Below are photos taken from various projects around Detroit that are key components to a more bike friendly city.

Also, M-Live/Associated Press has published a more thorough story on the Midtown Loop, which is set to break ground this Thursday.

Construction starts next week on the Midtown Greenway, which by the fall will be an improved route for pedestrians and bicyclists around Detroit’s Cultural Center area and Wayne State University’s campus.

It’s the first part of a four-phase project that by 2012 is expected to link the area with Eastern Market and the Detroit riverfront. It will widen walkways, as well as add landscaping, bike racks, benches and small park areas.

“We wanted to create a more walkable district … and to beautify the neighborhood and to really help spur on more economic development,” Susan Mosey, president of the University Cultural Center Association, which is spearheading the project, said Friday.

Read the entire article

First, NBC is in Detroit today for an upcoming national story which includes biking in Detroit. It is expected to air later this month….

Detroit on Two Wheels: Wheelhouse

A short article from Papermag gives some love to the Wheelhouse Detroit, which is now open for business.

Not every form of transportation in the Motor City requires an engine. Wheelhouse Detroit, a bicycle shop in downtown Detroit, that offers rentals, retail, and service. They also offer tours that help make little-known tourist gems more accessible in a city that is spread across many miles.

Detroiters Kelli Kavanaugh and Karen Gage opened Wheelhouse two years ago and they emphasize the ecological practices of their business, including the t-shirts and sustainable water bottles they sell. “Our store is an opportunity to get to talk to people about road safety and spread the word that cars need to share the road with riders,” said Gage, who also works as an urban planner in the city.

Real Detroit also ran a nice article on the shop.

Big plans for the future Detroit

The Detroit Free Press published a big article which compiles the various plans for Detroit — including the greenway and non-motorized plans.

The city plans to put up about 30 miles of bike lanes and more than 12 miles of routes designed for cyclists starting in September in southwest Detroit, near Wayne State and on the east side. The aim is a network of hundreds of miles of biking and walking paths connecting neighborhoods and attractions across the city.

There’s also updates on the RiverWalk and Midtown Loop. The Free Press did a find job creating a map showing bike lane projects planned for this year.

The same issue included an editorial.

For all its troubles today, Detroit is also a place brimming with hope for tomorrow.

When you assemble all the proposals, plans and dreams that have been advanced in recent months, the city of 2020 looks dramatically different than it looks today: smaller, smarter, greener, more mobile, with more job opportunities — and once again the pounding heart of a metropolitan region.

You see thousands of kids attending schools that work for them. You see people using light rail and boarding buses in a transit system that serves them. You see a gleaming, growing medical complex; banners being hoisted to the rafters of a new sports arena; and people tending little farms that nourish their neighborhoods in more ways than one. You see convention-goers strolling a crowded RiverWalk and bicyclists coasting the downhills of a new trail network.

Bicyclists coasting the downhills? It’s a nice thought, but with Detroit being built on a former lake bed, there aren’t going to be many downhills of note.

Michigan residents are winners under new state parks passport law

Howard Meyerson, a columnist with the Grand Rapids Press, has covered the state park funding situation for years. His latest column celebrates the passage of the Recreation Passport legislation. He also shined some light on those that opposed or at least delayed these bills.

It wasn’t an easy passage. The Chamber of Commerce and transportation lobby opposed it. Speaker of the House Andy Dillon held it up over the holidays, reportedly to help an old college buddy, now a transportation lobbyist.

But in the end, wiser heads prevailed.

Yes, wiser heads did prevail. The new payment system begins this October, so everyone will still need to purchase their 2010 Motor Vehicle Pass stickers.

Detroit was represented well at the 10th annual National Bike Summit in DC

And, Model D just published an article on the recent National Bike Summit. They referenced our review of the event. Thanks, Model D!

MarketWatch has a recent article on the top ten “must-have” features that home buyers are looking for according to a recent survey.

The feature list includes nine home features (e.g. large kitchen) and one community amenity:

Community landscaping, with walking paths and playgrounds. Forget about golf courses, swimming pools and clubhouses. Buyers in large planned developments prefer hiking among lush greenery.

This is not surprising as trails have been among the most desired community amenities for years now.

Metromode ran a related article on greenspace preservation in Metro Detroit.

