Below is a recent press release from the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance.  I am quite thrilled to be in this new position and look forward to helping implement trails within the City of Detroit.

New Detroit Greenways Coordinator: A Boost to City Trails

Detroit’s greenways, existing and in the works, will get a boost with a new greenways coordinator set to begin today.   A lead grant from the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan for $20,000 was awarded to Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance (MTGA) to provide the mechanism for coordination and collaboration among eight individual non-profit groups with greenways in various stages of implementation within the City of Detroit.

MTGA has contracted with Todd Scott from Royal Oak to serve in the position.  Todd was formerly Executive Director of Michigan Mountain Biking Association and has held numerous advisory positions related to trails and on-road bicycling, including the Citizen’s Committee for Michigan State Parks, Oakland Trails Advisory Council, MDOT Metro Region Nonmotorized Advisory Committee, City of Ferndale Bicycle Committee, and the League of Michigan Bicyclists.  “Todd’s skilled advocacy, wealth of knowledge about nonmotorized transportation and recreation, and understanding of and enthusiasm for the revitalization of Detroit are key ingredients that he brings to this project,” stated Nancy Krupiarz, Executive Director of MTGA.  Todd has spent a great deal of time in the City, as a recreational participant and an advocate, and he is passionate about the economic, health, and transportation benefits that an interconnected greenway system will bring to the area.”

A unified Detroit greenway network is needed to contain costs, develop new partnerships and volunteers, deepen communication within the City and generate momentum for an interconnected system.  The Detroit Greenways Coordinator will facilitate coordination and collaboration in terms of maintenance, fundraising, security, programming, promotions and development.

Funding was received from the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, which is a permanent community endowment built by gifts from thousands of individuals and organizations committed to the future of  southeast Michigan by supporting a wide variety of activities benefiting education, arts and culture, health, human services, community development and civic affairs.

The initial group of greenways in the Detroit Greenways Network may include the Midtown Loop Greenway, Southwest Detroit/Dearborn Greenway, Lyndon Avenue Greenway, Dequindre Cut, Connor Creek Greenway, Corktown-Mexicantown Greenlink, Detroit Riverfront, Hamtramck Greenway, and Fort Street Greenway.

Tags: CFSEM, Detroit, MTGA, Trails

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 29th, 2008 at 9:28 am and is filed under Detroit, Trails. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.