MDOT is hosting a public open house on their I-375 project that will "will provide updates on project elements such as early planning efforts and design of the corridor." It will be on Wednesday, April 19th from 4-7pm at Eastern Market, Shed #3. If you are unable to attend, you can submit your comments online.

The bike/walk connections along the corridor and the new Moncalm connection between Eastern Market and Downtown are great. However, as members of the local advisory committee, we remain concerned and engaged on how to improve the intersections for those walking and biking. We want them designed to provide us safe crossings with minimal delay and not prioritized for vehicle throughput during peak travel times. We don't want MDOT building another Telegraph Road through Downtown.

Speaking of Telegraph, MDOT is rebuilding it near the Eight Mile interchange. They're adding some sidewalks but not through the intersection. The MDOT representative did not respond when asked if they expect pedestrians to walk in a travel lane. This is not a Complete Street approach and it's not clear to us it follows federal requirements. It certainly doesn't embrace the federal vision for reconnecting communities. 

MDOT is also rebuilding the I-96 and M-39 interchange. They have a survey that does ask about how you bike or walk in this area.

The City of Detroit continues their work on the new and future sections of the greenway. During Mayor Mike Duggan's State of the City address, he said the greenway will be completed by 2027!

Clean up work continues on the remainder of the former rail corridor. Recently they demolished an abandoned building that prior to World War II served as the first factory for Detroit-brand La Choy. 

In March, we attended a public meeting to help determine the greenway routing both north and south of Romanowski Park. It was well attended by a large group of nearby students. When asked how many had been on the RiverWalk or Dequindre Cut, only a couple hands went up. That was eye opening and it stresses the importance of bringing greenways to the neighborhoods.

Also, the Joe Louis Greenway Partnership has hired an executive director, Leona Medley. We had the pleasure of sharing the history of the greenway with her over a cup of coffee. Leona will bring a great deal of energy and leadership that will only add to this project's momentum. We are super excited!

A 35-person study group from the Detroit Green Task Force recently spent three days in Seattle to learn about that city’s sustainability and climate action efforts. The Detroit group included four city councilmembers (Benson, Calloway, Santiago-Romero, Waters), many departments heads, and advocates, including us.

The City of Seattle was especially gracious in welcoming us and putting together a very thorough agenda. We heard presentations on many topics from energy to waste, water to solar, and our focus area, transportation. As for the latter, they recognize the need to reduce single-occupancy vehicle traffic through investments in public transit, walking, and biking. Electrifying the status quo is not enough to get to carbon neutrality in the transportation sector — and it’s also not an equitable approach, a leading priority across all their efforts.

Overall, it was an invaluable experience, not only to learn from Seattle, but to strengthen connections within our Detroit group. We look forward to implementing some of what we saw here at home.

There are many Earth Day volunteer opportunities on Saturday, April 22nd. Some trail- and park-related ones include:

• The Chandler Park Conservancy's Park Cleanup from 9am to 1pm.
• The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy's Dequindre Cut Spring Cleanup from 10am to 1pm.
• The Detroit Green Task Force Earth Day Awards Event featuring remarks from local sustainability leaders and an award ceremony for nominees and recipients.

• Meet Hashous Clay, Detroit’s Voice For Bike Life, 24 Hip-Hop
• Higher point of impact makes SUV crashes more dangerous for cyclists, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
• The Motor City desperately needs a new identity, 8woodblog
• As Biden pushes electric vehicles, transit advocates feel left behind ($), Detroit News