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how is biking across the bridge any different than using my car.. you are supposed to use the lanes on the road anyways. hmm.. who would stop me? how much trouble would i be in if i arrived at the us customs on my bicycle?
i ask this question because i intend on doing the tour de troit.. i live in windsor, close to the bridge. seems very wasteful for me to strap my bike to the car, drive, park, get bike off... cycle, strap it back to my car, drive, park, remove bike...
Technically, nothing's stopping you from strapping pontoons on it & ducking between the freighters, either;
http://www.vintageprojects.com/boats/bicycle-boat.html
lol... nice! but seriously? i don't see why i should own a car or have to take a 16 dollar bus ride in order to cross the border. bicycles ARE vehicles, they have a right to the road.. who says i can't bike over the bridge?
You used to be able to bike [[and walk) over the bridge. I did it as a kid several times, and so did my mother. They made you walk the bike on the downhill run though so as not to endanger pedestrians. Does anyone know when they shut the sidewalk down there and made it motorized vehicles only?
:cool:I believe it was to prevent suicides.Quote:
Originally Posted by EastsideAl
Dunno when they shut it down, but no doubt concern over liability matters caused the decision. Shane, if you want to yell at someone over it all, just find some ambulance-chasing attorneys. :)
There are a zillion other overpasses that would have equally the same result jumping from as the Ambassador bridge. Even more ridiculous is being unable to use the Transit Windsor bike racks in the tunnel.
I rode across in the late 1980's, even then it was then kind of a closely guarded secret, and the folks who worked for Maroun, Vampire, would warn you that if you did anything other than walking your bike across, you would be "escorted" off of the bridge.
A few years later when I tried again, I was told that this right had been "suspended" due to maintenance work.
Lawyers my ass, if I can ride my bike across the US/Mexico Border, [[it's much faster than driving, and I would never take a car into Mexico due to it being a country running on failed "free market" policies) I should be able to ride my bike across the US/Canada Border, except that there are "special rules" for monopolists and corporations in this country.
Ahahahaha, you can't do that!
What do you think this is? Buffalo?
C'mon now!
;)
How does Transit Windsor charge you $16??? You have no rights on the Ambassador Bridge it is privately owned. Your agreement to use it automatically waives your rights.Quote:
Originally Posted by windsor_shane
A friend and I would bike over all the time in the early 70's. Used to drop baseballs onto the freighter decks. :D
All the while, our parents thought we were staying two swim periods at Patton Park Pool.:rolleyes:
my apologies, its 16 dollars for 2 people [[me and my girlfriend...)
i did not know you could not take your bike on the tunnel bus!!! so i guess, if you can't ride over the bridge, or bike though the tunnel, or take your bike on the bus, what are the options here? swim with the bike on your back? or will the coast guard have a problem with that?
see.. to me, this is a serious disconnect for windsor / detroit residents. its nearly impossible for residents of either city to casually cross the border. why are these activities permitted at so many other boarder crossings? ie buffalo or niagara falls.. [[the pedestrian toll at niagara falls is 50cents)
The Transit Windsor site says that they can't use the bike racks for the tunnel bus due to "licensing regulations" [[whatever that means. Does anyone know what that means?). If you can disassemble your bike and put it in a bag they apparently might let you on, if it's not too crowded.Quote:
Originally Posted by windsor_shane
could you just bring the bike onto the bus? its usually not too busy, unless there is a game or something.
.. i guess my rant is that other crossings allow pedestrian / bike traffic, and the toll is quite low, is there a reason why windsor / detroit residents are not allowed this?
Because the crossing where it could happen [[the bridge) is privately owned and operated. As suggested above, their liability concerns have probably put an end to it.
Bicycle access is part of the plan for the new public bridge project, if it ever gets built.
From the Transit Windsor website:Quote:
Originally Posted by windsor_shane
"Bikes: Due to licensing regulations, bike racks cannot be deployed during Tunnel Bus services, including transportation to Comerica Park or Ford Field. You may disassemble your bike and board the bus with it in a bike bag. Note: If the bus is full, bringing the bike bag on board is allowed only at the discretion of the driver."
