Category: Greenways

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Complete Streets Greenways Newsletter

News from the Trail – August 2018

Open Streets Rouge Park is tomorrow

The original Open Streets Rouge Park event was postponed due to rain and is now happening tomorrow, Saturday August 11th from 1pm to 5pm. We’ll be located along the middle-west portion of the loop along with our University of Detroit Mercy MCD Capstone partner team. This team is working on community engagement and trail connections for the proposed Rouge River Greenway. They are focusing on Eliza Howell Park and surround neighborhoods. Stop by to learn more.

The city of Detroit Planning and Development Department will also located with us and can answer questions about their work.

This event doesn’t replace the original Open Streets Detroit: Southwest which returns for its third year on Sunday, October 7th from noon to 5pm.

Joe Louis Greenway update

The big news? The City of Detroit has now officially acquired the abandoned Conrail property for the Joe Louis Greenway. This roughly 8-mile section was one of the main gaps in the 26-mile trail loop and something the Coalition has been working on for many years. We initiated converstations with the railroad, did the early due diligence work, and wrote the two main grants that covered the $4.5 million acquisition cost. Naturally, we’re thrilled with this news.

This acquisition releases the $2 million Ralph C. Wilson Foundation funding for Framework Planning (with the community) and the creation of construction documents. Construction funding is not yet in hand, but the city did re-apply for a federal BUILD (formerly called TIGER) grant. We helped the city get letters of support for this grant, including a joint letter representing 32 bike clubs in Detroit.

Amtrak gets Roll-on bicycle service

Nine years ago, we initiated advocacy efforts along with the Active Transportation Alliance (in Chicago) to get roll on bicycle access for Amtrak in Michigan. It took a while but the Wolverine line that runs between Pontiac, Detroit, Dearborn, Ann Arbor, Kalamazoo and Chicago now offers that service. Space is limited so reservations are required. Amtrak will be getting new passenger cars in the near future with more bike carrying capacity.

Photo credit: MDOT Photo Services 2018

East Jefferson protected bike lanes

The new protected bike lanes on E. Jefferson are complete from Rivard to Lakewood. The older lanes from Lakewood to Alter are currently being improved based on community feedback.  It appears these are the longest protected bike lanes of their type in the U.S.

It had been suggested that no one was using the bike lanes, so we used our mobile bike counters to measure the use. Near Conner Avenue, a daily average of 154 bicyclists were counted. Further west near Beaufait, the daily average was 373 bicyclists. These counts do not include those still riding on the sidewalk. They were also taken shortly after the construction was completed.

The city has now installed protected bike lanes on Conner Avenue from E. Jefferson to Warren. Next they will add them on Warren heading east.

We are working with some Detroit clubs to host a group ride on them in September. We’ll let you know when we get a date.

But wait, there’s more news…

  • We released our report on how Detroit’s improved streetlighting appears to have drastically reduced pedestrian fatalities, saving more than a dozen lives annually.
  • The Detroit Sustainability Community Series is this month. There are four workshops planned where one can help shape the city’s Sustainability Action Agenda.
  • Wayne State University is hiring  new Transportation Ambassador (TA) for the 2018-19 school year. The TA position is designed to help familiarize students and employees with local mobility options.
  • The Friends of Chandler Park are having a Meet and Greet on August 16th from 6pm to 8pm at 4401 Conner. Attendees can learn about what’s happening at the park and how to get involved. It also just got a whole lot easier to ride you bike to this event!
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Greenways Newsletter Safety & Education

News from the Trail – July 2018

Joe Louis Greenway Fundraiser Ride

Photo by Daniel Mears, The Detroit NewsThanks to everyone who participated and supported our very successful inaugural fundraiser bike ride for the Joe Louis Greenway. We had a great turnout to match the perfect weather. Media coverage before the ride, including this fun Fox 2 Detroit video, helped raise awareness of the future greenway.

Extra thanks to the Oloman Cafe, Wheelhouse Detroit, the Bikes & Murd3r club, and other volunteers — but especially Paul Vial.

Prior to the event, the city of Hamtramck received a $410K SEMCOG grant to construct bike lanes along Joseph Campau — a key part of the Joe Louis Greenway. We also partnered with the city of Highland Park on their $336K grant to build bike lanes on Hamilton Avenue which will help connect with the greenway.

Detroit Public Lighting Improvements Reducing Pedestrian Fatalities

In 2015, Detroit had the highest pedestrian fatality rate among major US cities. While still much too high, the fatality rate has decreased during the past couple years while the rest of Michigan has increased. There were 19 fewer pedestrian fatalities in 2017 compared with 2015. Based on our analysis, this is due to the major improvements in Detroit’s public street lighting.

