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!