Tag: Grand River Avenue

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News from the Trail — June 2021

Underground Railroad bike tour

Underground Railroad Self-Guided Bike Tour 

For Juneteenth 2021, the Detroit Greenways Coalition has created a free self-guided bike tour of Detroit’s historic Underground Railroad sites. The 14.3 mile tour includes 25 stops that help tell the story of those seeking freedom from slavery as well as those that supported abolition. 

Highlights along the tour include the Gateway to Freedom International Monument, the site of the Blackburn uprising, the Ulysses Grant house, and Elmwood Cemetery. 

Detroit had a significant role supporting the Underground Railroad as well as shaping the politics of abolition during the 1800s. The city’s smaller footprint during that era has made the historic sites relatively close and easily biked to. 

The bike tour is available through the Ride with GPS program. The phone app provides turn-by-turn navigation and includes the points of interest along the way — some with photos and links for those seeking additional information. 

We’ve also updated our Underground Railroad webpage with information on this bike tour and much more. Additional self-guided tours are also being planned.

Federal Funding Updates

The process to develop the next federal INVEST in America transportation bill continues — and so far, so good. The current House and Senate bills both would double the amount of dedicated funding for active transportation. The Transportation Alternatives program, which funds many local Complete Streets projects, would see a 75% increase. The Recreational Trails Program, which the DNR uses exclusively for its trails, would also increased by 75%.

Both bills also include the Connecting America’s Active Transportation System or CAATS. This new program would provide grant funding for major non-motorized projects such as the Joe Louis Greenway. CAATS would provide $1 billion in funding over 5 years with a mininum 30% for building out networks within communities and 30% for building spines between communities. The minimun construction grant would be $15 million. We’ve been assisting the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy on this. 

Included in the House bill are Member Designated Projects, formerly known as earmarks. Our local House members included funding for trail projects and two from Representative Lawrence have made the cut:

  • $1.8 million for the Detroit RiverWalk to connect the Riverfront Towers and the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park. 
  • $3.9 million for the Joe Louis Greenway to connect a future Dequindre Cut extension to Joseph Campau in Hamtramck (see conceptual rendering below).

There are additional positives aspects within the bill as they includes goals for climate change, safety policy (especially for bicyclists and pedestrians), accessibility, and equity — all of which could lead to more Complete Streets being built without the need for dedicated non-motorized funding.

Both the House and Senate bills include funding for freeway removal, which could help with MDOT’s I-375 project, This project has been in the news more lately and was just featured on NBC Nightly News, MSNBC, Click4Detroit, and Detroit Today with Stephen Henderson. 

Of course neither bill has been signed into law yet, but it is positive that unlike prior multi-year federal transportation bills, there was little opposition to non-motorized priorities. Given the policy changes the bill includes, INVEST will require some level of bipartisan support. 

You may have also heard about the American Jobs Act, an infrastructure stimulus bill. President Joe Biden has said he wants that bill to be separate from INVEST and provide additional funding. It’s too early to know what that bill will include.

American Rescue Plan

Federal funding has also been distributed to cities, counties, and states through the federal American Rescue Plan. 

Governor Gretchen Whitmer is proposing $250 million of this funding to be allocated to state park and state trails to help address the backlog of maintenance projects — many of which are on Belle Isle. Her funding proposal would need to be approved by the legislature.

The City of Detroit is receiving $826 million in American Rescue Plan funding. Mayor Mike Duggan has proposed how that funding should be spent, which includes setting aside $400 million to fund the city’s workforce and prevent layoffs. 

Of the remaining $426 million, the Mayor has proposed $50 million for parks, walking paths, and the Joe Louis Greenway as part of a larger $100 million investment in parks, recreation, and cultural facilities.

This seems like a wise investment given that residents used greenways much more during the pandemic. (Dequindre Cut usage was up over 40%!) Biking and walking not only improves community health and resiliency to COVID-19, it also increases the effectiveness of vaccines. 

The Mayor has been collecting feedback from Detroit residents at meetings throughout June. There’s a survey available as well. 