This shows how investments in infrastructure can have dramatic affects on the health and safety of Detroiters. We expect this trend to continue as additional Complete Streets treatments, such as road diets, bike lanes and other pedestrian infrastructure improvements reduce motor vehicle speeding and pedestrian exposure. Read more at DetroitGreenways.org

Open Streets at Rouge Park

Rouge Park will host its first Open Streets event this Saturday from 1pm to 5pm. This event wills turn three miles of road in Detroit’s Rouge Park into a safe, open and car-free zone for local families and community members to run, bike, skate, shop and play together along Spinoza, Outer, and Rouge Park Drives. We’ll be there along with the University of Detroit Mercy Capstone project team focusing on the planned Rouge River Greenway. More information is available in this Event Flyer and Event Map.

Amazon Smile donates to Detroit Greenways Coalition

When shopping through Amazon Smile program, a percentage of your purchase goes towards the Coalition. It’s an easy way to give and it doesn’t cost you anything extra.

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News from the Trail – June 2018

Joe Louis Greenway Fundraiser Ride

We are organizing a 28-mile Joe Louis Greenway fundraiser ride on Sunday morning, June 24th. The objective of the bike tour is to create more awareness and raise money to help get the Joe Louis Greenway built. We’ll share the latest information on this major urban trail system — and you’ll also get a custom ride water bottle.

There will also be a midway stop at the Oloman Cafe in Hamtramck to rehydrate and refuel.

Limited tickets for this inaugural event are now available on-line. Don’t miss out!

Detroit Bike to Work Day

Thanks to everyone who participated in the 2018 Detroit Bike to Work Day event sponsored by Henry Ford LiveWell.

It was a record turnout — and the weather wasn’t too bad at all!

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan addressed the crowd at Spirit Plaza this year and noted:

We want to have choices in the city, different ways to get around, different ways to get to work: to be able to walk, to be able to bike, to be able to take a bus, to be able to drive.

The Mayor mentioned this and you can see it in the photos. There were many city staff riding bikes to the event and of course Council member Scott Benson. As you might imagine, there  is no better way for staff to understand the bicyclist needs and perspectives than first hand.

Council member Benson also introduced a Resolution declaring May 18th, 2018 as Bike to Work Day and the month of May as Bicycle Awareness Month. The resolution was passed by City Council.

Thanks to our other event sponsors include the office of Detroit Council member Scott Benson, AECOM,  American Cycle and Fitness, Detroit Future City, Downtown Detroit Partnership, Giffels-Webster, HNTB, OHM Advisors, MoGo, SEMCOG, Tour de Troit, Wayne State University, and Wheelhouse Detroit.

Detroit Sustainability Agenda

The City of Detroit is crafting its first Sustainability Action Agenda and is asking that Detroit residents take this online survey. Of course Mobility is one of the major topics within the agenda: How can  Detroiters have more sustainable transportation choices to get where they need to go?

We need your involvement to craft an inclusive and equitable vision for a sustainable Detroit today and for years into the future. Simply put, meeting our needs of today without sacrificing the needs of future generations.

–Joel Howrani Heeres, Director, Office of Sustainabilit

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Complete Streets Greenways Newsletter

News from the Trail – May 2018

Bike to Work Day is Friday, May 18th!

Register your pledge to ride to work and receive a free commemorative Bike to Work Day embroidered patch. It’s free.

Henry Ford LiveWellWe very excited to announce our 2018 title sponsor, Henry Ford LiveWell. Henry Ford LiveWell is Henry Ford Health System’s wellness center of excellence and aims to optimize the well-being of Henry Ford employees, patients and community members.

Other event sponsors include the office of Detroit Council member Scott Benson, AECOM,  American Cycle and Fitness, Detroit Future City, Downtown Detroit Partnership, Giffels-Webster, HNTB, OHM Advisors, MoGo, SEMCOG, Tour de Troit, Wayne State University, and Wheelhouse Detroit.

As in prior years, we’ll have morning commuter convoys that converge Downtown.

Since not everyone works downtown, there are two additional pit stops. All three gathering spots are open from 7am to 9am (except Midtown/WSU is open to 10am).

  • Spirit Plaza on Woodward between Jefferson and Larned. Free bike parking is provided by Wheelhouse Detroit from 7am to 6pm. Mayor Mike Duggan will address participants between 8am and 8:30am. PLEASE ATTEND TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR BETTER BIKE COMMUTING OPTIONS IN DETROIT.
  • Midtown/WSU Cass and Puntam. Hosted by Wayne State University.
  • New Center Park at Second and W. Grand Boulevard hosted by Henry Ford Health System

There will be free snacks, coffee, vendors, local discounts and giveaways at these locations for those participating.

Don’t forget to register and if you can, try to be at Spirit Plaza next Friday morning when the Mayor speaks between 8am and 8:30am.

