Categories
Events Greenways Newsletter

News from the Trail – September 2023

Our monthly newsletter is now online with updates on the Joe Louis Greenway, I-375 replacement, Bikes 4 Employees and much more.

Categories
Uncategorized

Top Bike/Trail Projects for 2019

Detroit bike and trail progress is moving at a pace we never could have imagined when we started over a decade again. Back then we celebrated sharrows. Now Motown has leapfrogged other US cities to become a leader in building non-motorized infrastructure.

This doesn’t appear to be slowing down in 2019 and we’ve picked out a number of projects that illustrate this progress.

Detroit RiverWalk

It’s exciting every time a new piece of the RiverWalk puzzle is completed and a gap is closed. Soon the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy will have more construction ongoing that ever before.

  • Atwater Beach near Jos Campau is under construction now and is expected to be opened in September. This is going to be a very unique and popular gathering place along the Riverfront with its bridge and sandy beach (but no water access.)
  • The groundbreaking for the Uniroyal site should occur this year. This is the major gap between Mt. Elliott Park, Gabriel Richard Park, and the MacArthur Bridge to Belle Isle.
  • The city of Detroit expects the Jos Campau Greenway will be under construction this year. This will provide access from the RiverWalk to E. Vernor along Jos Campau Avenue and on the existing public pathway. A pathway between Larned and E. Jefferson will be added as well.
  • On the West Riverfront, the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park received $50 million in October, $40 million of which is for construction. While work continues on the park, it is not scheduled to be open until Fall 2022.
  • The Riverfront Connector between the Joe Louis Arena and Centennial Park was recommended for a $3 million Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grant. Additional funding is required to build this trail segment along the river.
  • Planning continues on the Southwest Greenway between Centennial park and Roosevelt Park. This should get quite interesting with Ford Motor Company renovating the train station and now owning some of the property required for the trail. Their community benefits agreement includes verbal support for the greenway.
  • Last but not least, the city of Detroit said they would be repaving W. Jefferson between Centennial Park and Riverside Park. This would be a major park connector. Currently the road appears war torn. This could be the most underrated project on this list.
Categories
Greenways

Detroit’s TIGER strikes out… for now

The City of Detroit submitted an $18.285 million TIGER grant request last year to construct the Joe Louis Greenway (formerly known as the Inner Circle Greenway.) This $500 million US Department of Transportation grant program is super-competitive but we had high hopes given the value and scope of this great trail project.

However, we learned last Friday that Detroit’s grant wasn’t chosen.

Was this the end of TIGER funding? No one knows. These transportation grants began as part of President Obama’s 2009 stimulus package. They’ve been quite popular with Congress.

In many ways TIGER grants are a more transparent and competitive replacement for the old High Priority Projects (HPP). These project funds would get included in transportation bills in order to get votes in Congress. The Detroit RiverWalk got funding through this, but then so did the infamous Bridge to Nowhere in Alaska.

We certainly do hope that TIGER grants continue for the reason we gave in this recent People for Bikes article: “…there just aren’t very many funding opportunities unless you want to take a really long time to construct it over multiple grants.”

Regardless, progress on the Joe Louis Greenway continues. The city is doing its due diligence (e.g. environmental testing) of the Conrail railroad property. If all goes as expected, they should be purchasing the property this summer.

Once purchased, a Framework Plan will be created for the entire trail, including the portion within Highland Park. This will be a great opportunity for the community to provide their input on the trail’s design and operation.

It’s also a time to look at adjacent land uses and how those might complement the trail. Adding green stormwater infrastructure is a no brainer, as is affordable housing — a tool for mitigating residential displacement from rising property values.

Lastly, our new Joe Louis Greenway map is at the printers now and should be available by spring. A PDF of the map is available now. Thanks to the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s Doppelt Family Fund for making this possible.

Categories
Greenways History In the Media

Goodbye, Inner Circle Greenway. Hello, Joe Louis Greenway.

Joe Louis Greenway MapThe 26-mile greenway that wraps around the cities of Detroit, Hamtramck, and Highland Park has a new name.

