The QLine in Detroit Can Be Bad News for Bicyclists

July 07, 2016, 8:04 AM

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The QLine has fans, but bicyclists generally are not among them.

Cyclists already have had accidents along some of the newly laid tracks, and many are likely to look for alternative routes, Eric Lawrence of the Detroit Free Press reports. The 3.3-mile system on Woodward Avenue is scheduled to begin running in the first half of next year. 

One bike shop owners tells the Freep that his shop deals with trashed bikes caused by rail-related crashes every week, and he's aware of injuries.

“Lower Woodward is just no longer a safe option for group rides. It’s really a shame,” bike advocate Todd Scott who lives in Royal Oak but often bikes around downtown Detroit, tells the Freep. Lawrence reports:

Part of the issue is how cyclists travel over the rails, which have a wide enough gap to swallow many bike tires. Scott demonstrated how his own bicycle traveling along beside the rails could easily drop into the gap and potentially throw a cyclist, causing injury. Rails can also be slippery in the rain. To safely cross the rails, cyclists are told to ride over them at a 90-degree angle.

Scott said the problems will be amplified when streetcars are riding in the same lanes that many biker use.


Read more:  Detroit Free Press


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