Dan Burden in Southwest Detroit

In July, MDOT brought Dan Burden to a number of Michigan cities for walkability audits. Burden is from Glatting Jackson and is acknowledged as among the leading authorities on improving streets for walking and biking.

One visit was in Southwest Detroit. The audit was on Vernor Avenue from Clark to Livernois. We were joined by a couple city of Detroit traffic engineers who are looking to improve pedestrian safety along this specific stretch of road.

Some of Burden’s ideas included painted bike lanes (painted as in the entire lane, e.g. blue or green), a couple minor roundabouts (to slow traffic), and improved pedestrian crossings. And he also emphasized the need to change the facades. Too many of the buildings have covered or blocked their front windows. It would be best if these were unblocked so that there are more “eyes on the street” and adding to the pedestrian comfort levels.

Burden also visited Hamtramck. Model D Media has a coverage of his Detroit visits.

Dan Burden on Woodward

Next, Burden headed over the Woodward Avenue and stopped in communties between Birmingham and Ferndale. Some of his suggestions were noted in a Free Press article (no longer on-line):

City planners could revive Woodward Avenue with bike lanes, slower traffic, 100,000 new trees and big improvements at pedestrian crossings.

And that’s just the start of a vision that consultant Dan Burden shared last week with local officials, road engineers and residents, as he led what he calls walkability audits in Pontiac, Birmingham, Royal Oak and Pleasant Ridge.

To attract “the creative class” that can jump-start a region’s growth: “You start with paint. You put in bike lanes and get trees planted, and that brings the speeds of motorists down, and then the buildings start to come back, and with that, the tax base. That lets you redesign the streets,” he said.

Some of Burden’s suggestions were simply no-brainers. While auditing the crosswalks at 13 Mile and Woodward, we noted that MDOT had placed a sign that blocked the pedestrian walk signal. Another Don’t Walk signal was barely working.

Near Pasquale’s, there’s a sign telling pedestrians not to cross there. Burden correctly deduced that these signs are put up by cities when pedestrians are killed, rather than fix the problem. In this case, using a signalized crosswalk would require more than a half-mile of walking, which is completely unrealistic.

This isn’t Burden’s first visit to the area. Years ago Burden had advised Ferndale to narrow 9 Mile, which led to a huge turnaround and improvement to the area.

Unfortunately this time around, not all the communities were as receptive.

During a walking audit in Pleasant Ridge, Burden told local officials, “I can’t help you if your community wants to be auto-dependent.” Burden suggested they convert some of their mostly unused (and often inaccessible) green space into high density, mixed-use development. Sure, trees are “green”, but it would be more “green” if their residents could walk or bike rather than drive to nearby coffee shops, an ice cream parlors, or convenience stores.

Woodward: Next Steps

But there’s more momentum to improving Woodward for biking and walking than these audits, as evidenced by this press release:

The Woodward Avenue Action Association is pleased to announce that in partnership with engineering firm Giffels-Webster, we are closer to finding ways to make Woodward more pedestrian & bike friendly. The Woodward Avenue Non-Motorized Plan will focus on Woodward between 8 mile and Maple will identify ways for communities to plan and zone safer routes for non-motorist users of Woodward. Some of the elements being looked at for this plan include reducing speed limits, developing landscaped buffer zones and more countdown times at crosswalks.

This study was prompted by the city of Royal Oak, who is now doing a non-motorized study for the entire city. Other cities who have become examples of getting non-motorized plans right include the city of Ferndale. Since the early 1990’s the city has transformed its downtown which sits squarely along Woodward, from desolate streets into a thriving bustling district. Improvements such as parking lots developed behind stores, reduction in traffic lanes and lowered speed limits have all contributed to the economic boos Ferndale is currently experiencing. For more information on this program please contact, Nicole Klepadlo, WA3 Program Manager.

The Oakland Press recently ran an article that also discussed Woodward Avenue and this planning effort.

Of course beyond the communities that are dug in and ready to defend status quo, there’s MDOT. They’ve been willing to listen to these sorts of efforts but haven’t been overly interested in any plans that they think would reduce Woodward’s level of service.

That’s a level of service for motorists, of course.

However, they have acknowledged that the vehicle counts on Woodward have been declining. They should drop even further once Woodward gets light rail north of Eight Mile.

A cake in need of a Blumenauer bike pin

The Woodward Avenue Action Association (WA3) had a ceremony today to celebrate the 100th anniverary of the world’s first mile of concrete highway. That first mile was Woodward Avenue from McNichols to Seven Mile Road in Detroit. It was just 18 feet wide.

