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History

Some History of the Uniroyal site

  • The Morgan and Wright Tire Company was the largest bicycle tire manufacturer in the world during the 1890s.
  • They moved their factory from Chicago to Detroit in 1906 to start making tires for the growing automobile industry.
  • They eventually became a division of the U.S. Rubber Company then Uniroyal Inc.
Illustration of a bicyclist getting a flat tire from the 1896 Morgan & Wright Bicycle catalog
Illustration from the 1896 Morgan & Wright catalog

By now you’ve likely heard the RiverWalk segment between Mt. Elliott Park and Gabriel Richard Park called the Uniroyal site, but why? Since 1906, a large portion of this property has been used for tire manufacturing, the last company bearing the name Uniroyal.

However, there’s an interesting bicycle history connection with this site.

The first company to manufacture tires at this location was Morgan & Wright. They were the largest bicycle tire manufacturer in the world during the 1890’s and located in Chicago. Shortly after the turn of the century, with the end of the Golden Era of Bicycles and the rise of automotive manufacturing, they moved their operations to Detroit. They continued making bicycle tires but primarily manufactured tires for cars and trucks.

This is another example of how the bicycling industry was the parent of the automotive industry. Bicyclists brought many innovations to transportation, including the first use of pneumatic tires, which the auto industry benefitted from.

Last note: As far as we know, Morgan & Wright have no relationship with the Wright Brothers.

Categories
Complete Streets Greenways

Our Belle Isle Mobility Comments

The below comments on the Belle Isle Mobility Plan draft were submitted to the DNR on July 24, 2023:

While we attended the video presentation (and have since rewatched it many times), we don’t feel we have enough information to fully weigh in on the changes proposed in the mobility study. We still have many design questions that prevent us from offering our full support at this time. However, there’s quite a bit that we do like and there are opportunities to make further improvements – 

10-foot vehicle travel lanes – We would like the plan to consistently use 10’ travel lanes. This will reduce speeding without other negative safety impacts.

Cycletrack on MacArthur Bridge – We like this design as it provides separation from the vehicle traffic. We also ask that:

  • This facility safely and efficiently connects with the West RiverWalk, East Jefferson, and East Grand Boulevard. We understand that the East Jefferson intersection is outside the scope of this plan, but it is absolutely critical that it is designed properly.
  • More information is provided on how this cycletrack connects with the bike lane that encircles the island.
  • The cycletrack is at least 12-feet wide, which can be accomplished with 10’ vehicle lanes. Per NACTO, “the desirable two-way cycle track width is 12 feet.” 
  • The buffer reduces road debris migrating from the vehicle lanes into the cycletrack. 
  • An automated, permanent bike counter and pedestrian counter is installed. 
  • A prominent sign be installed for travel lanes heading on to the island that clarifies bicyclists legal right to travel in the roadway. This can inform motorists and law enforcement on what to expect on the island and what is legal. 

Outer roads – We support the one-way to two-way conversions to improve safety, but think there’s still some opportunity for improvement. We think this will reduce the Vehicles Miles Traveled on the island, which is a benefit to those walking and biking, as well as teh environment. We do support the separated bike lane traveling clockwise around the island. 

  • We like that Sunset Drive remains one-way. For larger, faster cycling groups traveling counterclockwise on the island, this is where the groups are at their widest and the design accommodates that. However, we’re not sure the two roundabouts are necessary and they could cause issues for the larger groups. 
  • We are concerned about the transition from the single-lane on the Strand and would like to see this design. We’re not sure there’s much benefit having two-way vehicle traffic between Fountain Drive and Picnic Way. We’d prefer keeping this one-way for the larger cycling groups to allow them to pass slower moving vehicles, which is common in this busier section of the park. It would be ideal for the larger groups if the one-way vehicle travel continued to Nashua Drive where the Strand gains a travel lane. Again, the roundabouts seem problematic for the faster cycling groups, so their need and design should be very intentional. Other traffic calming treatments might be preferred. 
  • For the constrained section of Lakeside Drive, a 10-foot clockwise travel lane will free up space for cycling groups traveling counterclockwise. We do have a concern about groups making unsafe passing decisions on this constrained segment. 
  • For Riverbank, we would like to see additional space for the larger groups traveling counterclockwise. Having 10-foot lanes would help, but they would also be traveling near angled parking, which would be less safe. As with the constrained portion of Lakeside, we are concerned that the cycling groups will make unsafe passing decisions.

Other roads –  We generally find these roads to be less of a concern for bicyclists compared. 

  • We like the Central and Inselruhe Avenue promenades. 
  • We also like the shared use path along Loiter and Vista Drives but we’re not clear how this interfaces with the promenades, the forest pathways, and Iron Belle Trail loop. 
  • We support the reduction in curb radii as a means of traffic calming and shorting crosswalks.
  • We have received multiple reports of motorists traveling in the Central Flatwoods bike lanes, so we really appreciate this road being converted to a walking and biking pathway. We don’t see the need for any one-way vehicle travel on this segment. 

Bike lane maintenance – We want to see that the DNR and/or MDOT is committed to a maintenance plan for all of the bike lanes.  Too often we’ve seen separated bike lanes suffer from a lack of maintenance, resulting in debris and stormwater collecting at the curb. 

Stormwater Management – We support adding infrastructure and trees that naturally manage stormwater. We also find that removing pavement and other impervious surfaces is an even simpler solution that should be considered in all mobility designs. It seems that this plan adds to the island’s total impervious surface area, which is a concern.

