MDOT’s Project List

Crain’s Detroit has posted a list of the MDOT projects on their economic stimulus list. As we reported earlier, designing and re-constructing the entire I-275 Bike Path is on their list.

Also on their list is for Michigan Avenue: Milling and resurfacing from Livernois to Rosa Parks; $10 million. Will this project include bike lanes like those planned for Corktown, just to the east? We’ll find out.

DNR Project List

Given the large backlog in DNR capital repairs and improvements, it’s not surprising to see their list is quite long. Trail-related highlights include:

• Statewide: 600 miles rail-trail surface improvements
• Proud Lake: Floating boardwalk and bridge connection for equestrian trails and the canoe launch to the Powers Unit
• Sterling State Park: Surface improvements to connect internal trail system to City of Monroe’s trail system at Elm Street
• Lakelands Trail: Nine miles of asphalt paving/aggregate equestrian trail project, and two staging areas in Pinckney Township;?6 mile asphalt paving/aggregate equestrian trail project, trail head parking in Putnam Township
• Tri-Centennial State Park: Phase III, development of the mulit-use trail corridor. (This is would extend the Riverwalk through the park and provide connection to the Dequindre Cut.)

Clinton River Trail/MTGA

Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance submitted many trail projects including two for the Clinton River Trail:

• Construct a bicycle/pedestrian bridge over Telegraph Rd. to mitigate high-traffic crossing on rail-trail
• Construct a bike/pedestrian safety island on Orchard Lake Rd. and make trail alignment perpendicular to road to provide continuity and a safe crossing between West Bloomfield Trail and Clinton River trail

New Center Council

There are a slew of interesting projects requested for Detroit’s New Center, including the New Center Bike Lane Greenway Connector Project (along Second and Third Avenues, connecting New Center to Wayne State) and a skate/BMX park.

Other Stimulus Project Requests

There are far more requests than just MDOT’s.

In fact the state just created a special website that discusses this stimulus funding, now called Michigan’s Recovery and Reinvestment Plan.

This new web site does have a list of all the requests they’ve received. Yes, there are over 17,000 requests.

That includes 167 projects from Detroit. All of Detroit’s construction-ready greenways are listed, including Conner Creek, Corktown/Mexicantown, Midtown Loop (and Canfield Connector), Southwest Detroit, and Dequindre Cut.

The entire Detroit Non-Motorized Transportation Plan implementation is on the list, which includes striping 400 miles of bike lanes. And similarly, bike lanes along Detroit’s east end of Jefferson are also listed.

A project to rebuild the City Airport hangers along Conner/Outer Drive is on the list. This is also required to make room for the Conner Creek Greenway.

Focus:HOPE has project requests, one of which calls for adding bike lanes to Oakman Boulevard in Highland Park.

The Hamtramck Trail is also on the list for Hamtramck.

Clearly not all these projects can be funded. Michigan is asking municipalities to prioritize their requests. While indications are some of these bike projects will receive funding, nothing yet is set in stone.

What other trail-related projects of interest in the list for Metro Detroit?

A View of the Clinton River from the trail

Congratulations to Rochester Hills for their recent purchase of greenspace.

From the Daily Tribune:

The land, located east of Livernois and north of Avon, adjoins the Clinton River Trail. It was paid for with money from a 0.3-mill 10-year millage passed in September 2005 for the purpose of acquiring and preserving natural green space in the city.

The land acquisitions are to permanently preserve wildlife habitats, protect woodlands, wetlands, rivers and streams and expand the Clinton River Greenway and other trail corridors.

If not mistaken, this land is on the north side of the Clinton River Trail and contains some informal deer paths/singletrack.  This land acuisition may allow public access to the Clinton River Trail from the north — a huge benefit to those of us using this trail for transportation.

This isn’t the last land acquisition so long as Rochester Hills has it’s 0.3 mill greenspace millage.

They’re inventoried all of the potential greenspace within their boundaries and have prioritized their acquisition.  There is an excellent map on-line showing this.

Proposed trail bridge over Telegraph Road in Pontiac

The Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (MNRTF) Board has recommended funding for 81 recreation projects and land acquisitions totaling $48.5 million be funded for 2008.

This was the most ever awarded for Trust Fund grants.  This is due to the higher prices paid for mineral (including oil & gas) leases on state property.

“Michigan is blessed with natural resources and special places that should be protected and enjoyed for generations to come,” said Governor Granholm. “These recommendations represent ways that we can ensure that Michigan citizens and visitors will be able to enjoy outdoor recreation now and in the future.”

