In May of 2017 it was announced by the City of Dearborn that funding was donated to develop a bike lane route along Outer Drive from Ford Rd to the Southfield freeway (M39). The project is funded by a donation from Don and Mary Kosch owners the Dearborn Sausage Company with matching funds from the Beaumont Foundation. Metro Mode Article

It’s been several years with the City submitting plans and the County requesting revisions, and turn over in personnel for both the City and County have extended the planning of the project. The revisions pared the project down to a below standard bike lane with sharrows in portions of the road where there is “no room to add a separate lane.”

Since the initial plans were submitted, the City of Dearborn developed a Multi-Modal Transportation Plan (MMTP). The plan suggests slightly narrowing the lanes along Outer Drive from 12ft to 10ft and 11ft in some portions of the project. This not only gives more room to allow a buffer to keep cyclists safely out the Door Zone of parked cars, but adds a 2ft buffer between the cyclists and moving vehicle traffic. Narrowing the lanes to a more manageable width also has a natural affect of slowing down traffic. The speed limit on Outer Drive is 35 mph. Motor vehicles often travel much fast than that…most times 45-50mph.

As cyclists, we think adding sharrows onto a road with a speed limit of 35mph is not only dangerous, but irresponsible planning. For example, here it says the proper applications for sharrows are for low-volume, traffic-calmed, low-speed (<25mph) streets. 
Reducing the lanes from 12ft to 10ft on the portion of Outer Drive where sharrows were originally planned will allow room for a 5ft bike lane in either direction. It will also calm traffic with the narrowing of the lanes that run in front of the fire station as well as the high school without removing any traffic or turn lanes.

Referring to the MMTP, it is recommended to narrow the lanes to ensure safety for all users of the road and to slow down traffic to what the posted speed limit is.
The MMTP was developed using a steering committee including many stake holders including Bike Dearborn, several departments within the City of Dearborn, Wayne County Parks and Rec, MDOT, SEMCOG, and more. The development of the plan included many community engagement sessions.
After a long 2+ year process that was temporarily stalled by the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Dearborn City Council Approved and Adopted the MMTP in October 2020.

Now back to the Outer Drive Bike Lanes… with the MMTP now approved, Wayne County continues to sit on the plans for Outer Drive without approving the permits to install the painted bike lanes. With the completion of the repaving project on the section between Cherry Hill and Michigan Avenue, Wayne County has applied a temporary paint for the lanes to get through the harsh winter season and the plan is to apply the permanent paint sometime in April 2021. With no word on what they plan to do with the bike lanes.
Bike Dearborn has ramped up our advocacy efforts on this project and are attempting to meet with the County to voice our opinions on the lack of safety that that current plans have.

Why is it so important to make these lanes as safe as possible? First and foremost, bicycle infrastructure with inadequate safety measures does not encourage use. How many times do we hear “Bike lanes are dumb. They are hardly ever used.” Well, if they don’t provide safety to encourage new users, they certain can be considered dumb. We at Bike Dearborn consistently encourage new cyclists, and we want them to feel safe. More and more people are out on bicycles this year due to the pandemic. We want them all to enjoy cycling and feel that they can get to where they need to go and feel safe while doing so within our great city!

Secondly, Outer Drive is a regional connector! Continuing on Outer Drive beyond Dearborn will take you places!! In one direction, you can connect to Hines Drive and ride out as far as Northville or even Camp Dearborn using connection trail routes! Take Outer Drive beyond Hines Drive in Dearborn Heights and you can go through Detroit to Palmer Park and beyond! Go in the other direction and you take Outer Drive to Jefferson in Ecorse and can go in either direction to the Detroit River Front or to Elizabeth Park in Trenton or Lake Erie Metro Park! The possibilities are endless if we take the lead in connecting the region using Outer Drive!

ETA 2/12/2021: One of the reasons we’ve heard from the City that the County refuses to reduce lane width is that they will lose federal funding for Outer Drive. There is no paper trail on these conversations. The person(s) claiming this is no longer employed by the County. What we have found in research is quite the opposite. Information on federal funding restrictions for roadways can be found here.
Here is a quote from that webpage.

