The Great Lakes Way is a proposed 160-mile greenway and 156-mile blueway from southern Lake Huron to western Lake Erie. The project is led by the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, which has more information on the project.
The Community Foundation together with regional partners developed a vision map for the Great Lakes Way – an interconnected set of 156 miles of blueways or water trails and 160 miles of greenways stretching from southern Lake Huron through western Lake Erie. The vision is that all residents and visitors of southeast Michigan are connected to and benefit from world-class freshwater, wildlife, recreation, and heritage right in our backyard through the Great Lakes Way.
An emphasis will be placed on ensuring that all residents and visitors – people of all ages, backgrounds, ethnicities and interests – feel welcomed and share in its benefits. This Great Lakes Way will improve close-to-home outdoor recreation, enhance regional competitive advantage, help attract and retain employees for businesses, and celebrate, protect and capitalize on our region’s defining natural resources.
John Hartig, Great Lakes Now
SEMCOG has also created an interactive project map with additional details.
We served on the advisory committee to help shape this vision and look forward to continued efforts to make this a reality.
From our perspective, this is another tool for encouraging communities to build Complete Streets that don’t have a history of doing so. We also asked that the Great Lakes Way infrastructure works for people of all ages and abilities. We don’t want to see a community install some sharrows and think the job is done.
Additional Reading
- The Great Lakes Way: Enriching Life at the Heart of the Great Lakes, Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan
- Cross-border partnership seeks to formally connect Great Lakes trails, Crain’s Detroit Business