree on how to address Complete Streets before submitting the Five-Year Program to the STC (exempts anything in an approved multi-year capital plan approved before July 1).
• Allows MDOT to provide technical assistance and coordination to local agencies in the development and implementation of their policies.
• Requires MDOT to share expertise in nonmotorized and multi-modal planning in the development of projects within municipal boundaries (“municipal” refers to townships, counties, cities or villages – so just about anywhere).
• Allows agencies to enter into agreements with one another to provide maintenance for projects constructed to implement a Complete Streets policy.
• Creates a Complete Streets Advisory Council within MDOT, appointed by the governor, to advise the STC and local agencies in the implementation of Complete Streets.

Amendments to the Michigan Planning Enabling Act

• Modifies the definition of “streets” to specifically include all legal users.
• Expands the elements that may be included in a master plan to encompass all transportation systems that move people and goods.
• Specifies that transportation improvements identified in a plan are appropriate to the context of the community and considers all legal users of the public right of way.
• The means for implementing transportation elements of the master plan in cooperation with applicable county road commission or MDOT.

The new laws will influence how we work with virtually every township, county, city, and village in the state. In the coming weeks, I will convene an interdisciplinary work group within MDOT to examine how the new law will affect our processes and resources. If you are asked to participate, I ask that you embrace it as an opportunity to improve how we work with our partners to deliver transportation services in Michigan.

The transportation world is changing. We can face this change fearfully, or with confidence. In my five years as director, we have faced many challenges, adapted to change, and are a better organization for doing so. I am confident we can rise to the challenge of implementing the new Complete Streets law — in letter and spirit — and emerge a stronger organization, and ultimately, a better state

Clinton River Trail: Bridge Groundbreaking

MDOT and the city of Pontiac are hosting a groundbreaking ceremony for the new trail bridge over Telegraph. The ceremony is August 12th at 10AM on the eastern edge of the bridge near Old Telegraph.

This bridge will connect two important pieces of the Clinton River Trail that are currently very difficult to connect using surface streets. A rendering of the bridge is shown on the right. This project is being funded primarily with ARRA (a.k.a. stimulus) money. The Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund is also contributing.

This still leaves one major gap in the Clinton River Trail for Pontiac: from Bagley Street west of Downtown to the Auburn Hills border at Opdyke.

We are clearly ignoring the trail’s improper signed routing of the Clinton River Trail through Downtown Pontiac on sidewalks. Yes, a newly signed bicycle route on sidewalks.

We’re not sure how such obvious mistake could have been funded by MDOT given the AASHTO bicycle guidelines clear instructions against it — especially within a central business district. It’s unsafe for cyclists and pedestrians.

Macomb Orchard Trail: More Asphalt

The Detroit News is reporting that nine more miles of the Macomb Orchard Trail will be paved.

Officials recently authorized the county to seek a low-interest loan to pay for paving those parts of the trail.

“We’ve already submitted our application and it’s being reviewed,” said Bob Hoepfner, the county’s chief highway engineer. “Hopefully we’ll know if it’s approved in about a month. We’d like to get it paved this year if we can.”

There were many complaints about the existing pea gravel surface, so this is certainly good news for cyclists and pedestrians.

Milford Village: Seeking Sidepaths

Another Oakland County government with its DDA was looking to build a side paths for bicyclists (calling them “safety” paths) in spite of the AASHTO bicycle guidelines against it. This sidepath would include 18 intersections in less than one-third of a mile: 2 sidewalks, 3 roads, and 13 residential driveways.

“We asked how can we do this economically,” [Village Manager Arthur] Shufflebarger said. “The DDA went through the options, and said this one was the least expensive.”

They apparently didn’t go through the AASHTO bicycle design guidelines for options. The least expensive option would be an safe, on-road connection.

That said, the?sidepath project was stopped within the same month due to other reasons.

I-275 Metro Trail: Open House

MDOT is scheduling another 5.5 miles of trail reconstruction along I-275 for next spring. This includes rehabilitating “six bridges and two boardwalks, install a pedestrian signal at Ecorse Road and upgrade signs.”

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is hosting an open house-style meeting to provide an overview on the 2011 construction work on the I-275 Metro Trail in Wayne County. The project includes reconstruction of the bike path between US-12 (Michigan Avenue) and I-94. Interested stakeholders will have the opportunity to learn details and provide feedback regarding this project.

The open house is August 10th, from 5pm until 7pm at the Fellows Creek Golf Club (2936 South Lotz Road in Canton.)

Complete Streets in Michigan took another huge step forward today.

According to John Lindemeyer from the League of Michigan Bicyclists:

HB 6152 passed out of the Senate unanimously while 6151 was passed unanimously after an amendment was introduced upon the request of MDOT. Later in the day the House then took up HB 6151 again for a vote of concurrence where it passed by a margin of 76 to 21.

In summary, House Bill 6151 would require MDOT to have a Complete Streets policy and would encourage other Michigan road agencies to do the same. House Bill 6152 would make non-motorized planning a required part of each municipality’s master plan.

The MDOT amendment John mentioned above does not sound unreasonable nor does it seem to affect the main intent of this legislation.

A huge thanks to everyone who contacted their state legislator and helped keep this moving in Lansing.

State Representative Pam Byrnes said it best, “This bill is not what everybody wants, but it’s a good step forward.”

The original Complete Streets bill would have required MDOT and all cities and counties to adopt Complete Streets policies. The new bill requires only MDOT but encourages others to do the same.

The new bill was unanimously voted out of the House Transportation Committee today and will hopefully get a vote on the House floor before heading to the Senate.

For additional details, the Michigan Complete Streets Coalition has an excellent write up on their website.

These bills still need our help! Please contact your state representative now to tell them to support House Bills 6151 and 6152.

The Michigan Complete Streets also has a list of other actions you can take to help the roads in this state a better place to ride a bicycle.