Tis true, FHWA complete streets verdicts have pushed for multimodal connections wherever they make sense.Quote:
Originally Posted by EastsideAl
http://www.contextsensitivesolutions...plete-streets/
Damn,this is frustrating. I vaguely remember the news story in the 60's or 70's of a jumper off the Ambassador Bridge, after that incident the bridge was closed to pedestrians and bikes.
As an aside, anyone else remember the pedestrian gate on the Windsor side, just before the auto booths that led to a stairway to ground level?
If Andy Schleck can hide a battery and motor in his tubes, a bicycling terrorist could load his up with C4.
Better safe than free!
BTW I agree with the OP, why do we have to ride our bikes to Algonac or Marine City just to cross over by ferry to a country that we share so many commonalities and is so easily reached if you are in a car or truck.
Obliquely related - I believe you're not allowed to ride your bike to the drive though of a fast food restaurant, and I believe the reason has to do with liability.
[[Disclaimer: Not 100% sure about the above and did not do research I can cite, but I did not hear it from a guy I met in a craigslist transaction.)
Prostitutes are safer than...?Quote:
Better safe than free!
This same problem plagued me last year when trying to plan a bike ride around Lake St. Clair. We used the car ferry in Algonac but ended up having my wife pick us up in Windsor to drive us back over.
I had read that some people have been able to get the guys at the truck ferry to get them across with a bike but I would not rely on that mode of transportation.
I did a bike ride up in the UP a couple of years ago and a bunch of people crossed over into Canada on bicycle riding over the bridge. Not sure if it was pre-arranged agreement or if you can do it year round.
I think the least the bridge company could do is use a pickup truck to drive people over. I believe there is a similar service for the Mackinaw bridge. I would love to ride in Canada more but logistically getting back and forth is just to big a pain
Welcome to St. Clair County, cross-border cyclists: the car ferries at Marine City [[to Sombra) and Algonac [[to Bkejwanong - Walpole Island) allow pedestrians and bicyclists, and run from about 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. every day of the year [[unless ice jams shut them down). $1 each way.
All the other border crossings have issues that prevent bicyclists. The Ambassador Bridge, for instance, is owned by an asshole. The Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron connects directly to a freeway on the Canadian side with no pre-freeway exit for a bicyclist. And so on.
But St. Clair County welcomes all of you to ride on our roads and trails, eat at our yummy restaurants and cross here... and there are nice trails and on-road routes across the border here, including especially the Trans Canada Trail at Wallaceburg.
If you want info about our upcoming new U. S. Bike Route, post here and your kindly old Prof will direct you to some info about that as well.
Happy riding!
The Prof
If you have enough money on the U.S. side for a passport, and biking trips, than you probably have enough money for a car that can haul a bicycle, which isn't usually viewed as a means of transit around here, but rather as a "toy", like a jet ski, or an ATV. Many Michigan city dwellers I know [[my wife included) don't have bikes, because they say they don't have the space...
...yet they don't even bat an eye at the space their two ton car or truck takes up. I think it's because we don't keep our cars in our apartments or home. Things would be different if you had to sleep next to that Chevy Impala every night.
Although, knowing how much American's love their cars.... :)
More border insanity. I biked the bridge once, back when you could walk or bike. As I recall it was free. The view is spectacular.The sidewalk is wide and biking and walking are very secure. Cars don't go very fast either. With all the eco-consciousness one would think the walkway would be reopened. If Moroun had any PR sense he might even salvage some of his very damaged image.
I met a group of twenty-somethings at the Cass Cafe who had biked to Detroit, through Canada, for the US Social Forum. "What happened when you got the bridge?" "We had to spend a lot of money to get a truck to take the bikes over."
Yes please! I always enjoy the BWR.Quote:
Originally Posted by professorscott
If pigs had wings; if unicorns existed; if the devil friended Jesus on Facebook; if Tom loved Jerry; if Brooks lived in Detroit; if the Lions won the Super Bowl; if Kwame were honest; if I only had a brain; if.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lowell
Speculation is wonderful.
One, despite opportunistic claims by its owner that it is a federal instrumentality, it's a private piece of infrastructure, not a public road. So if they say no bikes, no bikes.
Two, there is no bike lane. And given the freight orientation of the bridge, there will never be one.