This historic milestone was very much the result of decades of tireless work, often led by bicyclists such as Horatio “Good Roads” Earle and Edward Hines. WA3 was generous enough to let me briefly speak at today’s event to highlight the cyclists’ role in this project and the Good Roads movement.

Hines, former chief consul for the League of American Wheelmen Michigan Division was a Wayne County road commissioner (along with Cass Benton and Henry Ford.) He helped oversee this project. Back in 1893, he helped create legislation that enabled county road commissions.

Earle followed Hines as Chief Consul of the Wheelmen before becoming a state senator and our first state highway commissioner. He founded both MDOT and the American Road Builders Association. The National Cement Association called Earle the “Father of the Concrete Roads of the World.”

For this Woodward paving project, Earle helped secure Wayne County’s bond and completed the approval inspection on June 21, 1909.

It’s highly ironic that some motorists question cyclists rights to the roads when we were there first and literally paving the way for improved motoring.

Moving Forward

In speaking today, I also noted that we got stuck focusing exclusively on automobiles for some time and that’s now changing. Detroit’s non-motorized master plan calls for bike lanes on Woodward. WA3 has contracted Giffels-Webster for non-motorized planning along Woodward from Eight Mile to Maple.

And we are closer than ever to getting light rail on Woodward.

I told the crowd this means “giving people more transportation options,” which elicited perhaps the biggest cheer of event.

Thanks!

So, if you go for a ride today, make sure you thank Mr. Earle and Mr. Hines for the smooth ride beneath your tires.

And here’s an Earlism to consider: “One anvil outlasts hundreds of hammers. If you are anvil-like, a little hammering will not hurt you.”

On Monday, Kimberly Dancy pleaded no contest to the Woodward hit-and-run crash in Royal Oak that killed a cyclist.

The Detroit News is reporting that the plea involves two felony counts and 18 months in prison. It’s not clear there is any restitution for the victim’s two children.

We’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating. The Royal Oak Police are to be commended for staying on this investigation and (apparently) solving this crime story.

The Detroit News mentions how it was done.

Royal Oak Detective Frank Bonnette began his search for the driver with two clues from the accident: a piece from the car’s grille and a section of the right rear wheel well.

He narrowed the list of possible vehicles to a 2008 Jeep Liberty Sport and called Chrysler officials asking where replacement parts for a grille and rear wheel well had been shipped.

He went to a bumper shop in Clinton Township and hit pay dirt: Both such parts had been requested for repair on the same car, owned by Dancy.

Now as you recall, Dancy faked a traffic accident in hopes of covering up the damage to her car. However, the police impounded her car and saw that it had indeed hit a bicycle.

With one more trick, this case was made solid:

Police also pulled records from Dancy’s cell phone, which placed her on Woodward Avenue heading north in the minutes leading up to the accident about 1:30 a.m.

That doesn’t mean she was on a call, but her cell phone was on and in contact with the local cell towers along Woodward at the time of the accident.

Here are some bike-related headlines from the past couple days.

Ghost Bike Driver Waives Exam

Kimberly Dancy waived her rights to an exam this week.  Dancy is accused of the hit-and-run accident on Woodward that killed a Detroit bicyclist.

Dancy’s waiving of her preliminary exam in Royal Oak’s 44th District Court amounts to “a concession that there was probably cause” for the felony charges, Royal Oak City Attorney Dave Gillam said.

Earlier this month, she dropped her lawsuit against the Royal Oak police that sought to force the return of her Jeep Liberty, Gillam said.

Dancy is going before Oakland County Circuit Judge Lisa Gorcyca on Monday.

This story was even picked up in the Chicago Tribune.

Polly Ann Trail Upgrade

The Polly Ann Trail is being extended in Orion Township as  we reported earlier (though it appears the costs have changed.)

Jimmy Carter gets Replacements for his Stolen Bikes

Someone recently stole Former President Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter’s bikes in Atlanta.  On the Daily Show this week, Jon Stewart presented Carter with two new bikes.  It was great watching his genuine gratefulness.

The ghost bike on Woodward in Royal Oak has been removed — and for the right reasons.

The removal was not unexpected.  Royal Oak Police expressed interest in keeping it there in hopes that it would help with their investigation.  It could serve as a reminder to driver’s with additional helpful information to contact the police.

Now that the investigation has led to an arrest, that reminder is no longer needed.

However, the Bank of America (where the ghost bike was located) is still collecting monetary donations to a fund for the victim’s two boys.  Donations should be made in the name of Robinson’s mother, Judith Parent, who is caring for the boys. The address is Bank of America, 28746 Woodward, Royal Oak 48067.