More communities in Michigan are embracing bike lanes.
Grand Rapids plans to add 40 more miles of bike lanes in the next few years. Detroit has an aggressive approach to implementing them and they're popping up in places like Adrian and South Haven, not to mention the biking hot spots of Traverse City and Marquette.
Josh DeBruyn is the bike and pedestrian coordinator for MDOT. Part of his job is to deal with the applications that towns send him when they apply for grants to help install bike lanes.
DeBruyn says he gets double to triple the amount of applicants that he can actually fulfill for these kinds of grants.
He also says he hears from plenty of people and organizations about what he calls "motor vehicle angst" - or drivers who are frustrated and sometimes aggressive with cyclists.
You can listen to my interview with him here:
In a nutshell, he says drivers need to realize that bikes have a right to use the road and that cyclists must follow the rules of the road, or risk getting a ticket.
The state is in the process of an education campaign aimed at both drivers and cyclists. You can watch one of MDOT's video's below and check out a pamphlet called "What every Michigan driver should know about bike lanes."
http://youtu.be/2bEwFvKAJKk
