m-bike.org

Author: Todd Scott

  • Fordson Island: A key greenway connection

    The Detroit News is reporting about an initial clean up of Fordson Island in the Rouge River.

    As noted in the article, the island is part of greenway connection between Hines Drive/Rouge Gateway and the Southwest Detroit Greenlink/Corktown.

    A conceptual master plan from 2002 shows the Rouge Gateway continuing to follow the Rouge downstream. Currently the Gateway trail ends at Michigan Avenue, but with this plan it would extend southeast to the Fort Street bridge over the river. Fordson Island is directly upstream from that bridge.

    And  as we mentioned a couple years ago, the Marathon Oil Company, the island’s primary land owner, wants to donate it for public greenspace. And that pledge to donate the land meant a proposed change to the master plans. That change is to shift the trail from the east river bank to the west and have the trail go across the island.

    This connection could really spur economic development — even if it only connects those hungry cyclists on Hines Drive with the awesome Southwest Detroit taquerias.

  • IKEA gives bikes to all its U.S. employees

    Yes, all the IKEA workers at their Canton store are getting a free bike this year. In fact all 12,400 IKEA US workers are getting bikes this year.

    From their press release:

    “It’s been a good year for IKEA, so what better way to celebrate our success than to thank our IKEA co-workers who made this happen. Our big reveal today will be a fun day as we unload 12,400 new bikes at IKEA US locations. This is our way of saying ‘thanks IKEA co-workers for being strongly committed to working together.’ We hope this bike will be taken in the spirit of the season while supporting a healthy lifestyle and everyday sustainable transport,” commented Mike Ward, IKEA US President.

    With a strong commitment to good health and being environmentally conscious, IKEA selected an all terrain bike as the holiday co-worker gift for 2010. What makes it even more special is that the delivery of bikes is a total surprise for all co-workers.

    Why a bike? Because when it comes to sustainable transport, a bicycle is a great option. And when it comes to healthy living, riding a bike is one of the best cardio forms of exercise.

    The giveaway was announced yesterday. The bikes have arrived at the Canton store.

    It would be interesting to see if this investment in their employees resulted in a healthier workforce with reduced health care costs.

    Via Bike Portland

  • More updates on the Detroit RiverWalk

    Last week we mentioned that the Detroit RiverWalk, Dequindre Cut, and Milliken State Park were recommended for $34.4 million grant funding. While it would be nearly impossible to top that news, there are other RiverWalk updates since then.

    To begin with, the following was posted on the Detroit Riverfront page on Facebook (which has 12,929 likes!):

    News Flash: The construction project on the Dequindre Cut is complete and the entire 1.35 mile greenway is open. Also, the parking lot at Rivard Plaza is now open!

    While we have not been there yet to confirm, this rebuilt segment of Atwater is to have bike lanes.

    More on the Uniroyal site

    Today’s Crain’s Detroit Business includes an article on the Uniroyal site cleanup.

    This site is the abandoned river property which sits between the MacArthur Bridge (to Belle Isle) and Mt Elliot Park. This is a major missing segment of the RiverWalk. It could also be the terminus for the Gleaner’s Greenway currently being studied.

    But it’s not just development plans riding on the cleanup of the Uniroyal site.

    Its access to the Detroit River makes it among the last unfinished sections of the 3.5-mile RiverWalk path, said Faye Nelson, CEO of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy.

    She said the funds have been secured to build the RiverWalk on the Uniroyal site once the cleanup is finished.

    “Once this site is made available to us, we can make a critical connection to make up the majority of the remaining construction,” she said. “We’re eagerly looking forward to beginning work there.”

    If the cleanup begins next March and lasts 18 months as stated then the RiverWalk construction could begin as early as 2013.

    A perfect Holiday gift

    Want to give something that will last forever? The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy is selling bricks on the RiverWalk.

  • Brief presentation on Detroit bike/walk progress

    Yes, Detroit now has more miles of bike lanes than all the other communities in Oakland, Macomb, and Wayne Counties combined.

    This was part of a presentation given at the 2010 Oakland County Trails Summit this fall. That presentation is available with audio at the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance web site.

    Neil Billetdeaux from JJR also presented at the Summit on the Dequindre Cut and other Detroit projects. A PDF of his presentation is available as well.

  • Red Bike Green: Building a Black bike culture

    This is a very interesting article and video about the Red Bike Green project out of Oakland, California.

    Their mission?

    Red, Bike and Green is a community-building collective of Black urban cyclists seeking to improve the physical and mental health, economy and local environment of African Americans by creating a relevant and sustainable Black bike culture.

    Jenna Burton explains more about the group and what they’re accomplishing, which in many ways is similar to what the East Side Riders are doing in Detroit.

    Yes, it’s great that Detroit has such great turnouts for Critical Mass and Tour de Troit, but it would be better if those crowds were larger still and more representative of the communities through which they ride.

    Grassroots efforts such as Red Bike Green and the East Side Riders can help make that happen.