Tag: Gordie Howe International Bridge

Categories
Greenways Newsletter

News from the Trail – January 2019

Joe Louis Greenway meetings this Saturday

First, we want to thank all those that contributed to our successful Fall Fundraising campaign. This funding is critical to our organization’s effort to help create greenways like the Joe Louis. (Can we start calling it “The Joe” yet?)

Exciting News! Two community insight meetings are planned for this Saturday, January 19th from 11am to 1pm and again from 2pm to 4pm. This is an great opportunity for residents to get more involved in the greenway planning process for this 31.5 mile biking and walking trail that touches Detroit, Ferndale, Dearborn, Hamtramck, and Highland Park.

According to the City of Detroit web site:

At the meeting, residents will also have a chance to meet the two finalists on the short list of consultants that will be chosen to complete the planning, view the Greenway’s total footprint, discuss phases of construction, and share insights and opinions. The finalists, Spackman Mossop and Michaels, LLC and SmithGroup, Inc., will be in attendance to present their plans for the Greenway and answer questions from residents.”

We’ve also updated our Joe Louis Greenway page with up to date information.

Milliken State Park meeting this Wednesday

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is holding a second public meeting about the Milliken State Park & Harbor Master Plan Update. That meeting is January 16, 2019 from 6:00pm – 8:00pm at Orleans Landing (1568 Franklin Street).

Saving Athens Avenue at Conner Playfield

We regularly scan the Detroit City Council agendas. Now and then this tedious work pays off — and it just did. An eastside company had asked the City of Detroit to close Athens Avenue, the street that runs along the west side of the Conner Playfield, north of Harper Avenue. The onstreet parking on Athens is the only vehicle parking for the Playfield, which is home to the Titan football teams as well as a portion of the Conner Creek Greenway and Iron Belle Trail. We alerted Council member Scott Benson, who quickly contacted all parties and brokered an agreement to not close Athens. This is great news for those who use the park.

Survey says…

As part of the Gordie Howe International Bridge project’s Community Benefit Plan, $10 million will be invested on each side of the border. Before they finalize the Community Benefits Plan, they are seeking community feedback on the final selection of initiatives through this survey.

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) also has a survey for their State Long Range Transportation Plan. PLEASE TAKE THIS WHEN YOU CAN. We need to continue pushing MDOT to a more realistic, human-focused transportation system.

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Categories
Complete Streets Greenways Newsletter

News from the Trail – July 2017

Summer’s rolling by fast and so are the updates…

Inner Circle Greenway

This 26-mile trail around the city continues to move forward. After many years of discussion and negotiation, the city of Detroit has agreed to terms for the purchase of 7.5 miles of abandoned Conrail railroad property. They will be able to use $4.3 million in grant funding that we helped them get.

The city also got a $2 million dollar grant from the Ralph C. Wilson Foundation which will be used to develop a framework plan and construction documents. Expect there to be meetings later this year as the framework plan is developed. The city has announced that the trail would be completed by 2019.

We’re also lending our support to add 1.75 miles to one of the most popular trails in Detroit and Michigan. Expect to hear more about that in future updates.

Gordie Howe International Bridge

We’ve already mentioned that the new bridge will accomodate both bike and pedestrians, but the good news doesn’t stop there. As part of the community benefits agreement, the Delrayt area around the Detroit bridge plaza will receive millions in street improvements and new trails. E. Jefferson and Fort Street will get protected bike lanes. Campbell and Green Streets will have greenways. The key non-motorized connection at Junction over I-75 will also be improved.

There’s potentially more good news coming that could come our way.

Additional Updates

  • The DNR received a $750,000 grant to help build a 6-mile shared-use path around Belle Isle. This might help get some pedestrians out of the bike lanes and reduce conflicts. MDOT is repaving the MacArthur Bridge and we’ve asked them to widen and improve the bike lanes while they’re at it.
  • The Detroit RIverfront Conservancy received $50,000 in grant funding for Atwater Beach just east of Chene Park. If they can successfully raise the additional funding, they will break ground next spring.
  • The Detroit Planning and Development Department now has a Transportation and Mobility office with Lead Planner Caitlin Malloy-Marcon. We now have another supporter in the city.
  • Wayne State University is hiring a student for a part-time position as Transportation Ambassador. More information
  • SEMCOG wants your feedback on regional transportation issues in Southeast Michigan. Their on-line survey doesn’t take all that long.

Upcoming Events

Handlebars for the Homeless
Sunday, August 6th
Early registration discount through July 28th
Event Registration

DLECTRICITY
Saturday, September 23rd
This fun, free 4-mile night ride is back! There are prizes for the best bike light displays
Event Details &  Registration

Bike Trails and Cocktails
September TBD
Our fundraising event returns. More details to follow

We rely on donations from people like you to help continue this work. We now have a monthly giving option if that is a more convenient way to contribute. Thanks!

