Oakland County passes Complete Streets Resolution

[majohnson]

There is enough space on woodward to remove a bit of the grass strip next to the sidewalk and put in a bike lane. Bike lanes are only a few feet wide, no need to remove car traffic lanes.

[ridgeabilly]

Widening roads actually increases traffic because it encourages traffic trips that otherwise wouldn't happen in that area. BIke lanes do the opposite. Each bike trip done for transportation purposes is one less car trip on a road, so your mathematical formula that you want needs to take into account the benefits that accrue from moving people out of cars and onto bikes, or walking or other forms of getting around town.

I don't understand why the occasionally forward thinking communty of Pleasant Ridge, situated right on Woodward Ave., is not a member of Complete Streets?

[DetroitPlanner]

I don't understand why the occasionally forward thinking communty of Pleasant Ridge, situated right on Woodward Ave., is not a member of Complete Streets?

Pleasant Ridge may not have any federal-aid streets that they control. It is a tiny community. MDOT controls its major roads.

Novine if wide roads increase traffic, why on earth are there so many wide roads where there is little to no traffic? Its not that simplistic! Land use plays a key role in traffic, be it cars, buses, trains, bikes, or peds.

[Novine]

I didn't say "wide roads increase traffic", I said "widening roads increases traffic". That's a well-documented phenomenon and I'm surprised that if you're a planner, you think otherwise.

[Novine]

"Pleasant Ridge may not have any federal-aid streets that they control. It is a tiny community. MDOT controls its major roads. "

That's not a reason for them to not have a policy on Complete Streets. The state law on Complete Streets requires MDOT to work with communities that have adopted CS policies or ordinances. The same applies to the Road Commission. Also, there's no reason that Pleasant Ridge couldn't apply CS policies to local streets. Ferndale has some bike lanes along its local streets that abruptly end when you hit the Pleasant Ridge border.

[DetroitPlanner]

That is exactly the point I was trying to make. The City already has an avenue to work with its major federal aid streets due to this law. Local streets are already very complete with sidewalks, parking. I would see no reason to change any of PR's local streets.

[cramerro]

That is exactly the point I was trying to make. The City already has an avenue to work with its major federal aid streets due to this law. Local streets are already very complete with sidewalks, parking. I would see no reason to change any of PR's local streets.

I'm not sure why you're taking such a hard stance on this.

Adopting a Complete Streets policy is not akin to signing contracts to tear up all the streets, regardless of jurisdiction.

Having a Complete Streets policy would merely put the equivalent of a checkbox or small extra section on the City's project planning and scoping processes that makes them consider any amenities, design elements, or other considerations that might make a street more "complete", most often when work is being otherwise done. This could be as simple as putting in a 8' sidewalk along a street that is close to a school where a 5' one exists, when the DPW or whoever has to rip the sidewalk out to do sewer work.

Furthermore, having a policy in place, in my opinion, would give them some extra pull/weight behind input they would give to the Woodward CS Plan and/or MDOT's consideration of Complete Streets improvements along Woodward.

To quickly break topic, wider roads are not all created equal. Some are expanded to relieve congestion, some are expanded to prevent anticipated congestion, and still others are expanded to encourage growth. The constant is that wider roads encourage higher volumes because they handle more capacity... a simple path-of-least-resistance.

[Novine]

"That is exactly the point I was trying to make. The City already has an avenue to work with its major federal aid streets due to this law. Local streets are already very complete with sidewalks, parking. I would see no reason to change any of PR's local streets."

You must not understand how the state law works. Those agencies are only required to work with a local community that has CS ordinance or policy in place. If Pleasant Ridge has neither, MDOT or RCOC doesn't have to make any effort to address CS concerns. When it comes to the local streets, PR could benefit from bike lanes on roads like Ridge Rd, which is Pinecrest in Ferndale. It's a poor design for PR not to continue the bike lanes in Ferndale into the city.

[RO_Resident]

"That is exactly the point I was trying to make. The City already has an avenue to work with its major federal aid streets due to this law. Local streets are already very complete with sidewalks, parking. I would see no reason to change any of PR's local streets."

You must not understand how the state law works. Those agencies are only required to work with a local community that has CS ordinance or policy in place. If Pleasant Ridge has neither, MDOT or RCOC doesn't have to make any effort to address CS concerns. When it comes to the local streets, PR could benefit from bike lanes on roads like Ridge Rd, which is Pinecrest in Ferndale. It's a poor design for PR not to continue the bike lanes in Ferndale into the city.

Woodward Avenue Action Association is putting together a complete streets master plan for the entire length of Woodward. http://www.woodwardavenue.org/upload...0222121347.pdf

[DetroitPlanner]

I'm not sure why you're taking such a hard stance on this.

I'm not taking a hard stance. I was hypothesizing. I fully support complete streets. It makes all the sense in the world. However a politico may not see it the same way [[once again a hypothesis).