Eric D. Lawrence

Detroit Free Press

Detroit's rapidly transforming Capitol Park area could see two-way, buffered bike lanes and improvements for pedestrians as early as next year.

Construction would come as part of a slate of similar changes pegged for other nearby areas of downtown and could coincide with Detroit Bike Share's planned launch in the spring.

Eric Larson, chief executive officer of Downtown Detroit Partnership, said the intent is to continue building and improving the infrastructure for various types of mobility. He noted that embracing alternative ways of getting around is a key ingredient for a successful community.

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"Alternative forms of mobility are very much a part of what makes or breaks a community," Larson said Monday at the Boll Family YMCA during an event to unveil the proposal.

Details have not been finalized, and Larson stressed that feedback is being sought. He noted, as an example, that a restaurant owner in the Grand Circus Park area had described how the proposal would have an affect on his plans to create outdoor cafe seating, so that was an area that was being discussed for changes.

The proposal, if implemented fully, could cost $3 million, although that number could drop depending on the final design. Funding would come from a variety of sources, including the state and federal government as well as private and non-profit entities, Larson said.

The 52-page proposal highlights areas such as Library Street and Gratiot, Griswold and Grand River and even part of Woodward Avenue. Refuge islands for pedestrians and bicycle friendly signals in addition to bike lanes -- possibly even raised and separated from the roadway -- are key. On-street parking in some cases could be shifted from one side of a street to the other to provide room for the bike lanes.

The plans would add to Detroit's growing biking infrastructure, including an estimated 200 miles of bike lanes and further the push toward separating bike traffic from other forms of traffic, which is considered safer.

Some of those who attended the meeting filled out comment notes and attached them to the renderings, asking in one case about the impact on parking.

The meeting also featured Lisa Nuszkowski, executive director of Detroit Bike Share, discussing the upcoming launch for her program. Detroit Bike Share is seeking recommendations for possible bike share stations at http://altaprojects.net/detroit-bikeshare/

Nuszkowski said that the best practice is to place stations every quarter mile, but the challenge in Detroit is trying to do that and cover a large enough area. The system is planning to launch in the spring with 42 stations and 420 bikes. Initial projections envision 100,000 trips during its first year of operation. Nuszkowski has said the system would be geared around short-distance trips, allowing user to take a bike from one station and leave it at another one.

Bike share systems are touted as last-mile connectors for other forms of transportation and currently operate in more than 70 cities in the United States.

Membership costs are still being weighed, with daily options that could range from $7 to $10 up to annual memberships from $70 to $90.

Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_ericdlawrence.