Back in February 2017, Free Press columnist Rochelle Riley asked, “When Joe Louis Arena is gone, how do we honor Detroit legend?” Legend isn’t used lightly with Louis. He was so much more than a world champion boxer. From breaking color barriers to fighting fascism, Louis was an inspirational both inside and outside of the ring.

So when Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan proposed naming the Inner Circle Greenway in his honor, it also lifted the greenway. A conceptual asphalt trail around the city in 2008 was now being named after the city’s most impactful athlete. Riley’s followup column wrote, “Detroit cements honor for Joe Louis with a giant greenway around the city.”

Louis’s family approved of the naming. That shouldn’t be much of a surprise as his son is a bicyclist and is a board member for the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.

“I am delighted that the (greenway) will be named after my father Joe Louis,” said Joe Louis Barrow, Jr. son of the famous boxer. “It is a fitting tribute to a person who had a positive impact on so many people.”

Mayor Duggan added, “It will unite neighborhoods from all corners of this city in a dedicated area for walking and jogging and biking.”

Before this announcement, we contacted retired city attorney Jim Edwards. Jim was an early champion of the trail and coined the original name. He was very supportive of the renaming.

One interesting coincidence with the original name was the this caricature of P.N. Jacobsen standing in an “inner circle”. Jacobsen led the creation of the Detroit Terminal Railroad — which makes up about 8 miles of the greenway — and was an active Detroit cyclist during the 1880s and 1890s.

He wrote an article called The Detroit Wheelmen for the Outing Magazine in 1891. It noted that a result of the city putting on asphalt on the streets, “Wheeling has attained a height of popularity in Detroit heretofore unknown.”

Of course this was years before Detroit was Motor City — and we’re not advocating relinquishing that title. We just suggest adding a new one.

Detroit, world heavyweight greenway champion.

More information on the Joe Louis Greenway

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 Free
Open 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
Newsletter

News from the Trail – June 2017

Happy National Trails Day!

Bike to Work Day

Thanks to all who participated in Detroit’s largest ever Bike to Work Day event. Special thanks also to our title sponsor Henry Ford LiveWell who helped make the event a success. Henry Ford Health System also had the most employees register for the event, followed by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, and the City of Detroit. Look for an even bigger event in 2018.

Highland Park Grants

We’ve recently received two grants to help build trails and bike lanes in the city of Highland Park.

The first is from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Fund for Design and Access, which is administered through the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan. This grant is for the development of bike lanes on all of Hamilton Avenue within Highland Park.

The second is from the Doppelt Family Trail Development Fund administered by the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. This grant is to support the development of the Inner Circle Greenway through Highland Park.

We’re excited to get started on both projects. We’re also discussing a number of partnerships with others that can further enhance these efforts.

Quick Updates

  • Thanks DALMAC for a $2,000 grant towards the new Detroit Bike and Trail Map we’re creating. Sponsorship opportunities are available.
  • Congratulations MoGo, Detroit’s first public bike share program for having over 4,000 rides during the first week.
  • The Detroit Planning Department’s Detroit Rides web site and social media have launched. We’ve been helping with the content through the Detroit Bike and Pedestrian Safety and Education task force.
  • Cass Avenue protected bike lanes will be installed this summer after the road is repaved. A correction from our May update — the city of Detroit is paying for this project rather than MDOT.
  • Warren Avenue protected bike lanes from Trumbull to Russell will be under construction this year as well. This will be the first two-way cycletrack in Michigan. It’ll also have it’s own traffic signal heads.
  • Have you seen our new embroidered patch? We sold them at the recent Coupe Day Event over Memorial Weekend and will have them at future events as well.

Upcoming Events
W Vernor Planning Mtgs
Saturday, June 3rd

Planning for neighborhoods along W. Vernor. 10am or 3pm meeting times.
More details

Come Together for
Back Alley Bikes

June 7th at 7pm

Enjoy drinks and hors d’oeuvres with our friends at Back Alley Bikes.
Event Registration