Belle Isle’s Bicycle Heritage – There is a unique opportunity to celebrate the island’s bicycle heritage, especially with the Bicycle Pavillion.  Bicyclists were riding on the island well before the first car was ever driven in Detroit. There were many prominent bicycle events on the island from major races in the 1890s to the Wolverine 200 ride. We would like to see how this connection between history and mobility could be included within the plan. 

Categories
Complete Streets Greenways Newsletter

News from the Trail – September 2019

Iron Belle Trail bridge over I-94

I-94 Project

Riding with MDOT and Planning Director Maurice Cox on a tour of the I-94 project to discuss its impacts on walking and bikingWhy is the Greenways Coalition involved in a freeway project? Freeways in Detroit have disconnected neighborhoods across the city for those on foot or bike. They disconnect them for motor vehicles, too, which funnels all traffic to use high-stress bridges (e.g. Forest and Warren over the Lodge or Mt. Elliott and Conner over I-94.) While Detroit freeways have pedestrian bridges, they are often poorly maintained and have ramps that dump you onto the service drive with speeding motorists.

The I-94 project in Detroit is one attempt to make improvements. We didn’t like the early designs and starting raising issues a decade ago. With the city’s actions, MDOT has proposed major design changes. Key bridges we bike and walk over will no longer be permanently removed — and they’ll be improved. Those pedestrian bridges will be converted to Complete Streets with wide sidewalks, bike lanes, and no ramps. They’re will be fewer new service drives.

One major highlight is the new Iron Belle Trail/Conner Creek Greenway trail segment and bridge over I-94. This provides a safer alternative to the busy (and getting busier thanks to FCA) Conner Avenue.

We’ve written more about this update on our web site with links to MDOT’s Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement or DSEIS.

Public comments on the DSEIS can be submitted through October 28th. MDOT is hosting two public meetings on October 10th in Midtown and on the Eastside. The email address for comments is MDOT-I94comments@michigan.gov.

Though not part of the DSEIS, the Second Avenue bridge over I-94 is getting rebuilt next year and it will be a major improvement for non-motorized users. The Cass bridge will be replaced in 2021. The entire project won’t be done until about 2036, so stay healthy in order to be around for the grand opening.

Joe Louis Greenway

Discussion of affordable housing & economic development on the Joe Louis GreenwayThe City of Detroit has wrapped up a second round of public meetings for the greenway. This time the conversations dove into more details regarding design, affordable housing,  economic development, and more.

One of the biggest changes has been the greenway’s routing in Southwest Detroit. We had originally proposed that the greenway follow W. Vernor since it already had bike lanes and was part of the Southwest Detroit Greenlink. However, the current bike lanes are not ideal and certainly not family friendly. The road is not wide enough for other designs that would preserve the well-used vehicle parking. So, the city is routing the greenway further south and using W. Jefferson. This change connects more points of interest, including the recently renovated Riverside Park, Fort Wayne, the Gordie Howe International Bridge, Woodmere, and Patton Park.

The Framework Plan is expected to be completed by February.

History of Greenways in Detroit

We worked with Gwen Gell from the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan who created this amazing report: The Legacy of Bicycles in Detroit Michigan: A look at greenways through time.

Detroit’s automotive heritage casts a heavy shadow over its trails and bicycling history. This report helps shine a light on the latter.

As summary of it with the graphic timeline is now on our web site. There’s also a link to the full PDF version.

Other News

  • Atwater Beach/Valade Park construction continues on the RiverWalk. There’s no announced opening date as of yet but we expect it to be in late October.
  • Spirit Plaza is under construction as it receive an $800,000 upgrade after Council voted to make it permanent.
  • The city’s numerous Complete Streets projects are under construction as well, including Jos Campau (part of the Jos Campau greenway), Bagley Street (part of the Iron Belle Trail), and Livernois (part of the Joe Louis Greenway.) These are major reconstruction projects that are affecting local businesses along them. Please consider supporting these businesses.
  • We recently biked over to Windsor (using the Tunnel Bus bike racks!) to present at the Trans-Canada Trail – Ontario annual meeting. They were very interested in learning what is happening with Detroit and Michigan trails now that we will eventually  be connected via the Gordie Howe International Bridge. There is a great deal of interest in how we promote trail tourism on both sides of the border.
  • We were recently featured on the Beaumont Housecall podcast with Dr. Asha Shajahan. We talked about biking, trails, health and much more.
  • We continue to be involved in the electric scooter discussion, including this recent Bridge article, E-scooters are fast, unregulated and all over Detroit. What could go wrong? We think scooters are another good reason to have a protected bike lane network in Detroit.

Upcoming October Events

  • Conant Streetscape Project community meeting, October 2nd 5:30pm at the Lasky Recreational Center, 13200 Fenelon Street. More details
  • Free Bikes 4 Kidz is looking for donated used bikes for Detroit youth. The big donation day is Saturday, October 5th from 9am to 2pm at 22 Henry Ford Health System locations across Metro Detroit. They are also seeking volunteers. Please help make this program even more successful than last year’s.
  • There isn’t an Open Streets in Detroit this year, but Dearborn is hosting their first! It’s Sunday, October 6th from 11am to 3pm. More details
  • Two community workshops are planned for Corktown on October 9th and 10th. They are focused on transportation, including parking, streetscapes, circulation (e.g. 1 & 2-way traffic), and mobility. These workshops are also in partnership with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) who is kicking off a Michigan Avenue Planning & Environmental Linkages Study. This 16-month MDOT study will “formalize a future” for Michigan Ave., from Campus Martius to I-96/75 interchange.
  • Lastly, the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance is having their Annual Meeting on October 19th at Belle Isle. It’s a free event but you must register. As part of the event, we are leading a short bike tour at 10am, but there’s also a paddle trip and history walk.

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