Detroit Bike Lane Update and Bridge Action

On September 24, 2012, the City of Cleveland announced that bike lanes would be striped on Detroit Avenue from W. 25th to Lake Avenue—the longest stretch of bike lanes to be installed in Cleveland since the striping of the Euclid Corridor Bike Lanes.  The timeline presented at the public meeting was that the bike lanes would be constructed in the fall of 2012, or if the weather broke too soon, in the spring of 2013.

Prior to the filming of Captain America, Bike Cleveland was informed by the City of Cleveland Department of Streets that the bike lanes would not be striped until after filming was completed, since Detroit Avenue was the main thoroughfare during the closing of the West Shoreway.

Despite the reopening of the West Shoreway on June 15th, construction has not begun. In response to our inquiries, the City has assured us that funding for the construction of the Detroit bike lanes is secured and that the project is being bid out to local contractors. Despite numerous requests, the closest we have gotten to an answer on a date is that the construction of the bike lanes will happen this summer.

You can help speed up the installation of the Detroit Avenue Bike Lanes by calling the Mayors Action Center at 216-664-2900 or by filling out this form. The more questions submitted to the Mayors Action Center, the higher priority the bike lanes will become.

Please also take the time to tell the City about the dangerous conditions for cyclists biking across the Detroit Superior Bridge. While Bike Cleveland has repeatedly petitioned for better maintenance of the Detroit Superior Bridge, the temporary patch has not held, leading to today’s incident where a taxi driver collided into a cyclist. Since this morning, the potholes have been repatched– however, we are concerned that this patch will also be temporary, and a better and more lasting solution is needed to make the Detroit Superior bridge safer for all. Informing Mayor Jackson in your own words of your experiences crossing the bridge will help us to secure a permanent solution to moving cyclists safely into and from downtown. As always, please be civil, factual, and firm.

By doing so, you can move the City to commit to meeting with Bike Cleveland and the cycling community to develop a plan to finally make the Detroit Superior Bridge safe for people on bikes.