A Threat to the Trust Fund

The Trust Fund is set up so that it can continue to fund recreation projects and land acquisition projects after the gas and oil run out.  That’s not the threat.

The threat is the Transportation Funding Task Force who recently recommended that the Trust Fund monies be diverted into the transportation budget.  As a whole, this was perhaps their only out-of-the-box recommendation yet it only shows how out-of-touch they are with reality.

Fortunately in 1985 Michigan voters put the Trust Fund in the state constitution to protect it from bad ideas such as this.

In the words of Dennis Muchmore, the MUCC Executive Director, “Raiding the Trust Fund would be an outrageous and unwarranted attempt to circumvent the public will.”

2008 Recommended Grants – Recreation Projects

Clinton River Trail Bridge (Pontiac), $485,000. This project will construct a new pedestrian bridge, approach and ramps over Telegraph Road.  This is absolutely huge and it almost didn’t make the cut.  This is only partial funding.  Additional grant money will be required.

Bell Creek Park Non-Motorized Trailway (Redford), $450,000. This project includes development of 600 feet of elevated boardwalk across a floodplain of the Bell Branch of the Rouge River, connecting two sidewalk ends. A 75-foot long bicycle/pedestrian bridge will span the river.

Kensington Metropark-Milford Trail Connector, $315,000. The project would include 1.2 miles of paved trail from the Kensington Metropark loop trail to the Milford-Kensington Trail (at the Dairy Queen.)

2008 Recommended Grants – Land Acquisitions

DNR  Southeast Lower Peninsula Land Consolidation, $4 million. This project will acquire various properties within Southeast Michigan, but especially private land within our state parks.

Academy Preserve Acquisition (Monroe), $2,192,500. This project will acquire approximately 128 acres of open space in the City of Monroe with a portion of Frenchtown Township. The site includes an oak savannah, oak-hickory forest, lowland forest, farmland and a forested island in the River Raisin.  There you go, Erie Hiker!

Michigan Air-Line Railway (West Bloomfield), $1,452,500. This project will acquire approximately 17 acres, or 2.5 miles, of railway corridor that connects the existing West Bloomfield trail west to Haggery Road.  This is great news for a trail project we discussed earlier.

This abandoned railway is now a trail through Pontiac

Back in 2001, I was working for the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and taking photos of what is now the Clinton River Trail in Pontiac.  The rail line passed behind a cul-de-sac of new houses just west of downtown Pontiac.

One of the homeowners approached me and asked what I was doing.  He didn’t seem too enthused about me walking behind these homes and taking photos.

I began by explaining our plan to convert this abandoned rail line into a walking and biking trail.  He didn’t seem too sold on the idea, so I noted that trails increase the property values of surrounding homes.  That worked.

He offered me a glass of cold lemonade and said if there was anything I needed, just ask.

A new trail study out of Ohio only confirms what other studies have found and what I told that concerned homeowner:

Across the United States, many conversions of abandoned railroad rights-of-ways into trails have faced opposition from surrounding property owners. Much of the opposition derives from the fear that developing trails would cause a decrease in property values because of loss of privacy, increase in noise, traffic, litter and crime.

The objective of this study is to assess the impact of the Little Miami Scenic Trail on property values. To accomplish this task, the hedonic pricing technique was employed to measure the impact of the trail on single-family residential property values in southwest Ohio. Several of the variables used in this model were measured using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software.

The analysis suggests that, each foot increase in distance to the trail decreases the sale price of a sample property by $7.05. In other words, being closer to the Little Miami Scenic Trail adds value to the single family residential properties.

Original trestle over the Clinton River in Pontiac

The Clinton River Trail has come a long way after some long struggles. The negotiations to buy the land seemed endless at the time. One of the low points was when the railroad put up for sales signs on the property while we trying to negotiate an affordable price. Fortunately a lot of good folks were pushing for the trail, including Dan Keifer and County Commissioner Bob Gosselin (then a state representative.)

That low point was soon forgotten as the trail was acquired and developed into what it is now.

Last night was a visioning workshop to discuss and determine on what trail features and amenities need to be added in order to make the Clinton River Trail world-class.

It was a very successful workshop that was very well attended. There were the usual faces that have been supportive through the years, along with many new faces. It’s great to see the continued interest in this great community asset and it leaves little doubt that the trail is well on its way to becoming world class.