Ferndale is showing more love to bicyclists by offering another on-street bike rack, this one on Woodward Avenue, the busiest street in town and a location that state transportation officials see as a model for other cities to follow.
The 12-bike rack will be installed by the end of May on the east side of Woodward, just north of 9 Mile, making it the city's sixth on-street bike rack but its most significant given its location on a major state road.
This same time last year, the city's first on-street rack and a piece of bike-related art were installed, and since then four others have been added to less busy streets. Over the last four years, about 35 bike racks were added to sidewalks around Ferndale.
"Many of our residents prefer the ease of riding their bike to town, enjoying an extra bit of exercise, avoiding traffic jams and reducing their carbon footprint," says Cristina Sheppard Decius, executive director of the
Ferndale Downtown Development Authority. "The DDA is committed to doing what it can to make that mantra work.“
The new rack will be protected from 35-mph traffic along Woodward by Michigan Department of Transportation barriers and be bright yellow.
“One on-street bike rack can accommodate the transportation of 12 or more people,” says Sheppard-Decius. “We have an ideal situation for making that kind of trade-off."
Writer: Kim North Shine
Source: Cristina Sheppard-Decius, executive director, Ferndale Downtown Development Authority
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