“7. Lane widths cannot drop below 11’ on the NHS and 9’ when Federal funds are used on local roads.
This is false. There is no minimum lane width requirement to be eligible for Federal funding. As stated in the answer to Question 6, States may adopt their own standards for non-NHS roadways. The NHS includes major arterials as well as other roads important to the nation’s economy, defense, and mobility. As such, the Green Book generally requires 11’ or 12’ lanes on these roads. The Green Book allows for lesser lane widths on low-speed facilities and low-volume roads in rural and residential areas; situations in which research shows that narrower lanes should not negatively impact safety if appropriately implemented based on the context. There is no outright prohibition against using lane widths less than those stated in the Green Book, if a design exception is justified and approved in accordance with FHWA regulations and policy. For more information on design standards and design exceptions, please visit https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/design/standards/qa.cfm.

In appropriate contexts, narrower lanes, combined with other features associated with them, can be marginally safer than wider lanes. The FHWA supports the use of sound engineering judgment in design. The FHWA frames this discussion using the terms nominal safety versus substantive safety. Nominal safety means a design meets the technical standards; substantive safety means that a design will achieve low crash rates relative to expectations.”

ETA: 2/14/2021: SEMCOG has a Bike and Pedestrian Network Plan. While it does not go into much detail on design, it shows Outer Drive as a significant part of the network.

We have written a letter to the County expressing our concerns with the current plan. Below is the letter that we submitted. We have copied our City Planner, the Mayor’s Office, and our Wayne County Commissioner, Sam Baydoun. We hope to have a productive meeting that will make an impact on the final outcome of the Outer Drive Bike Lanes.

LETTER TO WAYNE COUNTY – Department of Public Service

“Dear Ms. Watts,
We are writing on behalf of Dearborn residents and commuters who are very concerned about the quality of bike facilities that are to be constructed this spring on Outer Drive.

City/County modifications to the MMTP Outer Drive plans came to our attention in December 2020. The MMTP was the product of extensive community engagement. However, there has been no direct outreach to the community regarding design changes to Outer Drive. We have been trying to obtain clarity on the project since we first learned of them.  

We are specifically concerned about modifications that compromise cyclist safety by not addressing the need to slow traffic and separate modes. Specifically, decisions appear to have been made to eliminate lane width reductions, replace on-road bike lanes with sharrows and eliminate painted buffers from on-road bike lanes. 

This is not consistent with MMTP recommendations for safe cycling facilities. Research clearly shows that slowing traffic and providing separation between modes is critical to safety for the most vulnerable users of the transportation system (e.g., cyclists, pedestrians, kids, elderly, mobility-impaired).

Also well understood is the fact that people will avoid using bike/ped facilities if they do not feel comfortable and facilities are not convenient. Surely, given the multiple co-benefits associated with walking and cycling modes (e.g., health, environment, traffic congestion) we can do better. 

We have been unsuccessful in learning the exact nature of the construction plans. We ask that the County share details about the re-engineered bicycle facility design, and, if plans do not conform to the community vision established in the MMTP, work together collaboratively with the City of Dearborn to provide safe and inviting bicycle infrastructure on Outer Drive that conforms to the standards set forth in the MMTP. 

A worst case scenario, for all of us, is that this project counterproductively dissuades people from cycling and from further supporting multi modal facilities. Outer Drive is an important regional connector and we must take the time to get this project done well, so as to build momentum for purposeful and recreational biking in Dearborn and the surrounding area.

Thank you for your time. We look forward to hearing from you.

Respectfully,
Susan Grasso, Member Healthy Dearborn Steering Committee and Co-chair Healthy Environments Action Team
Tracy Besek, Founder Bike Dearborn,  Dearborn Resident and Member of Healthy Dearborn Healthy Environments Action Team
Sean Galloway, Member of Bike Dearborn and Dearborn Resident
Ann Franas, Member of Bike Dearborn and Dearborn Resident
Tim Harrison, President Southwestern Outer Drive Neighborhood Association of Dearborn and Chair Healthy Environments Action Team”

UPDATE: As of February 26, 2021, Commissioner Sam Baydoun has urged the County to set up a zoom meeting with Bike Dearborn and the City of Dearborn.

UPDATE: as of March 1, 2021, We have not hear back about a meeting date. The last we heard was February 26th when it was agreed a meeting would be scheduled. The County seems to have wanted to meet internally prior to setting up a meeting with us. We are still waiting.

UPDATE: As of March 5, 2021, we still don’t have a scheduled meeting. The League of Michigan Bicyclists created a One Click Politic Action Form for us to distribute in order for Wayne County and the City of Dearborn that there is widespread support for our efforts to have a safer Outer Drive bike lane plan. Please participate in this Call to Action.
**ACTION ALERT**
Please CLICK the link and fill out the form to contact City of Dearborn and Wayne County officials about your support for safe bicycle infrastructure on Outer Drive!
SHARE with your Neighborhood and Cycling Groups that use Outer Drive for training, recreation, and commuting.
https://oneclickpolitics.global.ssl.fastly.net/promo/30f

UPDATE: We had 88 individual responses to our Call to Action. Thank you to everyone that took the time to send their support for a safer vision for Outer Drive.

