Over the last six months I have been closely engaged with the City of Detroit and its plans to elevate cycling in the city and implement pedestrian friendly infrastructure and Complete Streets across the city’s grid. Last night and this morning the City’s Planning Department led a community meeting at the Charles H. Wright Museum in Midtown to reveal some of the plans in place and receive feedback.

The City of Detroit is expansive and has the unique opportunity to really reinvent space. We no longer need 9 lane roads as our main thoroughfares. Detroit also unfortunately has the highest number of pedestrian fatalities. So, making adjustments to bridge that gap is a natural step.

During the meeting we heard Maurice Cox, Director of Planning and Development, talk about his own experience as a cyclist in the city and some of the goals he hopes to achieve with this project. Detroit is incredibly lucky to have such a forward thinking leader during this evolution.

Personally, I’ve been without a car for almost 4 years. But I am not alone, 1 in 4 Detroiters do not own a car and they rely on alternative transportation (walking, biking, or transit). But just because it’s common does not mean it is easy. This cohesive plan the City is putting together would mean a lot for people in Detroit. Safe, well lit, connected bike paths would allow many more people to utilize the bicycle for transportation. This is an opportunity to teach people the value of the bicycle — its economic impact, as an enjoyable tool to staying healthy, the environmental advantages, etc.

I am so excited to see the City roll this plan out and I am feeling so incredibly blessed to be working for an organization at the forefront of the changing bike culture in Detroit!