Royal Oak could get more walkable, bike-friendly - with your help
Posted by scasola | Filed under Apartments Birmingham MI, Apartments Clawson MI, Apartments Ferndale MI, Apartments Royal Oak MI, Apartments Troy MI, Detroit MI, Ferndale MI, Royal Oak, Urbane, eco, life, technology, travel, trends
Do you find it difficult to walk or bike some areas of Royal Oak? Well now is the time to speak up. Residents have organized a Non-Motorized Plan Open House and want to hear from you. Mark your calendar for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 28 at the Royal Oak Farmer’s Market, 316 E. 11 Mile in Royal Oak.
The event is open to all and offers a chance for residents to discuss possibilities like bicycle boulevards, road diets, bike lanes and more. Tom Regan helped bring the issue to our attention here at The Urbane Life. He’s been working with fellow Royal Oak residents Todd Scott and Melissa Demashke as part of a city commission-appointed task force to explore the possibility of creating a non-motorized plan.
“Cities that create non-motorized transportation plans are much more likely to qualify for government and private grants for infrastructure improvements to make biking and walking safer,” said Regan. “At the meeting we will gather ideas from Royal Oak residents on where they bike and walk and where they wish they could bike and walk.”
Specifically, they’d like to hear answers to the following four questions:
- Where do you bike and walk?
- Where do you wish you could bike and walk?
- Can your child safely walk or bike to school?
- How can we improve your transit experience in Royal Oak?
The task force was created in an effort to enhance safety for walkers and bicyclists in Royal Oak. “Riding on sidewalks is very dangerous; most of the cyclists who are hit by cars in Royal Oak are hit while riding from sidewalk-to-sidewalk,” said Regan. “Motorists must share the road. We need to make is so safe that more children walk and bike, especially to and from school.”
The matter earned the commission’s attention after the death of a cyclist on Woodward in 2008, Regan said, which was closely followed by the death of a pedestrian in downtown Royal Oak. As a resident who rides his bike around town and is a proponent of the environmental benefits both biking and walking can bring to the city, Regan believes a non-motorized transportation plan can help enforce the necessary safety and encourage more people to choose alternatives to driving.
Royal Oak’s Pamela Foster responded to the questions noting she’d like to be able to bike from 13 Mile and Woodward to Ferndale and possible from 13 and Woodward to downtown Detroit. There is no safe bike route to Wayne State University, she noted, adding that she’d like to see more bike lanes in the area.
Regan had a few ideas as to where improvements could start too, of course. Namely, Crooks and Main.
“Because of the way the railroad track and golf courses cut up streets in Royal Oak it is difficult to find north-south routes on side streets,” said Regan. “Those are also the two streets that could lead cyclists to the high school and middle school, if they were bike-friendly.
“We could put both streets on a ‘road diet’ – reduce them to 3 lanes (the middle lane is a turning lane) with bike lanes on both side. Cars would still move plenty fast, students could bike to and from school, and everyone could easily bike to and from downtown.”
What are your thoughts on biking and walking in Royal Oak? Do you find it challenging or unsafe? Which streets are most dangerous or could use a road diet, in your opinion?
This post is brought to you by the good folks at Urbane Apartments and theUrbane Lobby. We would love to connect with you on Facebook and Twitter @UrbaneLife.
Tags: Apartments Berkley, Apartments Birmingham, Apartments Clawson, Apartments Detroit, Apartments Ferndale, apartments in metro Detroit, Apartments Royal Oak, Bike Lanes, bike safety in Royal Oak, biking and walking in Royal Oak, city of royal oak, Non-Motorized Transportation Plan, road diets in Royal Oak, Royal Oak, Royal Oak Farmer's Market, urbane apartments, Urbane Life
Bikes and Ferndale Elections
Posted by Eric Brown | Filed under Apartments Birmingham MI, Apartments Clawson MI, Apartments Ferndale MI, Urbane, UrbaneApts, politics
Our friends over at m-bike.org recently posted the below article on their blog titled Ferndale City Council Elections: Yes-No, and we thought you may find value in what they had to say and their position on bike friendly communities.
Many city council seats are up for election this November 3rd. This is a great opportunity to elect people to a decision making body that can a city more bike and pedestrian friendly.
There are two seats being decided in Ferndale. And among the four candidates running, two are on opposite sides of the spectrum when it comes to supporting biking.
No for Gagne
Tom Gagne, the self-proclaimed “most argumentative” candidate, is someone cyclists won’t want on Council.
Gagne wants to increase development on Hilton. He’s been quoted in the Daily Tribune saying”
What are we going to do about Hilton Road? It’s a thing of beauty that lives in the shadow of Woodward. I’d like to let developers know that bike lanes on Hilton Road aren’t permanent.
Hilton Road underwent a road diet, which took it from four lanes to three with bike lanes added. Road diets reduce crashes and excessive speeding (and noise), while making it safer for bicyclists and pedestrians.
And the Hilton road diet doesn’t displace motor vehicle traffic. Hilton near Nine Mile has a daily vehicle count of around 7,000. The vehicle counts on Hilton could more than double and the current lane configuration would not be a problem.
Clearly Gagne is uninformed about the benefits of the Hilton road diet. There is no justification for suggesting their removal.
But perhaps what’s more troublesome is he’s equating development only with motor vehicle travel. Wouldn’t it be better if Hilton development catered to the neighborhood? Imagine if the Hilton were lined with more businesses and destinations that residents could bike or walk to and spend their dollars locally?
Yes for Piana
Melanie Piana is also running for a seat on the Ferndale City Council.
Her priorities include supporting “pedestrian [and] bicycle friendly… improvements to build our community.”
Her Facebook page includes the photo on the right.
According to Piana, “I commute to work by bike on weather friendly days. It’s easy when the office is only a mile away.”
And in speaking with Piana, it’s clear she understands the value in building safe bicycling and walking communities.
She’s also endorsed by the Eccentric.
Tags: Bike Lanes, Bike Paths, ferndale, Ferndale City Council Elections
