Detroit becoming friendlier to bicyclists

More than 40 miles of bike lanes help riders get around

Calvin Men/ The Detroit News

Ten years ago, Todd Scott knew every bicyclist in Detroit.

“There just weren’t that many people out there. If a group went by, you knew all of them,” he said. “Nowadays, I go past groups of 30 or 40 people on bikes where I don’t know anybody.”

Detroiters have shifted gears, as its bicycle commuter population increased by 192 percent from 2000 to 2009, according to a survey by the League of American Bicyclists.

While Detroit’s cycling population — estimated at 1,200 commuters — pales in comparison to those in New York and Los Angeles — estimated at 22,000 and 17,000, respectively — a community of two-wheelers thrives.

That community has helped spur construction of a growing network of bike lanes on some of the city’s main streets, including Michigan Avenue. Detroit has about 40 miles of lanes, and more are scheduled.

Despite its reputation as the Motor City, many cycling enthusiasts see Detroit as being built for bikes, with flat, wide roads and a relative lack of motor traffic.

Scott, 47, of Royal Oak has seen the growth since he started regularly riding in 1996.

“I’m sure part of it was that there was a perception it wasn’t safe riding in an urban environment,” said Scott, coordinator for Detroit Greenways, which advocates for bike paths and lanes in the city.

“(But) I think there’s been a realization that riding in an urban environment can be comfortable in a city like Detroit.”

Advocates cite other factors, including higher gas prices, environmental concerns and a growing emphasis on physical fitness.

“I think more people fall into (different) categories rather than one category as a whole,” said Josh DeBruyn, bicycle and pedestrian coordinator for the Michigan Department of Transportation. “Although there are segments of the population that do it for one reason: health, being green or for economic purposes.”

While Detroit has lost jobs and population for decades, the city’s decline created a silver lining for bicyclists: Its streets are now less crowded.

Those roads were built to accommodate many more people and vehicles than the city has today, DeBruyn said.

“I think a lot of the reason people shied away (from biking) in the past was because there were a lot more motor vehicles,” DeBruyn said. But Detroit’s population has plunged from a peak of 1.9 million in 1950 to about 713,000, according to 2010 census figures. “That has left a lot of underutilized (roads),” he said. “It creates a lot of infrastructure where bicycles can ride.”

Sarah Pappas, 27, who lives in the city’s Woodbridge neighborhood, commutes by bike to work in Corktown several times a week.

“Riding here is wonderful. There are hardly any cars around,” said Pappas, who moved to Detroit from New York earlier this year. “Even downtown after a (Tigers) game gets out isn’t bad compared to riding in lots of other places.”

Pappas owns a car, but said she uses her bike more often now because she’s having mechanical trouble.

Many city neighborhoods are recognizing the need to accommodate biking commuters.

“There are a lot of people, because of the economy, who use a bicycle to get from point A to B,” said Theresa Zajac, senior programs director at the Southwest Detroit Business Association, which helped to fund 16 miles of bike lanes and roads marked as bike routes.

“Mostly, it’s ‘I have to go to the doctor, I ride my bike’ or ‘I have to go to the grocery store, I ride my bike.’”

There are more than 50 miles of bike lanes in suburban Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties, with more on the way, Scott said.

Planned bike lanes include:

More than seven miles along Second and Third avenues in Midtown to be completed by spring.

A 2-mile loop in Midtown to be completed by the summer of 2012.

Zajac said that as more bike lanes are added, motorists must become more aware of cyclists.

“For residents, it’s really safer for them to bike (in a bike lane) rather than darting in and out of the street trying to avoid things,” she said.

“It’s going to be re-educating drivers that now you can’t use the parking lanes to speed around cars because there might be a bicyclist there.”

In 2010, there were 133 accidents involving bicyclists in Detroit, according to statistics from the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning. That number is down from 211 in 2004.

Mike Han, a cyclist who lives in Corktown, said: “Drivers think that bicyclists are supposed to be on the sidewalk, but they’re another form of transportation, another vehicle.”

They’re allowed on the road just like cars, added Han.

“The bike lanes are encouraging,” he said. “I feel people don’t ride as much when they don’t feel safe.”

As the number of cyclists has grown, so have bicycling groups and related events.

Jason Hall, 37, started weekly bike tours of Detroit last year to show that riding in the streets can be safe.

Typically, 10 to 40 riders meet at 7:30 Monday evenings for leisurely two-hour tours of different parts of the city.

Routes have included the Michigan Central Depot and southwest Detroit, and the Boston Edison neighborhood.

Hall, who lives in Midtown, said the rides have attracted cyclists as young as age 9 and as old as 55.

“Public awareness can only help (bicyclists),” he said. “I think it makes us stronger because the more awareness we bring to bikes, the more it’s going to help the bike community.”

Josh Berkow, 29, of Woodbridge said he regularly rides with the group and on his own.

“It’s a pretty fun bike ride. You’re definitely not out there for exercise; it’s just a fun leisurely ride with some friends,” Berkow said. “It’s relatively safe and it’s a pretty altogether enjoyable experience.”

However, other events bring bicyclists to Detroit en masse, like today’s Tour De Troit, a ride designed to showcase Detroit’s historic sites. The tour, which drew fewer than 50 riders when it began in 2002, expects more than 4,000 this year. A 30-mile police-escorted ride begins at 8 a.m. at Roosevelt Park, 14th Street and Michigan Avenue. For more experienced cyclists, a 62-mile, unescorted ride begins at the park at 7 a.m.

“(Riding a bike) shows the city on a human scale, and you see a lot of detail that you wouldn’t see when you were in an automobile,” said Bil Lusa, 37, director for the tour.

Lusa, who lives in Woodbridge, uses his bike to commute to places around the city.

“It’s not always about smashing the system and ending the automotive hegemony,” he said. “It’s about having fun and being in slightly better shape.”

calvin.men@detnews.com

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