Washtenaw Bicycling and Walking Coalition
December 2001 E-News

Dedicated to increasing the quality and quantity of bicycling and walking opportunities in Washtenaw County through advocacy and education

WBWC January 2002 Meeting
The next meeting of the WBWC will be held on Thursday, January 3rd, 2002, 7pm at the Ecology Center, 117 N. Division in Ann Arbor (just north of Huron). The meeting will last for 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Limited parking is available at the Ecology Center as well as next to Tios restaurant. Everyone is welcome to attend. WBWC meetings are normally scheduled for the first Thursday of every month. Minutes of the December WBWC meeting are posted at the end of this newsletter and will also will be available on the WBWC website (www.wbwc.org) in the near future.

Street Riding Illegal In Ann Arbor?
On November 21st, WBWC Board member and Ann Arbor Bicycling Advisory Committee Chair Ken Clark was ticketed for riding "too far away from the curb" on Plymouth Road. The officer suggested that Clark use the sidewalk.

Clark was sited under Section 10.54 of the Ann Arbor Traffic Code, which states "No person shall park any vehicle upon a street, in such a manner or under such conditions as to leave available insufficient width of the roadway for free movement of vehicular traffic". At no time, however, was Clark stopped or parked. Michigan state law states that "Every person riding a bicycle or moped upon a roadway shall be granted all the rights and shall be subject to all the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle."

A court date was originally scheduled for Clark on December 6th but was postponed until February 6th, 2002 at 9:30am in Ann Arbor.

Ypsilanti Opponents Sink Bike Path Routing
Citing fears of crowds, crime, noise, lower property values and commercial activity, residents along Ypsilanti's Huron River Drive convinced City Council on December 4th to abandon plans to build a non-motorized pathway in a public right of way in front of their homes. The Council did, however, approve an alternate plan that would bypass the objecting homeowners area and instead use a presently existing path through Eastern Michigan University property.

Construction of the proposed pathway along Huron River Drive was supposed to begin in 2001, but earlier this year opponents filed a petition with the City to stop it. Failure of any action on the pathway by the end of the year would have meant a loss of a $300,000 State Transportation Enhancement Grant.

As it stands now, the City of Ypsilanti, along with Eastern Michigan University, will construct a path along the south side of Huron River Drive starting on Lowell Street and continuing east on to Cornell Street. At Cornell Street, bike lanes will be painted and then have pathway users turn west on to an existing east/west pathway that proceeds to Hewitt Road and then along Hewitt back to Huron River Drive. Such a pathway will meet up with a proposed trail through St. Joseph's Hospital property that in turn will meet up with the Gallup Park path along the Huron River.

Even with the pathway routing compromise, some residents of Huron River Drive were still upset, not wanting any type of bike or walking path developed anywhere even coming close to their neighborhood.

Surgeon General: Obesity A Major Threat
In a report issued on December 13th, Surgeon General David Satcher warned that obesity may soon overtake tobacco as the chief cause of preventable deaths. Some 60% of adults are overweight or obese as are nearly 13% of children. The reason given for the rise in obesity: people eating more and exercising less.

Recommendations from the Surgeon General included ¦

• Schools must provide daily physical exercise for every grade.
  
• Schools must provide more healthful food options and enforce federal restrictions on junk foods.
  
• Communities must create safe playgrounds, sidewalks or walking trails, particularly in inner cities.
  
• Industry should promote more healthful food choices, including reasonable portion sizes.

WBWC Endorses Township Annexation Legislation
During November, the WBWC endorsed Michigan State House of Representatives bills HR 4720-25 which would give greater citizen input, as well as uniform state-wide procedures, for the annexation of township land by a city. From a WBWC standpoint, passage of the legislation into law would prevent ill-conceived development that could be detrimental to cyclists and walkers.

At the present time a township landowner can simply request their land be annexed into a city, without any means for citizen or township participation. Often these requests for a city to annex township land are from developers who may have had their projects rejected by a township due to zoning/master plan regulations or citizen opposition. A good example is a developer who is threatening to have the City of Ypsilanti annex his land unless Superior Township approves a "new urban development" on agricultural land.

HR 4720-25, besides creating a uniform, statewide procedure for annexations, would mandate a 45-day written notice of annexation intent before a petition could be filed with the state, allowing greater public participation in the process. Even more important, HR 4720-25 would require a vote by the citizens of the city/township annexing the land, the owner of the land, and the township having it's land annexed.

Letters were mailed on behalf of the WBWC to all State Representatives in Washtenaw County. Representative Ruth Ann Jamnick indicated she is a prime sponsor of the legislation. Representative John Hansen indicated he would support HR 4720-25 as long as the bill's intent was not gutted by amendments being proposed by the Michigan Association of Homebuilders. Representative Chis Kolb stated he would review correspondence before voting on the bill.

Editorial - Ignorance Is Not Bliss

Over the past few months when out riding, instead of receiving the usual "get off the road and on to the sidewalk" remarks from non-cyclists, I have been getting quite a bit of "advise".