Have you seen the new Cass Avenue bike lanes being installed? We advocated for these as an alternative to the less safe riding conditions along Woodward due to the streetcar rails.
Photo by Mark Hall
 
Categories
Complete Streets Greenways Newsletter

News from the Trail – March 2017

 

We’re on the Bridge

We can now share the official news: bicycles and pedestrians will be allowed on the new Gordie Howe International Bridge between Detroit and Windsor.

This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to create a new trail between the two countries. It took years of being a persistent voice, working with various US and Canadian officials, organizing bike tourism support from Montreal to Montana, and even creating an international greenway map. We’re looking forward to riding and hiking the bridge when it opens in 2022.

Riverfront East

If you were unable to attend the recent Detroit Riverfront East Planning meeting, you missed quite a bit. The City of Detroit, Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, and Detroit Economic Growth Corporation made some major announcements, including new RiverWalk segments (UniRoyal too!), the Beltline Greenway, the new Campau Greenway, and bike lanes along E. Jefferson. We believe there is an opportunity to incorporate designs from our 50-year vision into these announced projects. The exciting details are on yourdetroiteastriverfront.org.

Detroit Bike Share

Detroit Bike Share is hiring Neighborhood Ambassadors. Job submissions are due March 17th. Additional details on Ambassador position, expections, pay, and more on are available in this document. The bike share operator, Shift Transit is also hiring Launch Associates and Bicycle Mechanics.

Upcoming Events
Annual Garage Sale
March 11th 3-6p
Back Alley Bikes used bike sale helps fund their youth bicycle programing.
Additional DetailsDetroit Bike Share Mtg
March 14th 6pm
A free community meeting to discuss equitable access and bike share.
Registration

Greater Islandview & Villages Planning Mtgs
March 14, 21 & 23 6-8p
Discuss biking, walking, the Beltline Greenway & more.
Additional Details

DGC Volunteer Cleanup
April 8th 8am to noon
We’re partnering with the city to cleanup St. Aubin. More details to follow.

Bike to Work Day
May 19th
Mark your calendars. Details to come!

 
Categories
Complete Streets Greenways Newsletter

News from the Trail – December 2016

Downtown Detroit Public Meeting

We’ve encouraged the Downtown Detroit Partnership for some time about making Downtown Detroit more bike-friendly — and now they are and in a major way. This is so critical now since the area’s rebirth is bringing more traffic and their public bike share program will launch in April.

They’ve been working on designs for an initial phase of a protected bike lane network through the Downtown and even along Woodward. These are advanced designs unlike anything seen before in Michigan. Everyone wants to make sure they will work safely. They want your feedback on this (as well as future bike share station locations and more.)

They are hosting a public meeting on Monday, December 12th from 4pm until 6pm at the Boll Family YMCA. If you can attend, please register. If you can’t, please share your thoughts with contact James Fidler at james.fidler@downtowndetroit.org.

Protected Bike Lanes Expanding

In addition to the downtown, protected bike lanes are being installed on Michigan Avenue and Livernois this year. Cass Avenue’s will happen next year with E. Jefferson not far behind.

A national media source asked us why Detroit is building so many protected bike lanes. We said we have to because Detroit is going to be America’s number one city for bicycling.

With this rapid change, there’s a major learning curve for everyone. We’re working with city and other stakeholders on safety education efforts. We also worked with MDOT to update their “What every motorist must know about bike lanes” brochure, which now includes protected bike lanes.

We’re asking everyone to be careful, considerate and patient while everyone learns how to operate around these new designs. Just like roundabouts, it’s going to take a bit of time.

Neighborhood & Greenway Planning Approved

Four neighborhood planning contracts were approved by City Council last week. All four include planning for these areas to become 20-minute neighborhoods, where every non-work errand can be made with a 20 minute bike ride or walk.

The Greater Islandview contract also includes the Beltline Greenway which we’ve been working on for a number of years. We helped make it part of the Iron Belle Trail, which brought in million dollars in funding to acquire the private property. Our Rouge River Greenway concept is the Grandmont-Rosedale project.

Look for community meetings on all projects during the next few months.

In the meantime, enjoy this great video from ClickonDetroit that discusses 20-minute neighborhoods as well as the Beltline Greenway.

Gordie Howe International Bridge

While there is no guarantee that we’ll be able to bike or walk over the new bridge, it will be designed for it. That’s a requirement of the design proposal released by the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) and a priority for us over the past few years.

We met with the three teams bidding on the project last week. One engineer noted it was critical having the bike and pedestrian requirement at the start because it greatly affects the bridge design and how much the road surface is allowed to deflect. In other words, in a car you might not notice a bridge moving up and down, but it would be unnerving on a bike or on foot.

We’re on the WDBA U.S. Environmental Advisory team and will stay on top of this project as it moves forward.

Our Fundaising Campaign

We need your help so that we can continue our work. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to our Coalition. Thanks to those who have already given generously.

Also, by 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.