It’s easy getting caught up in the excitement of Complete Street resolutions, but from what we’ve seen so far, it doesn’t mean much — at least not yet.

What is the likelihood that so many Metro Detroit communities have suddenly discovered their poor road designs and are committed to fixing them? What are the odds that communities which have virtually ignored bicycles as a transportation mode are now ready to embrace them?

There’s just not that much “power” in the standard Complete Streets PowerPoint presentation which has been making its way around local councils and commissions.

And from some examples we’ve seen, communities are jumping on the Complete Streets bandwagon because others are doing it and there’s a promise of more MDOT transportation funding. Who is going to hold them accountable if they don’t follow through with actually building Complete Streets?

That said, the below Complete Street information is a mixed bag. It might result in better conditions for bicycle transportation or it might not. The truth is in the road construction (and maintenance.)

Complete Streets in Birmingham

The city of Birmingham passed a Complete Streets resolution. They have members of their staff and planning commission with significant experience in non-motorized transportation and planning. For example, the planning commission has Scott Clein, an engineer with Giffels-Webster who developed non-motorized plans for Corktown/Mexicantown, New Center, and the entire city of Detroit.

We have a good of level confidence that they’ll be able to make Birmingham more bike friendly in the near future.

Complete Streets in Northville

The city of Northville also passed a Complete Streets resolution but we’re much less confident they’re heading in the best direction by having their staff develop a non-motorized plan. There are only a handful of planning firms in Michigan qualified to produced a quality plan for biking and walking. To think that city staff could pull it off sounds either overly optimistic or they are underestimating the work required. The latter is why most cities hire consultants do develop their recreation plans and master plans.

It’s also been our experience that city staff do not engage the community in the planning process as well as consultants.

And these are some reasons why the city of Royal Oak hired the Active Transportation Alliance (ATA) to create their plan. The ATA has developed over 20 non-motorized plans including Chicago’s. Planners such as ATA and others have the experience. Is Northville going to invest in training their planner(s) on how develop a solid plan?

Plan update in Royal Oak

Speaking of Royal Oak, the Observer and Eccentric recently published this article which gives an update on the plan.

The consultant, Active Transportation Alliance, submitted a rough draft of the plan to the planning department in May, according to Ethan Spotts, marketing and communications director for the Chicago nonprofit company.

Regan looks forward to having the topic as an agenda item for a future Planning Commission meeting. He said roads with bike lanes, like the re-designed Hilton Road, south of I-696 in Ferndale, are sorely needed in Royal Oak. He said encouraging more bike and pedestrian traffic would also free up more parking spaces for vehicles in downtown parking garages, especially with the recent opening of Emagine Theatre and Star Lanes. He said pedestrian friendly designs also means more federal funding for road projects.

We have not seen the plan, but are looking forward to it.

Incomplete Streets in Lathrup Village?

Only a couple pages from a draft Complete Streets plan in Lathrup Village?by Birchler Arroyo appear to be on-line. They show a couple street cross sections, neither of which are Complete Streets. They clearly lack bicycle accommodations.

Their example “principal arterial – village” cross section is a 156 foot (76 feet between the curbs) public right-of-way with speeds of 35 MPH or less yet no bike lanes. The plan also says that these streets are “generally used for vehicular travel; automobile parking, and sometimes bicycling as appropriate.” This sounds like the same streets that exist today.

We brought this up to Birchler Arroyo Associates who is developing this plan. They invited us to see the entire plan, but they never responded when we asked them how. We have not seen this plan on their web site nor Lathrup Village’s.

North Carolina Complete Streets

And while on the topic of Complete Streets, North Carolina’s Department of Transportation has this excellent design guideline framework. They have interesting information on how Complete Streets are designed for various contexts, e.g. suburban, urban, etc.

We’d appreciate seeing something similar produced by Michigan’s Complete Streets Advisory Committee.

It might be helpful in ensuring that Complete Street designs in Michigan are truly Complete Streets.

Two Detroit Synergy Bike to Work group rides are planned for the morning of Friday, May 20th, 2011. Both end at Campus Martius in Downtown Detroit.

• Woodward Ave – Starts in Royal Oak with stops in Ferndale and Midtown
• East Jefferson Ave – Starts in Grosse Pointe with stops on the East Side and at Rivertown

Special thank to the sponsors who make this event possible: Miller-Canfield, American Cycle and Fitness, Giffels-Webster Engineers, Wheelhouse Detroit, and Armadillo Printwear.

The Colbert Report has clever coverage of the unicycle issue in New York City (below).

Here in Michigan, state law allows bicyclists to ride on the sidewalk though we don’t recommend it for most cyclists, most of the time.

However, Michigan law also allows cities to prohibit them if they chose to. This has led to a lack of consistency. For example, it’s legal to ride on most Detroit sidewalks but not on any Royal Oak sidewalks.

Sometimes cities prohibit bicyclists only on sidewalks within their central business district or other specific areas.  As seen in the photo, the city of Detroit has this “Cycling” prohibition on Auditorium Drive’s sidewalk, but only for those heading uphill towards Jefferson. We did not see a similar sign for those cycling down the not-so-steep grade (and towards the fire hydrant located in the middle of the sidewalk.)

Also, the city of Detroit bans bicycles (and unicycles!) from Hart Plaza:

Sec. 40-4-7. – Wheeled vehicles prohibited.