Other Updates

  • Detroit DPW has announced a Paint the Streets program for residents and community groups interested in adding “artistically painted streets and crosswalks.” The program has developed guidelines for what’s allowed and where this artwork can be located.
  • Detroit ranks 61st in latest The Trust for Public Land ParkScore. The bright spot is 80% of residents are within a 10-minute walk of park,” well above the 55% national average.
  • We will be joining the SmithGroup and others for a Rails-to-Trail Conservancy webinar on June 23rd at 1pm called, “Creating Inclusive & Equitable Trail Development: Case Studies in Detroit and Milwaukee”. Detroit and the Joe Louis Greenway will be a major focus of the webinar. Registration is free.
  • Did you know the Detroit Department of Public Works (DPW) has Instagram and TikTok pages where they’ve posted some brief, introductory, and fun videos about Complete Streets, biking, and more. We especially like the ones on Grand River and Bagley.
  • WeRun313 also posted this city-made video that features them and talks about the Joe Louis Greenway and more. This is a much watch!
  • Have you signed up for the Detroit Bike Challenge yet? This free City of Detroit program that’s encouraging more people to ride bikes continues through October. Your rides help you earn points and get the chance to win prizes. The city has released this brief video to help promote it. There’s also a Juneteenth ride planned at 11am from the Heilmann Recreation Center on the Eastside.

Additional Reading

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Complete Streets Greenways Newsletter Policy

News from the Trail – March 2019

Streetscape Projects

Many streetscape improvement projects will be under construction this year as part of Detroit’s $80 million Commercial Corridor Program. Per the City, “These streetscape improvements support the City’s neighborhood planning efforts to improve safety and quality of life for Detroit residents. Streetscape improvements might include a variety of amenities including expanded sidewalks, bicycle lanes, improved lighting, plantings, neighborhood branding, and more.” (More on Crain’s Detroit)

Prior emails have encouraged everyone to attend community meetings for Grand River. Those are ongoing with additional information on the city website. As a result of previous meetings and feedback, the preferred design is for a vastly improved pedestrian, bike, and transit experience along this state trunkline while retaining onstreet parking (see below). The city recognizes the need for motorist and bicyclist education with a 2-way cycletrack. Construction is scheduled to begin this year.

There is a community meeting on Tuesday, March 19th from 6-8pm for the Kercheval Avenue Street Design between E. Grand Boulevard and Parker Street. The meeting is at the Solanus Casey Center, 1780 Mt. Elliott Street. (flyer)

Also this month is the East Jefferson Corridor Improvements Community Meeting. It will be held Thursday, March 21st from 6-7:30pm at the Hope Community Church, 14456 E. Jefferson. (flyer)

This Crain’s Detroit Business article covers many of the other exciting projects.

FCA Community Benefits Agreement

The City of Detroit is moving quickly to try landing a new Fiat Chrysler plant near the the existing E. Jefferson plant. There are already bike lanes on all four sides of that facility, including the Conner Creek Greenway and Iron Belle Trail along the St. Jean. Mayor Mike Duggan has proposed vacating St. Jean to gain the needed acreage for the plant. An initial community benefits meeting is this Wednesday, March 13th from 6:30-8pm at the UAW, 2600 Conner Avenue. We’ll be there to ensure the bike lanes and trails remain and propose that they get improved.

Bike Lane Ordinance

Council President Brenda Jones has asked the Law Department to draft an ordinance that requires all new bike lanes to be approved by City Council. We strongly oppose this. As we said recently in public comment before Council, bike lanes are a safety design that improves mobility for bicyclists, pedestrians, scooter users, and those in motorized mobility devices. Current city ordinance gives the Department of Public Works the ability to design safe roads based on national standards. City Council has approved the non-motorized plan that calls for these bike lanes. As one might imagine, there is a wide variety of opinions among city council members as this video from a recent Public Health & Safety Committee meeting shows.

We will keep everyone updated on this proposal and how you can share your thoughts with City Council.

Upcoming Events

Additional Reading & Listening

Ambassador Opportunities

  • MoGo Neighborhood Ambassador applications are due this Friday, March 15th
  • The Detroit Health Department is hiring temporary Safe Routes Ambassadors “to work on safety education with school children and community groups with an emphasis on the recent and upcoming Complete Streets work and Safe Routes to School efforts.”

For the most recent news, follow us on Twitter and Facebook

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Complete Streets Greenways Newsletter

News from the Trail – December 2018

East Jefferson Meeting Postponed

The East Jefferson Improvements public meeting intially planned for this Wednesday, December 12th has been postponed.  The City of Detroit is revising their plan and schedule for community outreach. We’ll let you know the new date as soon as it’s announced.

Joe Louis Greenway Senate Resolution

Photo by Pattrick Yockey, Senate Majority PhotographerWe worked with the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance (MTGA) on a Michigan Senate Resolution in support of Joe Louis, the Joe Louis Greenway and Detroit trails in general. Sponsored by Senator David Knezek, Senate Resolution 115 went before the Senate Committee on Outdoor Recreation and Tourism on November 28th. We thought this was a great opportunity to testify before state legislators and share all that is happening with trails and biking in Detroit.

