An urban street condition is a means of transportation. It is a means to get from one place to the next. There are people walking, waiting, biking, riding, driving. But its about people. So regardless of their choice of transit- its a place where people are moving. Starting with biking..
Riding my bike in Detroit all summer, the motor city... was an experience.
Where some cities embrace bikes, (one of them being my home city Minneapolis- folks are blogging about it) Detroit is just learning to include bikes as an acceptable mode of transit. One night, biking up Woodward Avenue, I was nearly hit by a bus. And it happened again, and again. One particular night, a bus passed me, nearly hitting me. I caught up to the bus at the next stop and waved at the driver- later when she passed me again, she gave me plenty of room! Hurray for that Smart bus driver! Ok, so why do I refuse to ride the 'safe' sidewalk? Turns out the sidewalk is not so safe, after all. Besides- the sidewalk is for the people walking or waiting. A bicycle moves fast- not as fast as a car, but if you put bicycles on a sidewalk, which is considerably narrower than the 3-4 car lanes, that does not leave very much room for people to walk. Motorists would yell at me, saying 'Get off the road!' - I couldn't help but wonder- ok, so where should I go? Anyway- they have 3-4 lanes and the traffic is not heavy on Woodward- unless there is event.
So, as far as Detroit goes- NOW is the time for implementing bike lanes and bike culture; before the inevitable growth of car culture which will take over the city when it grows.. and bikes will again be neglected and forgotten. I have great hope for the future of Detroit Bike culture- not only from my personal experience with the bus driver, but with the successful Critical Mass rides and the upcoming Tour-de-Troit ride- these are showing the motor city what bikes are and that we too have a right to the road. Even bike folks like the friendly employees at SunRise Cyclery in Minneapolis were impressed- they couldn't believe that this year's Tour-de-Troit is expect 3000 riders! These efforts are designed to create awareness. Its not about being aggressive and unfriendly- we all know those type of extreme bicyclists.. its about sharing the road and establishing a bike culture. Well, there is one upside to having a growing but not established bike culture.. less bike thieves. Guess they don't see the value or use in them, so they are not stolen as much as they are in other cities.
So- what can we do in the Motor city to integrate bike culture in the street? Some have said I am tenacious to bike in the city. How can we change that to be a norm? How does biking in the city help create a URban street condition?
So- what can we do in the Motor city to integrate bike culture in the street? Some have said I am tenacious to bike in the city. How can we change that to be a norm? How does biking in the city help create a URban street condition?
That's my rant on bikes.. next we shall explore peds and cars..
