Ferndale Continues to Lead as Michigan’s Friendliest Biking City
Residents were concerned about costs and safety, and worries about the multiple complaints the city manager received can still be found online. It was not well-known at first that a grant paid the costs of the lanes, or that major intersections, where cars turning right usually cross the bike lanes (and seem dangerous) are actually safer than the bike lane being on the far right. I can remember waiting with Phil on our bikes in these spots, feeling exposed and vulnerable to cars on either side, and occasionally fielding a complaint about our presence there or questions from drivers about how safe we felt. Now, these spots feel normal. (That intersection plan, by the way, is called The Portland Model, after our nation’s most famous bike-friendly city, and was devised there to prevent the accident-prone situation of bikes heading straight in front of cars that are turning left.)
Our bike lanes have become a normal way of life; in fact, most cities in Michigan are now bike-ordinary if not actually bike-friendly.
We saw a number of cyclists in Port Huron recently, braving cold and plenty of snow. We see in Ferndale not only the lanes, but silhouettes painted on the Nine Mile surface, reminding us that bikes are both
legal and expected. There are bike racks everywhere, a bike shop right downtown, and plenty of bike-friendly gifts like the “Pump Tires Not Gas” T-shirts in Naka, near the Downtown Ferndale Bike Shop. Bike store owner Jon Hughes told us that the lanes and bike racks scattered around the city make cycling a no-brainer. “It’s so much easier to bike here and find a rack. It’s easier than dealing with parking,” Hughes said. As Ferndale’s popularity and nightlife have grown, parking has become an issue, and free parking beats being stuck in a lot jammed with people cruising for a spot.
The Green Cruise, held every Saturday a week before the Dream Cruise, makes Ferndale one of Michigan’s prominent bike-event cities. This year’s Green Cruise will be held on August 9, and will feature three different rides as well as the famous parade down Nine. You can ride a hardcore 42 miles, a moderate 22, or a family-friendly four. Search the words “Green Cruise” for the official website, and the inspiring story of last year’s Green Cruiser of the Year.
Michigan is about to change the bike hand signal for the right turn; a bill is on the Governor’s desk as I write this. The new law allows cyclists to simply extend their right arm to signal a right turn, rather than signal with a bent left arm. The current method became law shortly after WWII, so this revision is overdue. Though this seems like common sense, probably many of us who use a straight right arm pointing to the right will be surprised to know we were breaking the law (especially those of us who hassled our husband into doing likewise).
So ride our bike lanes, use our racks, enjoy our nightlife parking-hassle free, and put the Green Cruise on your calendar.
Rebecca Hammond owns a silly number of bikes and is a former Green Cruiser of the Year, as is her son Chris (with his more normal number).
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