We brought three Detroit bike club officers to testify with us. With their help, it went very well. The resolution passed unanimously. Additionally, it stirred interest in bringing legislators to Detroit next May for a bike event on Detroit’s trails. We’re working on that event now with MTGA.

We’ve written more about our trip to Lansing on our web site.

Grand River Road Diet Meeting

There is a public meeting at the Crowell Community Center (16630 Lahser Road) this Thusday, December 13th from 5:30pm to 7:30pm to discuss redesigning Grand River between the Southfield Freeway and Berg Road (just west of Lahser.) There will be a brief presentation at 6pm.

From the flyer:

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the City of Detroit will host an open house-style public meeting to provide an overview of the M-5 (Grand River Avenue) project that includes a road diet between M-39 (Southfield Freeway) and Berg Road, east of US-24 (Telegraph Road). This project will convert seven lanes to five lanes with defined on-street parking and possible bike lanes. There will be an opportunity for the community and residents to review project details and locations, provide comments and concerns, and ask questions.

We really want bike lanes incorporated. We’ve included Grand River bike lanes as part of our Detroit Greenways Network Vision. They would also fit with our Envision Detroit Project.

Grand River is a great bicycling connection between Northwest Detroit, Downtown, and everything in between. Also, MDOT has said that they are looking for additional funding to extend this road design between the Southfield and I-94. This would then include an intersection with the Joe Louis Greenway and lay the groundwork for a future U.S. Bicycle Route 30.

We hope to see you on Thursday!

Donations

Thanks to everyone who made a donation to help us launch our Friends of the Joe Louis Greenway. There’s still time to donate through our web site or our Facebook fundraiser page. We hope you agree that we’re helping make some significant progress towards Detroit becoming a great place to walk and bike.

Photo by Pattrick Yockey, Senate Majority Photographer

Photos by Pattrick Yockey, Senate Majority Photographer

Categories
Greenways Newsletter

News from the Trail – November 2018

Please Vote

Trails like the Joe Louis Greenway are not on the ballot today, but the politicians making trail funding decisions are. We’re members of the Detroit Environmental Agenda and they have more voting information including Detroit Charter Revision Commissioners.

To make getting to the polls a bit easier, Lime scooters are offering free 30-minute rides today with the promo code LIME2VOTE2018.

Joe Louis Greenway

Framework Planning Proposals are due this week. With this being such a critical greenway planning process, we put together this brief article on what we think a winning proposal should include. First and foremost is community engagement. It’s a long trail and we want to make sure everyone gets the opportunity to participate in the design process. This is much more than just a trail project.

The city expects to review the proposals and award a contract by the end of the year.

$100 million for the RiverWalk and other Trails

You likely heard the great news that the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation pledged $100 million towards Detroit trails and the RiverWalk.

$40 million of that goes to the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy’s West Riverfront Park project. As a result, the park was renamed to the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park. An additional $10 million goes into an endowment to fund the park’s long-term sustainability.

Another $40 million is for building regional, connecting trails in Southeast Michigan, including the Iron Belle Trail. We imagine the Joe Louis Greenway could potentially receive some of this funding. The last $10 million is also an endowment to help operate and maintain the these trails.

At the announcement ceremony, we had the opportunity to personally thank Mary Wilson and share some stories on how trails and bicycling are benefitting Detroiters in the neighborhoods. It’s more profound than most realize and it’s our role to share these stories.

Bike lanes: Planning, Building, Maintaining

Detroit has approved $125 million in road bonds to revitalize commerical corridors. About $80 million of that targets major infrastructure improvements on key corridors, which includes Complete Streets and stormwater designs. The following should be under construction next year:

  • Livernois (Puritan to Eight Mile Road). The last we heard the infamous median will be removed, the sidewalks widened, and bike lanes added.
  • W. McNichols (Marygrove College to UDM). This includes both an sidepath trail segment and bike lanes. The Fitzgerald Greenway just south of McNichols will also be under construction next year.

E. Jefferson will also get this road funding. We recently attended the initial stakeholder planning meeting. A public meeting is tentatively planned for December 12th. We’ll share more information as we get it. In the meantime, the city is offering office hours at the Elmwood Park Public Library on Tuesdays from 5 to 7pm on Nov. 20th, Dec. 4th, and December 18th. if you would like to learn more.

Our Hamilton Avenue bike lane project in Highland Park continues to move forward. If all goes as planned, we are expect that project to be constructed next year.

