Make sure you stop by the M.T.G.A. booth at the RiverDays event this weekend on the RiverWalk

The Metro Times has a new article, Rolling on the Riverwalk, which provides an overview of Tri-Centennial state park construction and how it fits in with the Detroit RiverWalk.

In the current era of uncertainty in the auto industry, the Riverwalk is promising a bright future for human-powered movement.

And on a related note, today the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is celebrating the 90th anniversary of Michigan State Parks. There will be a cake cutting at Tri-Centennial State Park at 4pm today, June 20th. So come downtown, enjoy the RiverWalk, Dequindre Cut, and have some cake.

The Detroit News has an article, Michigan ramps up roads and trails to make bicycling easier.

The Michigan Department of Transportation now maintains more than 2,560 miles of paved shoulder with bicycle access. The state also has more than 1,394 miles of rails-to-trails — abandoned railroad tracks that have been converted into biking, hiking and walking trails. Combine those rails-to-trails with trails through parks and public land, and downtowns and neighborhoods, and the stretch increases to more than 2,000 miles, said Nancy Krupiarz, executive director of the Lansing-based nonprofit Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance. Additional bike-hike trails and greenways are expected.

This article wraps up with a great quote about biking from Rochester resident Colleen Brown.

“It’s like being a kid again. I always tell people that no matter how bad you feel, get on a bike. Ride around the neighborhood, feel the wind and sun on your face. You see the world differently. When you bike you can stop and smell the roses.”

Model D Media recently overviewed the status and progress of trail development across the city of Detroit.

The article mentions a relatively new trails brochure which goes into greater detail and includes a large fold-out map. If you are interest in receiving this brochure, make sure you visit the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance booth at the Detroit RiverDays from June 19th through the 21st. Or, stop by the MTGA booth at the Green Art Fair in Palmer Park on June 28th.

Crain’s also had a recent article, Conservancy makes great strides on RiverWalk, more. In it they look back on the history of the RiverWalk and provide some recent updates. The Dequindre Cut is noted as well.

And finally, Jeff Gerritt wrote a very positive opinion piece for the Free Press called, Cut shows Detroit’s promise.

The cut is one more reason to feel good about Detroit’s future, if we can start looking at things differently. The city’s population is less than half of its 1950s peak, and it continues to lose more than 10,000 people a year. But its land mass, streets, sewers, lighting and the like are still spread over the same 140 square miles geared to accommodate a city of nearly 2 million. Roughly a third of the city is now vacant. To survive and thrive, Detroit must creatively downsize. The Dequindre Cut Greenway shows us how.

Model D Media published a story highlighting updates along the Detroit Riverfront.

The most visible and exciting progress is the RiverWalk extension through Tri-Centennial State Park:

…construction of the first phase of expansion known as the Lowlands Unit will be complete in mid-June, according to Ken Davis, an engineer with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The trenches that will comprise the wetlands area have been dug, the pump station to control water flow has been installed and construction on sidewalks and walkways has begun.

The Dequindre Trail, which will connect the State Park and RiverWalk to the Dequindre Cut is expected to be completed by the end of summer.

Construction of the Detroit Wayne County Port Authority terminal building next to the Renaissance Center is progressing too. Construction should be complete in early 2010. There are conceptual plans for water taxi service between the Detroit and Windsor, which may prove to be the most convenient way for cyclists to cross between both countries.

And, the short section of RiverWalk which was closed during the terminal’s construction is now opened. However, be forewarned that this section currently includes a stretch of loose gravel.

Also, Diamond Jack’s is moving their Hart Plaza dock to Rivard Plaza. This is great news as the current location and loading facilities create a major bottleneck for RiverWalk users.

The Metro Times just released their 2009 Best of Detroit lists.

Among the staff picks was Best Place to Break a Sweat with the winner being “bicycling”.