D Brief Podcast

We dropped by the D Brief studios last week and talked about all the recent Detroit bike- and trail-related activities. It’s all captured on a podcast and available online. Give a listen.

Other Meetings this Month

  • There will be a public meeting on the West Riverfront Park on Monday, May 21, 6 to 8pm at the Roberto Clemente Recreation Center, 2621 Bagley, Detroit. There will be a project overview and a conversation with bothe the Community Advisory Team and the deisgn team.
  • An I-94 Resident Roundtable community meeting for District 5 is scheduled for Tuesday, May 22 from 6 to 8 pm at Next Energy, 461 Burroughs Street, Detroit. The I-94 project is being changed to improve biking and walking compared with the initial plans. Come to meeting to get the latest updates.
  • West Vernor Corridor Framework Community Meeting is Tuesday, May 22, 2018 from 6pm to 8pm at the Plaza Del Norte at the Mexicantown Latino Cultural Center, 2835 Bagley Avenue, Detroit. The City will be presenting on near-term projects for this neighborhood and wants to collect your feedback.
  • Jos Campau Greenway community meeting and public input session is Wednesday, May 23 at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, 2751 Robert Brady Drive, Detroit from 5:30 to 7pm. The City will be investing in improvements to the existing recreation path, including new play equipment, landscaping, and security measures. They are interested to hear what features will improve the path for your household. They will also discuss on street improvements to Jos Campau south of E Jefferson to the RiverWalk.

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Complete Streets Greenways Newsletter

News from the Trail – April 2018

Joe Louis Greenway

The City of Detroit is very close to signing off on the acquisition of 8 miles of abandoned rail corridor. Once that is complete, the city will begin Framework Planning for the greenway corridor. Unfortunately Detroit was not awarded a TIGER grant for construction, which is still a ways off.

In the meantime, we’ve update our Joe Louis Greenway map brochure with funding from the Doppelt Family Fund. We’ve updated the greenway’s web page on our site and included a link to a PDF of the map.

We’ve also been attending events to distribute the printed version.

Important Bike Lanes Meeting

We are hosting a public meeting on April 18th from 6pm to 8pm at the Northeast Guidance Center (2900 Conner St, Detroit, MI 48215) to discuss bike lanes in Detroit.

WE REALLY NEED DETROIT BICYCLISTS HERE!

We’ll be presenting on our vision — that the city build and maintain bike lanes, that it prioritizes creating safe connections, that it provides enforcement so that we’re not dealing with vehicles parking in the bike lanes, event barriers, or other obstructions, and that we don’t have standing water in the lanes.  

The Planning and Development Department will present on the new E. Jefferson bike lanes. The Public Works Department will be there to talk about their maintenance plans for these and other Detroit bike lanes. The Department of Neighborhoods will be on hand. We have asked that the Detroit Police Department and Municipal Parking have representatives present as well.

This is a great opportunity for bicyclists to show the city that this is more than just more plastic posts and paint. We need quality, safe infrastructure that will continue to encourage more Detroiters to ride more often.

Other Meetings this Week

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Greenways

Detroit’s TIGER strikes out… for now

The City of Detroit submitted an $18.285 million TIGER grant request last year to construct the Joe Louis Greenway (formerly known as the Inner Circle Greenway.) This $500 million US Department of Transportation grant program is super-competitive but we had high hopes given the value and scope of this great trail project.

However, we learned last Friday that Detroit’s grant wasn’t chosen.

Was this the end of TIGER funding? No one knows. These transportation grants began as part of President Obama’s 2009 stimulus package. They’ve been quite popular with Congress.

In many ways TIGER grants are a more transparent and competitive replacement for the old High Priority Projects (HPP). These project funds would get included in transportation bills in order to get votes in Congress. The Detroit RiverWalk got funding through this, but then so did the infamous Bridge to Nowhere in Alaska.

We certainly do hope that TIGER grants continue for the reason we gave in this recent People for Bikes article: “…there just aren’t very many funding opportunities unless you want to take a really long time to construct it over multiple grants.”

Regardless, progress on the Joe Louis Greenway continues. The city is doing its due diligence (e.g. environmental testing) of the Conrail railroad property. If all goes as expected, they should be purchasing the property this summer.

Once purchased, a Framework Plan will be created for the entire trail, including the portion within Highland Park. This will be a great opportunity for the community to provide their input on the trail’s design and operation.

It’s also a time to look at adjacent land uses and how those might complement the trail. Adding green stormwater infrastructure is a no brainer, as is affordable housing — a tool for mitigating residential displacement from rising property values.

Lastly, our new Joe Louis Greenway map is at the printers now and should be available by spring. A PDF of the map is available now. Thanks to the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s Doppelt Family Fund for making this possible.