Our October newsletter is now online! Many ribbon cuttings, public meetings, surveys, and more.

Our October newsletter is now online! Many ribbon cuttings, public meetings, surveys, and more.
Below are our comments on the draft MDOT 2024-208 Five-Year Transportation Plan. You can submit your own comments before September 8th, 2023.
At first glance, it appeared this five-year plan removed prior MDOT commitments for the Iron Belle Trail/Conner Creek Greenway bridge over I-94. After conversations with the City of Detroit and MDOT, we learned that it wasn’t removed. It was no longer individually identified and had been wrapped into another I-94 phase line item. This is confusing. We ask that MDOT consistently list projects for each five-year plan so the public can more accurately determine what changes exist or do not exist.
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:
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.
Other roads – We generally find these roads to be less of a concern for bicyclists compared.
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.
Our February Newsletter is now online!
We have a fundraiser on Facebook. Facebook is matching the first $7 million in all donations starting on #GivingTuesday at 8 AM.
If you prefer, you can setup your own Facebook fundraiser with the Detroit Greenways Coalition as the beneficially.
We also have a donation page on our website with payments handled securely through PayPal. There’s the option for regular monthly or annual donations as well.
There is no better time to make Detroit a more walkable and more bikeable city. We’ve seen COVID-19 affect our family, friends, and communities. We’ve been unable to do many things we enjoy doing while experiencing the added stress of social distancing.
As a result, many of us have been spending more time outside, at the parks and trails, on our bikes, in our kayaks, running, or walking. It’s helping keep us physically, mentally, and socially healthy, while strenghening our resistance to potential illness. For many it’s also providing an alternative safe travel option with good social distancing.
Others are discovering these outdoor options as well. We’ve seen trail usage increase by over 40% on the Dequindre Cut this year. We’ve also see a growing momentum to make Detroit a more convenient, safe, and fun place to walk and bike — a place with more trails, more Complete Streets (e.g. better sidewalks, bike lanes, speed humps), and more greenspace.
Your donation will help keep pushing this vision forward, not only for us, but for many who will benefit from a safer and healthier city yet are unable to contribute. Your support will enable us to continue our advocacy and technical assistance citywide as we have since 2007.
There an added incentive for donating this year. Under the CARES Act, individual taxpayers can deduct up to $300 in cash donations — even when taking the standard deduction.
We appreciate any and all support.
Stay Healthy,
Todd Scott, Executive Director
There is an opportunity for major improvements to Michigan Avenue’s design through Corktown so mark your calendar for Tuesday, December 2nd at 6pm. MDOT is hosting a virtual public meeting to collect your input. (Meeting details) They need your input!
We’ve come quite a ways from ten years ago when we first asked MDOT to add regular bike lanes to this state trunkline. It was met with a great deal of resistance from both legal and engineering standpoints. We continued to push, find answers to the issues, and was eventually successful. Later those became protected bike lanes.
Now we can push this design forward into something much better, e.g. raised or sidewalk-level bike lanes with curb protection, protected intersections, wider sidewalks, and green stormwater infrastructure. One priority we already shared with MDOT is the need for a maintenance plan. We want a great design that’s also free of debris.
This isn’t just a planning exercise. $20 million in construction funding has been allocated for 2022.
Happening in parallel is the MDOT Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAV) Corridor project along Michigan Avenue and I-94 between Detroit and Ann Arbor. They are looking to design “an innovative infrastructure solution that allows for a mix of connected and autonomous vehicles, traditional transit vehicles, shared mobility, and freight and personal vehicles.” We’re on the project’s stakeholder group and really want to ensure that shiny new transportation concepts don’t interfere with the tried-and-true mobility provided by biking and walking. We’re optimistic given that Mark de la Vergne, Detroit’s former Cheif of Mobility Innovation is now leading this project for the contractor, Cavanue.
Of course Ford’s Michigan Central project is along this section of Michigan Avenue. They recently held a public meeting to share more of their vision for the former train station, surrounding campus, and May Creek Greenway. There’s additional information in this Detroit News article, Ford unveils Michigan Central site plan for Corktown.
The good news? The Strand pavement near the Coast Guard station has been replaced. The bad news? The last we checked, some sections of the bike lane are in really poor condition here. Still, you should be able to get around them.
Other updates include the reconfiguration of Central Avenue on the eastern portion of the island. It’s now marked for eastbound vehicle travel only with a two-way shared-use pathway. We would have preferred seeing vehicles prohibited altogether from this roadway, but this is an improvement — and the surface has been repaved.
Phase 1 of the new Iron Belle Trail is also under construction from the beach to the Boat Club. This will be a much welcomed trail for all but the faster, fitness-oriented bicyclists who will prefer staying on the road. The DNR also recommended $1.35 million in Land Water and Conservation Funds (LWCF) to build Phase 2 of this trail which will eventually extend this trail around the island.
We are continuing to advocate for safer bike lane designs on the island, but especially for the MacArthur Bridge. Unfortunately we do not have any updates at this time.
Huron-Clinton Metroparks to establish Detroit presence through agreement with Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, Crain’s Detroit Business.
Drivers let their focus slip as they get used to partial automation, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Piloting wayfinding to connect community to resource centers in Detroit, Smart Growth America.