MDOT has also started planning for a major streetscape project on Grand River Avenue from the Southfield freeway to Berg Road. At a recent community meeting, most of the resident and business concerns focused on speeding cars and pedestrian safety. Bike lanes are also being discussed and MDOT is trying to find additional funding to continue this design from the Southfield to I-94.

One would expect news to slow as the weather turns chilly, but that’s certainly not the case.

Donate today to help us continue our work making Detroit a great place for biking, walking, and trails.

Categories
Complete Streets Newsletter

News from the Trail – September 2017
There’s so much going on in Detroit right now. Here are some highlights.

Cass Avenue Bike Lanes

This project is adds three miles of protected bike lanes from Grand Boulevard to Lafayette. It also includes sharrows, bike lanes, and some off street paths that make the connection further south to the RiverWalk.

We’ve been talking about this project for a long time. It’s gone through a number of iterations but now the paint (and posts) are hitting the pavement.

There will be an ongoing education component for all roads users, as:

  • It takes some time getting used to parking vehicles away from the curb.
  • These are the first bike boxes in Michigan.
  • Those large red painted rectangles are new and designate bus stopping areas that are also shared with bicyclists.

Until everyone gets up to speed on how this works, please be cautious and patient.

DLECTRICITY Light Bike Parade Help Needed

This fun, free event on September 23rd needs volunteers:

  • Bike Parade Set Up:  Help riders decorate their rides, distribute free products to those in need.
  • Info Booth/Participant Support:  Interact with riders as they prepare and wait for the ride to commence. Provide answers to any questions, help with decorations, and get riders lined up once decorated.
  • Ride Monitors:  Ride with parade to keep speeds down, as well as check and assist with any safety issues.
  • Route Street Monitors:  Support riders crossing at key intersections and assist riders in maintaining a flow within the group.

Contact Al Fields at fields6306@gmail.com to sign-up to help!

Other Quick Updates

  • We are working with the city of Highland Park and Giffels-Webster to design bike lanes along all of Hamilton Avenue.
  • We are updating our Inner Circle Greenway map/brochure. The City of Detroit should be releasing their Request for Proposals soon to create a Strategic Framework plan for the trail.
  • MDOT is adding protected bike lanes on most of Grand River from I-94 to to Cass Avenue.
  • The City of Detroit should start this month in adding protected bike lanes E. Jefferson from Rivard to Lakewood.

There’s more but we’ll save those for next time.

Upcoming Events
DLECTRICITY
Light Bike Parade
September 23rd 6pm
An easy 4-mile ride that is a not-to-miss experience!
Register for FreeOpen Streets
October 1st Noon to 5pm
Bike, Run, Blade, Walk, Play.
This free public event is on the streets from the new Beacon Park downtown to the heart of SW Detroit.

Bike Trails & Cocktails
October 17th evening
Detroit Distillery’s Whisky Factory. We will be providing an overview of where we are now and all the new projects that are forthcoming. We will send another update and mroe details when the event registration opens.

 
Categories
Complete Streets

MDOT to add protected bike lanes to Grand River Project

MDOT recently held an open house on August 10th, 2017 open house to discuss their Grand River Avenue reconstruction project.

Although this project is already under construction, the re-striping will be changed before it is completed in September. The seven-lane road between Cass Avenue and I-94 will be road-dieted to five lanes and (mostly) protected bike lanes. On-street parking will be removed except in locations where it is needed by small businesses. In those limited locations, bicyclists will loss the protected bike lane and have to share a 14-foot vehicle travel lane.

That is not certainly not ideal. However, the MDOT project team was unwilling to remove another lane of travel at this time, especially given the uncertainty of the new arena and its new traffic patterns. City planning did propose an alternative pavement marking where the protection drops that would alert motorists and encourage them to stay left.

Some small businesses did attend and affirm their need for on-street parking since they did not have off-street options. There seemed to be a respectful acknowledgement from both bicyclists and these owners that the road design wasn’t ideal but a fair compromise to benefit both parties.

Bicyclists also raised concerns about the maintenance of existing protected bike lanes. The city confirmed that they now have specialized equipment to sweep these lanes that are too narrow for standard width sweepers.

These Grand River bike lanes provide a key connection between many destinations, including Downtown, Woodbridge, Beacon Park, RiverWalk and more. East of Cass Avenue, a two-way cycletrack is planned to connect through downtown. It is anticipated that they will eventually get extended for the entirety of the Grand River.

With the completion of this year’s E. Jefferson, Cass, Warren, and Grand River Avenue projects, Detroit appears to be one of the top five U.S. cities for miles of protected bike lanes, up from 76th in 2015.

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