Three, when traffic gets going, it is a lot faster than your bike. And a 20-ton truck would crush a bike like a twig.
Quote:
Originally Posted by windsor_shane
Our Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood, put a post on his blog [[side note: yes, the U. S. Transportation Secretary has a blog. Remember who is president.) about the U. S. Bike Route System. That's a good place to start.
http://fastlane.dot.gov/2010/07/us-b...g-america.html
If you want more detail about the Michigan projects which are active, we don't have a web site yet unfortunately, but I can provide details offline. [[Not sure this blog is the right place for such.)
"Two, there is no bike lane. And given the freight orientation of the bridge, there will never be one."There is no need for bike lane. There is a very wide and unused walkway that did and would work safely, comfortably and without interference.http://detroityes.com/webisodes/2010...ador-P9106.jpg
"Three, when traffic gets going, it is a lot faster than your bike. "
Speed limit is something like 30 MPH and when crawling, as it often can be, a bike is faster than the traffic.
If you had an opportunity to bike the bridge, I think you would come away with a different point of view.
We biked across many times in the 60's-70's, to buy [[smuggle) fireworks, visit relatives, or just hang out. The only restriction I recall was no riding after dark. Then we would hitch a ride back on a pickup truck and throw the bikes in back. Change is not always for the better.
Says who? The bridge is privately owned.Quote:
Originally Posted by windsor_shane
And yes, I do think bikes should be allowed on the ambassador bridge. It's frustrating that they aren't. I wouldn't suggest using the lanes, but they could on the sidewalk or something.
The bridge is privately owned, but I am quite certain that the right of way remains in public ownership. A similar situation exists with highways that are privately owned toll roads and public interest, traffic laws etc. supersede ownership. Government[s] could mandate bicycle passage although it may have to cough up some of the cost.
If Moroun had any business sense at all he'd construct a barrier to protect bikers on the bridge, allow walking and riding traffic, and include a fee to cover the costs.
Of course the ticket would include a disclaimer absolving the bridge company from any liability resulting from suicidal walkers and riders on the bridge. I'll bet that is why that change was made.
The Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron/Sarnia prohibits bicycles too. Just an FYI
Oh, Matty has much business savvy. I may not like his style, but I appreciate his business acumen.Quote:
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 1,853
If Moroun had any business sense at al
re: the walkway - there is a lot of ongoing construction on the bridge these days [[nothing major, mostly pothole repairs... just enough to be annoying) - There is currently a small 'shed' type structure on the walkway of the SW side that has been there since I started crossing daily a year ago. It seems pretty permanent... Also, the traffic is shifted [[hourly sometimes, it seems) with cones & other barriers to allow for these minor repairs. The traffic arrangement in the mornings is often completely different than in the afternoons [[I think this has just as much to do with flow as it does with construction though). While it's plausible that the bridge could someday be reopened to pedestrian traffic, it's also highly improbable- For all of those logistical reasons.
I avoid the tunnel whenever I can [[don't do well with underground manmade structures of any type), so I can't speak to the arrangement there- but from the few times I've gone through it, I can kinda see why they wouldn't want bike racks on the front of busses... Those curves at the ends are pretty tight, extending the length of the busses even just by a few feet could cause problems for the drivers maneuvering through there...
That said - I wish I could hop across the border more easily to enjoy what Detroit has to offer... Windsor has a ton of nice parks, and is overall, quite a bit more pedestrian friendly than the parts of Michigan I've lived in- but there's always the tease of the Riverwalk, Mexicantown, Belle Isle, and so many other places I would enjoy spending time- if only it weren't so cost prohibitive and logistically difficult to lug the bike into the trunk, cross with the bike, park the car, pay to park the car, lug the bike back out... you get the point.
A free [[or even lower toll) pedestrian crossing would make things easier for so many people, and would probably offer at least a small boost to the 'day tripper' tourism economies of both cities...
Lets all hope the new bridge [[if it actually ever gets built) has room in its design for our bikes and our feet...
The fare signs at the booths used to say "Pedestrians - FREE". I've always thought that charter for the bridge likely says that pedestrians must be allowed FREE. Private owners don't do that on their own. I'd encourage someone to find the original agreement. Bet it says that Pedestrians [[and bicycles?) must be allowed free passage.
