Originally Posted by
irwin7638
In Michigan, our road commissions are required to spend 10% of their budget on non-motorized facilities, but, from what they tell me, that gets used up quickly just on maintaining pedestrian crosswalks, sidewalks, curb cuts etc. So the funding issue is a constant problem. Most projects get done in coincidence with pavement overlays, but with Michigan funding down as it is, most of that is on hold and may not be rescheduled in our area for 10 to 15 years.
Delaying a resurfacing project for 10-15 years, just means that you turn a $1,000,000 resurfacing project into a $40,000,000 rebuilding project, because the broken pavement has let water in to rot out the road bed. Sidewalks often can last a long time, around here they tend not to replace them wholesale, instead they will simply cut out sections that need to be replaced for some reason, could be damaged, utilities work, realignment, wheel chair access, etc. A 1km walk can see sections like this 1956, 1965, 1971, 1998, 1985, 2004, 1969, 2002, 2008, 1973, etc. The 1956 section is actually original...
As for bike lanes, it really should be a streamlined process, for example as part of state road standards, then when they are repainting a road, the lanes are included if there is enough space, if not, then it's part of the road rebuilding process.