No wheelbarrow, handcart, automobile, motorcycle, bicycle, motordriven cycle, go-cart, unicycle, moped, solex cycle or other wheeled vehicles are permitted in Hart Plaza except as approved by the civic center department or recreation department for a scheduled event. This section shall not apply to a handicapped person in a wheelchair nor to emergency or service vehicles.

Yes! Even solex cycles are banned!

Prohibitions must be posted

Michigan state law does require communities to post signs indicating any bans on sidewalk riding. Without the signs, the law is not enforceable.

So what about unicycles in Michigan? Like most other states, they are not considered bicycles under state law. (Note that some cities have their own definitions of bicycle.)

257.4 “Bicycle” defined.“Bicycle” means a device propelled by human power upon which a person may ride, having either 2 or 3 wheels in a tandem or tricycle arrangement, all of which are over 14 inches in diameter.

So it’s a gray area for unicycles with the exception of Hart Plaza. If you are the “Enemy from within”, use your best judgement.

Let’s be frank about walkability.

A large percentage of communities in Southeast Michigan will never be very walkable. That doesn’t mean they can be improved, but it does mean they won’t be competitive.

And it was by choice.

They were purposely designed for low density (e.g. large residential lot sizes) and no mixed use development. In short, most things are too far away to walk to. Putting a sidewalk on one side of a road between a residential area and a shopping district doesn’t make it walkable if they’re separated by a mile or more.

As I told some residents last week, if your community wasn’t designed during the streetcar era, chances are it’s not very walkable.

Some communities are a mixed bag where the older portions are very walkable while the newer areas are not. Royal Oak is a good example of that. The downtown, an area once served by a number streetcar lines, is highly walkable. The northern portions of the city are more car dependent.

This is very apparent in this graphic from the WalkScore web site. The green areas indicate good walkability.

Birmingham: top 20 for walkability?

There is a major bicycle festival being planned for Birmingham this year, which sounds very promising. What caught our eye in the article was the statement that Birmingham was “recognized as one of top 20 most walkable communities in the country.” The Birmingham web site also says the city was named one of the country’s “Top 20 Most Walkable Communities.”

A Google search for the phrase “top 20 most walkable communities” return 47 matches, all of which referred only to Birmingham.

Irregardless, is Birmingham truly in the nation’s top 20 according to the Walk Score web site, arguably the best indicator of walkability? The Walk Score site determined the walkability of the 74 largest cities in Michigan. Birmingham is tied for 14th among these Michigan cities. It apparently has the same issues Royal Oak has: a walkable downtown, but less walkable outlying areas.

So what were the most walkable Michigan cities? Hamtramck, Clawson, and Berkley tied for first. Ferndale and Traverse City weren’t too far behind.

And Detroit?

While the city of Detroit scored lower, it also received scores by neighborhood. New Center was most walkable with Corktown and Midtown tied for second.

The declining Detroit population and the resulting loss of area businesses certainly hurts the walkability of Detroit. And while much has been made about the city potentially moving residents to more dense areas, it seems the draw of greater walkability might be more of a carrot.

USA Today just reported on walkability and how it is attracting young professionals.

Educated 20- and 30-somethings are flocking to live downtown in the USA’s largest cities — even urban centers that are losing population.

In more than two-thirds of the nation’s 51 largest cities, the young, college-educated population in the last decade grew twice as fast within 3 miles of the urban center as in the rest of the metropolitan area — up an average 26% compared with 13% in other parts.

Even in Detroit, where the population shrank by 25% since 2000, downtown added 2,000 young and educated residents during that time, up 59%, according to analysis of Census data by Impresa Inc., an economic consulting firm.

“This is a real glimmer of hope,” says Carol Coletta, head of CEOs for Cities, a non-profit consortium of city leaders that commissioned the research. “Clearly, the next generation of Americans is looking for different kinds of lifestyles — walkable, art, culture, entertainment.”

Yes, even in Detroit.

This Thursday is another bike ride progressive beginning in Royal Oak. Here are the details:

Please join us for “Spring Rolls,” our Spring 2011 Progressive Dinner on Bikes, in Royal Oak, Clawson and Berkeley.

Thursday, March 31st.  The itinerary:

(Optional) Before-dinner drinks at Lily’s Seafood 5:30pm to 6:30pm.

• Leave from Lily’s to begin ride at 6:30pm sharp.
• Appetizers at Black Lotus, corner of 14 Mile and Main in Clawson.
• Entree at Pasquales, 3155 Woodward in Royal Oak.
• Dessert at Sugar Kisses Bakery, 2688 Coolidge in Berkley (they normally close at 6pm but are staying open late just for us).
• Free! After-glow courtesy of Urbane Apartments at their co-work room, 310 W. 6th in downtown Royal Oak.

The ride will end after dark, so please wear reflective clothing and put lights on your bike.  There is no fee to participate, you only pay for what you eat and drink.  Please bring small bills to ease paying the tabs.

Join us for a fun and productive evening.  We’ll get the latest updates about the non-motorized transportation plan in Royal Oak and the campaign for complete streets in Berkley.

RSVP requested but not required.  4 ways to RSVP:

• Join our Facebook group, and then RSVP to the event
• Visit our Facebook community page
• Respond to  RoyalOakBikes@hotmail.com.
• Call or text me at 248-797-1075.

Tom  Regan