Norman Cox, president of The Greenway Collaborative, Inc., has consulted in the region for over 20 years, mostly on greenway, trail, open space, and non-motorized transportation planning. He’s worked with several communities and finds the environmental ethic ingrained in regional culture. “You’d be hard-pressed to find a recreation plan of a county or a significant-sized township or city that does not have an open space component,” he says. “They’re looking at things a lot more holistically, realizing that parks aren’t just points on a map, but how can they be part of a system that’s preserving a functioning natural system from water and wildlife standpoint as well as providing recreational resources.”

Community research consistently notes that residents, and would-be residents, want places to walk, bike, and safely move without having to use their automobile, Cox says. “If you are a community trying to be an attractive place to not only retain the businesses that are there but attract new businesses, it’s a good economic move to provide these resources. This is what people are looking for. Yes, there is a cost for developing and maintaining them but there is a good economic pay-back — as a matter of fact it’s almost a matter of survival these days.”

How do you create green space in a dense urban environment? You look for natural opportunities, such as an abandoned rail corridor, a riverside or waterfront, or other abandoned land. “Sometimes you have to be more creative,” says Cox. “We are big proponents of an urban greenway that utilizes the existing local street network. Most pedestrians and bicyclists have their secret ways to get from one place to another, using local roads, trails through schoolyards, and parks. We look at formalizing those.” Cox is currently working on the Clinton River Trail, which runs about 10-12 miles through five communities.

And speaking of Norm Cox and the Greenway Collaborative: They are part of a team (along with Smith JJR and the Active Transportation Alliance) to develop a plan which includes extending the RiverWalk east to the Conner Creek Greenway and beyond.

Google Earth is constantly being improved. One of those recent improvements is downtown Detroit is now in 3D. This includes the Detroit RiverWalk’s Rivard Plaza and carousel.

A few of us on the SketchUp team either have roots in Detroit or grew up there, so we’re especially happy to announce that Detroit, Michigan as been added in 3D to Google Earth. From sports venues like Joe Louis Arena (home of the Red Wings) and Comerica Park (new home of the Tigers), to great watering holes and eateries, like The Old Shillelagh and the legendary Lafayette Coney Island – home of the world’s best 2am coney dog – they are all there in 3D.

Being able to cruise through Detroit in 3D reminds us of how much history this great US city has. We’re excited that users around the world will now be able to discover this city virtually, for themselves.

However, the Dequindre Cut is not yet in 3D. Getting that to happen may require the Google trike, which as far as we know isn’t scheduled to make a Detroit visit.

And here is a 3D video flyover of Detroit.

[SketchUp Team, The next time you’re in town, we’ll take you on a . Virtual tours are cool, but…]

This is long-awaited good news from the DNR.

Dec. 3, 2009

Contacts: Eric Cowing 734-289-2715 or Mary Dettloff 517-335-3014

The Department of Natural Resources announced that the William G. Milliken State Park and Harbor is now officially open to the public.

Phase II development of the park is complete and the construction fences have been removed. Phase II development includes an innovative storm water management design that establishes a wetland environment and serves as a natural water filtration system for storm water run-off from the park and future nearby development properties. Energy efficient LED lighting and plantings native to southeastern Michigan were also included in the Phase II developments.

William G. Milliken State Park and Harbor is 31 acres in size and is located on a reclaimed brownfield that had been impacted by many decades of industrial use. Coastal wetlands are an important part of the Detroit River ecosystem as they provide habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife. Ninety-seven percent of the native coastal wetlands along the river have been lost to development, making the wetlands an imperative, eco-friendly and educational addition to the riverfront.

“I encourage visitors to come see the wetlands and, if you enjoy fishing, toss in a line along ‘Anglers Avenue’ at the river’s edge,” said Ron Olson, chief of the DNR’s Parks and Recreation Division. “Park visitors will find fishing opportunities on the Detroit River, quiet seating at the Peter Stroh Memorial, two picnic pavilions, an historic dry dock area, the wetlands complex, four learning stations set up throughout the park, and accessible bicycle and pedestrian trails that connect to the Detroit RiverWalk. Also keep an eye out for new residents in the wetlands. Geese, hawks, pheasants, muskrats, and foxes have already been reported in the area.”

The public harbor has 52 slips for transient and seasonal boaters, and reservations can be made on-line at www.midnrreservations.com, or by calling the DNR central reservation system at 1-800-447-2757. The park is an anchor to the Detroit RiverWalk development and will soon include a trailhead for the Dequindre Cut Trail Greenway to connect the riverfront to the Eastern Market. A dedication ceremony for the William G. Milliken State Park and Harbor (formerly the Tri-Centennial State Park and Harbor) was held on Oct. 22, to officially rename the park in honor of the longest-serving Governor in Michigan history.

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