That pedestrian walkway is the major means for maintenance people to reach things [[the other side has what, a foot?). It's also too narrow for two-way bike traffic. The Brooklyn Bridge has a lot wider bike section than that - and even then the bicyclists have a really hard time keeping on the bike part. And if you're going to open that sidewalk to bikes, don't you think pedestrians should be able to use it too?
A bike that is following the road rules is no faster than slow traffic. At best, it's the same - because bicyclists cannot legally ride around slower-moving vehicles. And on the safety end, you can't set rules based on the "crawl" that you observe sometimes - because the fatalities will occur when things are faster or where inexperienced riders are on the road.
Maybe things will change when the DRIC opens and bleeds off some truck traffic, but the idea of bikes in the traffic lanes of the bridge just seems dangerous.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lowell
I'll just state the obvious.
A big part of the attraction of this particular international border had been its historically refreshing absence of rules. That absence was once a tourist draw.
9/11 and its Homeland Security aftermath notwithstanding, wouldn't it be nice if we could at least work toward restoring that same confidence for future generations?
Things change. Wars end. Life goes on. Plan ahead. :)
Even so, localities can still regulate bicycle riding on certain streets. So in that case other powers would have to allow it besides Maroun who basically does whatever he wants.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lowell
I think it is funny that so many of you rbi.k that just because something is a "public road" it automatically means you can ride a bike on it. I respect bicycle transportation and support new bike lanes, but you must understand certain limitations. The Lodge is a public road but that doesn't mean you can go for anevening ride on it.
For comparison, The Joe is a public building but they don't give every citizen their own set ok keys to it. I support bike lanes and cyclists, but I do not support them on all roadways. Too often riders cause more problems than not on major roadways.
hmmm... this would be interesting to investigateQuote:
Originally Posted by Wesley Mouch
Basically no one on a bicycle would be buying duty-free gasoline or other crap. There is simply no reason to let zero value customers into the store.
Its all horseshit!
Yu can cross at Niagara Falls without issue so why not here? shortly after Maroun bought the bridge the right to cross as a pedestrian was gone. They used the guise of suicides as the reason. But I have searched and searched and have only come up with a few suicides. There was not more than any other crossing in N. america so I think its all crap.
I believe it is easier to control the bridge when people are stuck in their vehicles rather than have the ability to ride a bike or cross on their own.
Besides, what stops a person from pulling over, getting out of their vehicle and jumping?
What happened when you got the bridge?" "We had to spend a lot of money to get a truck to take the bikes over."
Sounds like a business opportunity for someone. A cargo van with a trailer for the bikes might work. What do you think is a reasonable fee to pay to get your bike over?
In British Columbia there is the George Massey tunnel. The BC provincial government provides a free bicycle shuttle through it since there are no provisions for a bike lane and the autos travel at freeway speed. It is not an international crossing .
George Massey Tunnel Bicycle Shuttle">George Massey Tunnel Bicycle
I can't see why Ontario and Michigan couldn't get together to pay for something like this during the cycling season. Either over the bridge or through the tunnel.
detroitjim, Ontario can't because the Liberals taketh money. They don't giveth away one's tax dollars. They is NEVER enough money for them to tax you on and piss it away on stupidity [[and voters will vote them back in).
Do I hear someone calling for a pedestrian ferry?
This is the pedestrian ferry over the IJ lake in Amsterdam.
http://i26.tinypic.com/iz42lt.gif
There was never anything even remotely like the pedestrian and bike traffic over the Brooklyn Bridge on the Ambassador Bridge. The times I crossed by bike or on foot I hardly ever saw another living soul on the sidewalk. There was no problem at all having bikes and pedestrians sharing the sidewalk. And, like I said, you were supposed to walk your bike on the downhill side anyway.Quote:
Originally Posted by Huggybear
Bicycles are permitted on all public rights-of-way in the State of Michigan, except as explicitly prohibited as in the case of limited-access roadways [[i.e. freeways). Ontario's rules are similar.Quote:
Originally Posted by DetroitSTAR
My guess is that Wesley Mouch is right, and that pedestrians, and perhaps bicycles, were originally permitted to cross for free under the terms of the bridge's original charter.