Ferndale: Man on Motorized Bicycle Injured in Crash into Side of Vehicle
(Crystal A. Proxmire, July 30, 2020)
Ferndale, MI – A 37 year old male from Detroit was treated for a possible broken arm after crashing his motorized bicycle into the side of a moving car at 9 Mile and Woodward Ave Wednesday night.
According to Ferndale Police Communications Liaison Jillian Mahlmeister, “The 19 year-old driver [of the vehicle] was traveling westbound on E 9 Mile Rd through Woodward with a green light.
“The motorized bicyclist was traveling south on Woodward Ave along the SB sidewalk. As the driver approached SB Woodward lanes, she observed the motorized bicyclist traveling at a high rate of speed and he did not appear to be stopping.
”The driver attempted to swerve out of the way. The bicyclist disregarded the pedestrian signal and crossed southbound in the crosswalk. The bicyclist ran into the passenger side of the vehicle.”
The bicyclist was transported to the hospital with a possible broken arm, Mahlmeister said.
Ferndale Mayor Melanie Piana joined in a conversation on social media about the crash, and the City’s efforts to make the intersection safer for all forms of travel.
“The city knows Woodward is a safety problem for people biking, walking, skating and driving, particularly the 9 and Woodward intersection. In 2018, both Pleasant Ridge and Ferndale joined forces to conduct a Walking and Bicycling Safety Audit for Woodward which was completed in June 2019. I was able to get the MDOT Director to visit Ferndale in late June 2019 to review the results of the report with both cities and ask them to make people focused changes to the entire corridor. They know first-hand our issues and what share vision and position is for PR and FD. It’s also not helpful that MDOT views Woodward as the emergency /detour route for I-75 construction or major closures.”
Mayor Piana listed three needs:
1) wider sidewalks on Woodward
2) More crosswalks crossing Woodward
3) and better timing on crosswalk lights, among other major design fixes.
The audit can be found at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TK0PVshLQTiBDfc_9I7BMN18tXAftwtt/view
“Transforming Woodward by improving the experience for people is a major change for MDOT–they own the 8 lane highway mess bisecting our city, and it is a long, engagement process that both cities are at the hip trying to do to influence MDOT. I’ve been putting the seeds in place for over 10 years and advocating for change. The city also needs to fund many of the upgrades, which is part of our strategic planning process and capital improvement plans,” she said.