Press Release

Adding Bike Lanes and Widening Sidewalks to Create a More "Walkable" Feel in Three Downtowns

Sidewalk traffic can be stimulated or stunted by vehicular traffic and roadway design. Three dramatic examples are in the March issue of Downtown Idea Exchange.

(Boonton, NJ, March 15, 2010) — The three dramatic examples come from the heart of Michigan where Scott Ringer and Scott Clein of Giffels-Webster Engineers, have been working for many years.

In one example, downtown Ferndale saw a dramatic turnaround after a main street through downtown was narrowed from four lanes to two through the addition of on-street parking.

Downtown Ferndale's successful turnaround is a model and idea-starter for the bedroom community of Eastpointe, MI (formerly East Detroit, est. pop. 32,500), whose city center was ravaged by the widening of a main road through town carrying traffic from Detroit. "It was a rather typical story where all of a sudden, you've got no sense of downtown anymore. You've just got this eight-lane roadway gunning through at 45 miles an hour. Over the course of the last three years, we've been working with them to help reimagine what they want to become again," says Scott Clein.

Now, with a single lane of traffic in each direction and the buffer of added parking, traffic slowed, and people felt safer strolling along the main street.

The full details of these examples are covered in the March 1 issue of Downtown Idea Exchange.

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About Downtown Idea Exchange

Downtown Idea Exchange newsletter is published by the Downtown Research & Development Center. For more than 50 years, the Downtown Research & Development Center has provided a forum for exchanging news, information and ideas on how to rebuild the hearts of our cities.

Website: http://www.DowntownDevelopment.com