In Ann Arbor, while stopped at an intersection waiting for the light to turn, a child blurted out "you better get off the road before the cops catch you". Another time while waiting for a light to change, a cyclist riding on an extremely bumpy sidewalk advised me that a car was in back of me and implied that I should get off the road and not interfere with the car. And still one more time, someone walking down the street advised me to get off the road before I was ticketed by the police.

The thought that keeps on going through my head is that the non-cycling people giving advise to cyclists have somewhere along the line picked up the thought that riding a bike on the street is not permitted, even the law in all 50 States classifies bicycles as street-legal vehicles. Yes, a number of cyclists know the law, but an even larger number of bicycle riders, and the public, believe bikes have no legal right to the road. And lets not even go into the motorists who believe the road is theirs and only theirs.

How to correct the situation? Like anything else in life, education at an early age about bicycling rights and responsibilities is a very good start. It would be fantastic if at every elementary school in the nation, a short class could be held on safe biking, stressing the fact that young riders should think of a bike as a vehicle, the same as a car, and they should obey all traffic laws while at the same time having a right to be on the road. An added benefit is that if you have young bicycle riders aware of, and obeying laws, they very well may grow up to become much safer motorists who respect cyclists. Unfortunately, however, many education efforts directed at children have the narrow, simplistic message of "wear a helmet and all will be ok", never touching upon how to actually ride a bike in a safe, lawful way. It's sort of like telling a motorist that as long as they wear a seatbelt they don't have to worry about driving safely.

For the adults out there who think bikes are for sidewalks, the task of education is more problematic. One good start would be having at least one question on the initial and renewal drivers license written exam about a bicyclists right to ride on roads. Other opportunities to educate can be done by media work (i.e. newspaper articles, letters to the editor) and by outreach efforts at public events, such as cycling education displays.

While we have a long way to go to educate the general public about cyclist rights, positive steps can be taken right here in our county. That's all that is needed is volunteers to help out a few hours here and there. The Washtenaw County Sheriffs Department has asked the WBWC to help out with short (20-30 minute) basic biking talks at elementary schools. And each year, the WBWC, along with the Ann Arbor Bicycle Touring Society, sets up educational displays at local farmers markets as well as local events (i.e. Earth Day at the Leslie Science Center, Huron River Day).

We hope more cyclists join in to positively educate the public. The time needed is relatively short, but the payoff, especially when working with children, can be tremendous. If interested in helping out, contact wbwc@topica.com or call me at 734/487-9058. - Bob Krzewinski - WBWC Chair

Countywide Non-Motorized Plan
The Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission recently started work to enact a Washtenaw County Greenways and Trails Master Plan. Such a document would help establish the foundation and strategy for developing additional walking and biking facilities in Washtenaw County through coordination with government bodies and private groups.

Specifically, a Washtenaw Greenways and Trails Plan would be administered by a qualified consultant and endorsed by government bodies throughout the County. Tasks of the consultant would be¦

• To develop an understanding of the current non-motorized trail network in the County.
  
• Provide a rational base for best trail routes.
  
• Document how the trail network would connect major population centers with the most significant natural/cultural/recreational resources within the County.
  
• Work with adjacent counties to coordinate the connection of greenways segments.
  
• Propose the best trailways, roadways, river routes and crossings for maximum public non-motorized transportation and recreation use.
  
• Prepare a practical implementation strategy and timetable.

At the present time the Parks and Recreation Commission is currently awaiting word about a $25,000 grant requested from the McKinley Foundation to start work on the Master Plan. If the grant is approved, work on the Master Plan is expected to be initially completed by mid-2002.

Monthly Reminders & Requests

Perils For Pedestrians
This weekly show about pedestrian and bicycling advocacy, broadcast through the efforts of the WBWC, is shown on Community Television, Channel 17 on Tuesdays at 6:30pm.

WBWC Volunteers Needed
Volunteers are currently needed for the following WBWC Committees...
Membership - Help maintain membership records, send out membership material
Publicity - Send out meeting and special event announcements, mail out printed version of E-News
Education - Help plan and staff educational efforts (i.e., Earth Day, Bike To Work Day/Week)
For details on any of these jobs, please contact Bob Krzewinski at 487-7058 or wolverbob@cs.com.

School Bicycling Volunteers Needed
In cooperation with the Washtenaw County Sheriffs Office, volunteers are needed to help with bicycling educational efforts at local elementary schools. No special skills are needed and a time commitment of 30 minutes at a school would be needed. Items to be discussed (basic traffic laws, how to wear a helmet, etc.) would be included in a written handout for volunteers. If interested, please call 734/487-9058 or e-mail wbwc@topical.com.

Member Discounts
Ann Arbor Cyclery has joined the WBWC and agreed to offer a 10% discount on purchases by WBWC members showing their membership cards. A hearty "thank you" goes to Ann Arbor Cyclery for helping promote bicycling in Washtenaw County. And if you are in a shop that is not a member of the WBWC, a friendly word urging them to support bike advocacy though WBWC membership would be appreciated.

Mark Your Calendar....
January 3 WBWC Monthly Meeting, 7pm, Ecology Center, Ann Arbor
February 7 WBWC Monthly Meeting, 7pm, Ecology Center, Ann Arbor