Detroiters have been getting more and more serious about bicycle love in recent years. First came the flirtation. It wasn’t love at first ride. No, it’s hard to fully commit to a self-powered two-wheel approach when you’re dubbed the Motor City, when coney dogs, cheap beer and Flaming Hot Chee-tos are local fare and, well, let’s face it, there aren’t too many bike-friendly paths. But flirt we did. After a couple dates, we started to grope the spokes and pump the brakes. One thing led to another and here we are … With the HUB of Detroit – that funky full-service (not-for-profit) bike shop set in the pit of Cass Corridor – the seed was planted. Then came “bike gangs” such as Ferndale’s Defying The Law B/C, and city-wide races like Alley Cat. Last year (almost to the day this goes to print) we witnessed the birth of Wheelhouse Detroit, a bike retail, rental and repair shop that lives right on the river and offers a wide array of bike tours that take riders through the architectural anomaly that is Detroit, through Corktown, Hamtramck, along the river and a number of others. A missing piece was put into place a couple years ago when the Dequindre Cut project was announced. The Cut runs along the Grand Trunk rail line, through Eastern Market, and ends at Detroit’s riverfront parks. The paved, lit, emergency phone-equipped bike-walk-jog stretch from Gratiot to south of Jefferson will get its grand opening May 14.

In last year’s polling, the Dequindre Cut won for the best project that’s not yet completed. Phase I will be completed this year, and as noted, the grand opening is May 14th at 10AM.

And in the Reader Polls, Best Place to Buy a Bicycle went to The Hub of Detroit.

The Hub of Detroit grew out of Back Alley Bikes, a youth program designed to get low-income youths their very own bicycles. The volunteer organization needed a way to fund their philanthropic endeavors and saw a need in Detroit for a bike shop. So the Hub was born, killing two birds with one ultra-cool stone. Not only do Detroiters now have a place to purchase a used bike, fix up an old set of wheels and to buy biking accessories, but all proceeds from the shop go directly to Back Alley Bikes. The staff which consists primarily of volunteers runs a variety of classes and programs for area youth, including having kids 13-18 clock volunteer hours in the shop to earn their own bike.

To see all the other 2009 “Best Of” winners, check out the Metro Times web site.

Al Fields (DTE) and Greg Johnson (MDOT)

Many years ago we often heard cyclists level complaints against MDOT for the lack of safe road accomodations in Metro Detroit. At the time, they were right, that is until Greg Johnson became head of the MDOT Metro Region.

Greg went on to create an MDOT Metro Region Non-Motorized Committee. It was at an early meeting that he mentioned the need for our road networks to let cyclists get where they need to go anywhere within the Metro Region (Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, and St. Clair counties.)

Perhaps the biggest change Greg made was having MDOT take back responsibility for the I-275 bike path. After languishing without maintenance for 30 years, the bike path is getting repaired section by section. Money was spent to develop a plan on how to repair it, re-open the connection to Monroe County, and properly maintain it. Money is allocated to extend it north to Pontiac Trail.

Another huge change that is a little less evident is the MDOT Metro region’s trail bridge policy. When trails needed to build bridges over MDOT roads, there was always the question of who would maintain the bridge. Local governments often lacked the resources to even handle the inspections. Greg set the region policy where MDOT took responsibility for these bridges. This certainly helped trail bridge projects like the new Macomb Orchard Trail’s over M-53 and planned bridges like the Clinton River Trail’s over Telegraph.

And we can’t forget MDOT’s committment to bike lanes on future road projects involving Michigan Avenue and Fort Street in Detroit. Greg played a big role in making those happen.

And one final positive change. The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy received a $29 million earmark from Senator Carl Levin. Since earmarks require recipients to jump to additional (and often unfamiliar) hoops, Greg committed MDOT to designing and managing the construction of new Riverwalk segments.

So even though Greg is leaving the top position at MDOT’s Metro Region, he’s not leaving MDOT. He’s moving up. Greg has accepted the position of MDOT Chief Operations Officer. And while he expects to maintain his interest in many of the projects listed above, he also hopes to spread the Metro Region’s non-motorized transportation message at the higher levels in Lansing.

Best of luck to you Greg!