UPDATE: March 12, 2021, We had a meeting with Commissioner Baydoun and several Wayne County employees and officials. The biggest takeaway was the County Engineer being uninterested in providing further information other than, “That’s just the way we do it.” He did not care to share why or what resources he had as to why the county could not reduce lane width on Outer Drive…just that the county would lose federal highway dollars.

Below is the letter we sent in response to the meeting.
“Dear Commissioner Baydoun,
Thank you again for arranging for us to meet with Wayne County representatives last Friday to discuss our concerns about bike safety and accessibility on Outer Drive. We are appreciative of the interest you have taken in this issue and the respect and trust you have shown our group.
As noted at the meeting, this is hopefully not the last time we will come together to discuss the best way forward for Dearborn to become multi-modal, as we consider the many opportunities before us to become more walkable, bikeable and transit-oriented. We desire to be positive and supporting partners with the city, county and state in this journey, using evidence-based data to guide us.

Summarizing next steps, we understand that respective parties will move forward with the following.

Wayne County

1. Assistant County Executive Andrew Kandrevas will follow up with county staff to better understand the basis for county recommendations for Outer Drive, in particular limitations to reducing lane widths to 10 feet. Efforts will be made to search for ways to improve the traffic level of stress to make bike facilities on Outer Drive more comfortable and safe for more types of cyclists. Findings will be shared with you, the City of Dearborn, Bike Dearborn and Healthy Dearborn.
2. County staff will work to halt placement of permanent paint between Cherry Hill and Michigan Avenue this spring. Doing so will preserve much-needed resources for addressing improvements on this and other Outer Drive segments. This is a time sensitive issue that needs to be addressed quickly in order to change any existing construction schedules that have been prepared for this spring.

City of Dearborn
City planners will review costs and availability of funds to provide facilities on Outer Drive that are consistent with Dearborn MMTP recommendations (e.g., traditional/buffered bike lanes, continuing bike lanes through intersections, etc.).

Bike Dearborn/Healthy Dearborn
We will search for examples of lane width reductions to 10’ on streets having similar vehicle volumes as Outer Drive.

Outer Drive is a critical transportation connector between diverse neighborhoods, business areas, Hines Drive, and neighboring communities. Making it a model multimodal corridor will establish Dearborn, already internationally known for its profound impact on transportation systems, as an ongoing leader in how we move in our communities and beyond. 

We are excited to work with you to make it a reality.
With all good wishes,
Susan Grasso, Healthy Dearborn
Tracy Besek, Bike Dearborn”

UPDATE April 6, 2021, we sent a letter to Councilwoman Leslie Herrick (who attended the above meeting and requested the following attached info). Councilwoman Herrick requested examples of other roads that had similar infrastructure as we were requesting that was similar to the layout of Outer Drive. The letter is lengthy and has a lot of information on our findings, because of that, it’s attached as a link.

UPDATE April 26, 2021 Follow up email sent with no reply.

UPDATE May 4, 2021, One more follow up email. No replies.

UPDATE: March 2, 2022 Adding some current street view screen shots from Google.

Some of the issues with Outer Drive in it’s current state:
1. Extra wide lanes encourage people to drive well over the speed limit. The speed limit is 35mph along the entire stretch of Outer Drive. People often drive 50mph+.
2. the right lane does not have any right side delineation which allow cars to drive far right into the the parking lane and/or where people riding bicycles are usually travelling.
3. The County is OK with installing sharrows on the 1 mile stretch of Outer Drive that is 5 lane. Sharrows are NOT recommended for roads with speeds over 25mph.
4. The County is OK with ending bike lanes and adding sharrows at intersections such as Monroe St and Outer Drive rather than narrowing lanes to allow for not only a right turn lane for people driving, but allow for a dedicated bike lane to safely run the length of the road…especially at these intersections where otherwise, people on bicycles risk getting right hooked.
5. The county approved/proposed non-buffered bike lane and sharrow scenario isn’t encouraging to people that would like to bike for transportation, but are afraid to mix with traffic. It puts them in precarious situations with right hooks, door zones, and potentially sharing a lane with people driving well over the speed limit while possibly being distracted by their phones.