Public Input Wanted at Complete Streets Interactive Event in Birmingham

The three-day charrette will give a glimpse of the concept and provide an opportunity for residents to help shape the future of Woodward Avenue.

  Do you have a vision or opinion for what the Woodward Avenue should look and feel like both inside and outside of Birmingham? Bring them to the The Woodward Avenue Action Association's (WA3) three days of interactive community events from May 20-22 at 555 S. Woodward (on the building's west side, facing Old Woodward). The charrette is part of the WA3's Woodward Complete Streets master planning effort, and is the second in a series of five planned for communities along the Woodward corridor. The series starts with a general presentation Monday that will help set up Tuesday morning's walking audit/tour through downtown Birmingham with Walkable and Livable Communities Institute expert Dan Burden, who will lead the workshops. A cumulative …

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Controversial Gran Fondo Bike Race Could Come Before Birmingham Monday

City Manager Bob Bruner says he's a fan, though Royal Oak officials are arguing the Woodward Avenue race from Detroit to Pontiac could be unsafe.

What do you think of a professional bike race from Detroit to Pontiac along Woodward? Birmingham may be asked to approve something exactly like that at the Monday evening city commission meeting, as plans for the proposed Gran Fondo bike race make its way up and down the 37 communities along Woodward Avenue. The race would take place on Sunday, June 30, 2013. The race, which would also feature a massive community bike ride along Woodward, is organized by the Woodward Avenue Action Association (WA3). Italian for "big ride," the Gran Fondo would feature a 54-mile race route starting in downtown Detroit that would go to Pontiac and loop back. Organizers hope more than 200 national- and international-caliber racers will participate in the race…

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A Multi-City Bike Path Running Through Birmingham? Learn More Wednesday

Birmingham city planner Sue Weckerle will update attendees of Wednesday's Bike Summit about Birmingham's progress crafting its own multi-modal transportation plan.

Residents from Birmingham and along the Woodward Avenue corridor interested in brainstorming plans for a multi-city bike path can have their say at a public meeting in Royal Oak Wednesday. A Bike Summit is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Royal Oak Public Library, located at 222 E. 11 Mile Rd. in downtown Royal Oak. According to event organizers, the purpose of the Bike Summit is to provide a forum for citizens to discuss a multi-city push for alternative modes of transportation, including marked bicycle routes, sharrows, bicycle boulevards and paths to link the various communities along Woodward Avenue. Residents who live and work in Berkley, Birmingham, Clawson, Ferndale, Huntington Woods, Oak Park, Royal Oak and Southfield are …

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Letters to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Transportation Act’s Antiquated Thinking Puts Communities at Risk

Act currently being debated by Congress could decrease funding to Woodward Avenue Action Association, Birmingham civil engineer argues.

This letter was received by Birmingham Patch Editor Laura Houser: The American Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act that Congress is debating reflects an outdated philosophy about how people use America’s roads. While it focuses on creating jobs and improving infrastructure, it ignores the importance of safe roads, community, places, and people as part of that equation. The act will be especially detrimental to urban areas such as Detroit and the inner-ring suburbs that have worked so hard in recent years to improve the quality of life through accessibility and safety in their downtowns and neighborhoods. The very amenities that have drawn people to move, work and play in the city and nearby communities will be threatened by this act. The …

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