Tag: West Riverfront Park

Categories
Friends of the Joe Louis Greenway Greenways Newsletter

Friends of the Joe Louis Greenway – November 2019

Framework Plan Public Meetings

The City of Detroit is hosting two sessions titled “Joe Louis Greenway – Cocoa and Conversation”:

  • Wednesday, December 4th from 6-8pm at the Lexus Velodrome, 601 Mack Avenue (near I-75). Doors open at 5:30pm. The indoor walking track will be open and you can watch bicyclists riding on the track, too.
  • Tuesday, December 10th from 6-8pm at the Unity Baptist Church, 7500 Tireman Street. Doors open at 5:30pm.

It is expected that a updated draft of the Joe Louis Greenway Framework Plan will be presented.

This will be the third and final set of community input sessions the City of Detroit and its design team are organizing.  During the first and second set of community input sessions participants discussed and voted on greenway design elements such as surface, buffers, landscaping, fencing and special features.  The Framework Planning will be completed by February 2020.

The planned Joe Louis Greenway is 32 miles and will be constructed in phases. Here is the City of Detroit’s most recent routing plan.

What’s Under Construction

The Joe Louis Greenway includes other trail and streetscape projects. Three of those are currently under construction.

  • Livernois Streetscape — There is a offshoot of the Greenway that heads north along Livernois and connects to Ferndale. Livernois between Margareta and Eight Mile is being completely reconstucted. Wider sidewalks and sidewalk-level bike lanes are included. Most of the construction will be completed this year. The Livernois businesses have suffered a bit during construction, so we’re encouraging everyone to patronize them whenever possible.
  • Bagley Streetscape — This is a short segment of the proposed Greenway route between I-75 and 24th Street in Mexicantown. The reconstruction is making this street look and feel more like a pedestrian plaza (that happens to be lined with great Mexican food!) Depending on the weather, this project should be completed this year.
  • Riverfront Extension — This is a portion of the RiverWalk that connects the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park (formerly West Riverfront Park) with the RiverWalk near the former Joe Louis Arena site. Concrete has been poured on portions of this segment. We expect this to be open sometime next year.
Categories
Complete Streets Greenways Newsletter

News from the Trail – May 2018

Bike to Work Day is Friday, May 18th!

Register your pledge to ride to work and receive a free commemorative Bike to Work Day embroidered patch. It’s free.

Henry Ford LiveWellWe very excited to announce our 2018 title sponsor, Henry Ford LiveWell. Henry Ford LiveWell is Henry Ford Health System’s wellness center of excellence and aims to optimize the well-being of Henry Ford employees, patients and community members.

Other event sponsors include the office of Detroit Council member Scott Benson, AECOM,  American Cycle and Fitness, Detroit Future City, Downtown Detroit Partnership, Giffels-Webster, HNTB, OHM Advisors, MoGo, SEMCOG, Tour de Troit, Wayne State University, and Wheelhouse Detroit.

As in prior years, we’ll have morning commuter convoys that converge Downtown.

Since not everyone works downtown, there are two additional pit stops. All three gathering spots are open from 7am to 9am (except Midtown/WSU is open to 10am).

  • Spirit Plaza on Woodward between Jefferson and Larned. Free bike parking is provided by Wheelhouse Detroit from 7am to 6pm. Mayor Mike Duggan will address participants between 8am and 8:30am. PLEASE ATTEND TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR BETTER BIKE COMMUTING OPTIONS IN DETROIT.
  • Midtown/WSU Cass and Puntam. Hosted by Wayne State University.
  • New Center Park at Second and W. Grand Boulevard hosted by Henry Ford Health System

There will be free snacks, coffee, vendors, local discounts and giveaways at these locations for those participating.

Don’t forget to register and if you can, try to be at Spirit Plaza next Friday morning when the Mayor speaks between 8am and 8:30am.

D Brief Podcast

We dropped by the D Brief studios last week and talked about all the recent Detroit bike- and trail-related activities. It’s all captured on a podcast and available online. Give a listen.

Other Meetings this Month

  • There will be a public meeting on the West Riverfront Park on Monday, May 21, 6 to 8pm at the Roberto Clemente Recreation Center, 2621 Bagley, Detroit. There will be a project overview and a conversation with bothe the Community Advisory Team and the deisgn team.
  • An I-94 Resident Roundtable community meeting for District 5 is scheduled for Tuesday, May 22 from 6 to 8 pm at Next Energy, 461 Burroughs Street, Detroit. The I-94 project is being changed to improve biking and walking compared with the initial plans. Come to meeting to get the latest updates.
  • West Vernor Corridor Framework Community Meeting is Tuesday, May 22, 2018 from 6pm to 8pm at the Plaza Del Norte at the Mexicantown Latino Cultural Center, 2835 Bagley Avenue, Detroit. The City will be presenting on near-term projects for this neighborhood and wants to collect your feedback.
  • Jos Campau Greenway community meeting and public input session is Wednesday, May 23 at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, 2751 Robert Brady Drive, Detroit from 5:30 to 7pm. The City will be investing in improvements to the existing recreation path, including new play equipment, landscaping, and security measures. They are interested to hear what features will improve the path for your household. They will also discuss on street improvements to Jos Campau south of E Jefferson to the RiverWalk.

Categories
Complete Streets Greenways Newsletter Policy

News from the Trail – February 2018

The trails and biking momentum from 2017 has continued into 2018…

Belle Isle Strategic Plan

If you haven’t already heard, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is updating the 10-year strategic master plan for Belle Isle. This plan will shape how the park is operated and developed for years to come. There are two public meetings today, February 1st from 2pm to 4pm and 6pm to 8pm at the Outdoor Adventure Center. At these meetings the DNR will present on the draft plan and give take your comments.

If you are unable to attend, the draft plan is online and comments can be submitted until February 12th.

Quick Updates

  • The Detroit Water and Sewage Department is looking to green up the medians on Oakman Boulevard while also adding stormwater management features. They’ve having  a public meeting about this project this Saturday, February 3rd from 10:30am to noon at the Detroit Police Department 2nd Precint (13530 Lesure Street). What they’re doing here could be a model for greening up other popular biking routes and greenways around Detroit. More details
  • The Michigan Trails Summit is February 6th. The last we heard, the event was very close to selling out. Whether you’re in the event or not, feel free to join us that morning at 6:30am for a casual 3K run from the Marriott Motor Lobby at the Renaissance Center.
  • The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy West Riverfront Park design competition is heating up. The four teams will be making their pitches on February 8th. You can register for that online. Afterwards, their display boards and models will be on display at West Riverfront Park Public Exhibition at 1001 Woodward from February 10 – February 22, with daily hours from 11am until 8pm.
  • Our Joe Louis Greenway map is in final draft form. We expect to have it completed and printed before too long.
  • Our Hamilton Avenue bike lane design project is over half complete. We will then continue to work with Highland Park to get grant funding for construction.
  • We’re working with the Detroit Fitness Foundation for a fundraising event at the new Lexus Velodrome. We hope to have a date in the coming weeks, but it’s looking like March.
  • We were approved by the Michigan State Police get bicyclist and pedestrian crash data and analyze what affects the city’s new public lighting improvements are having. (Hint: it’s positive.)
  • We caught a legislative typo that inadvertently made all local bicycle ordinances enforceable in Michigan without posted signs. Yes, you can now get ticketed for riding in Hamtramck without a bicycle registration or for riding in Highland Park without a bell. We’re working with State Representative Stephanie Chang to get this corrected.
  • Lastly we’re working with multiple parties on greenway along the Rouge River from Hines Drive to Eight Mile. Yes, that’s getting serious!

Special shout out to volunteers Paul Vial and Mark Hall who have been a big help tackling these projects and moving us forward!