The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy has an active page on Facebook.
Their Dequindre Cut trail opening photo gallery is full of great shots, including this one to the right. It certainly shows Detroit knows how to open a trail will style and enthusiasm.
But there are other Detroit trail- or bike-related groups on Facebook, including these:
B cycle is one of the emerging players in public bike rental market. Cities like Denver and Minneapolis are looking to roll out these B cycles.
If you can get past the anti-car vibe, there’s a video describing how B cycles work on their web site.
Imagine how cool this would be in places like downtown Royal Oak, Ferndale, or Detroit? It seems we would integrate rental stations with the proposed streetcar line on Woodward to really increase transportation options for those wanting to get to Eastern Market, Corktown, or Belle Isle.
This may not be so far fetched either as we’ve been discussing rental options with Detroit officials.
What can you do to help us move this forward? Please take a minute to vote for Detroit (ZIP code 48226 works) on the B cycle web site.
Of course Wheelhouse Detroit already rents bikes. Wouldn’t a B cycle overlap with what they’re already providing? Perhaps a little, but I think the Wheelhouse rentals are aimed more at recreational use, touring, and exploring. A B cycle system is aimed more at short term transportation, running errands, and going between rental stations.
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.
The 2009 Greening the Heartland conference wrapped up in Detroit yesterday.
AmericaJR covered the event and recorded Council President Ken Cockrel Jr.’s welcome address. In it, Cockrel highlighted Detroit’s green efforts, including our non-motorized transportation master planning efforts.
Of course we are the Motor City… We want to encourage people to get out of their cars and look at alternative forms of transportation.
Regular readers of m-bike know of Cockrel’s strong support for making Detroit more bike friendly. And clearly that support continues despite his recent mayoral election loss.
Also at the conference was renowned environmental activist David Suzuki. In his keynote speach, he spoke of growing up in nearby Leamington, Ontario and how he enjoyed visits to the Detroit Zoo.
The Detroit Zoo is looking to create a green plan in partnership with Detroit Edison. This plan would likely include improving non-motorized access to the zoo — a topic we’ll soon write about in greater detail.
Despite all the depressing news of late swirling around the city of Detroit, one bright spot remains — the Dequindre Cut.
Let’s start with an excerpt from Jeff Gerritt’s Freep blog:
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.
The Cut was also mentioned during last Sunday’s Blessing of the Bikes ceremony at the Spirit of Hope Church in North Corktown. Here too is an excerpt from the Blessing:
Shower your blessing on cyclists across Detroit, from the Riverfront to Belle Isle, from Rouge Park to the Dequindre Cut, from downtown to Eight Mile, across Michigan, and all around the world. Amen!
And finally, Model D Media published an article highlighting the big ten greenway efforts in Detroit, Highland Park, and Hamtramck.
So despite all the doom and gloom from GM to Chrysler and now to Old Tiger Stadium, we still can celebrate having one of America’s most unique and beautiful urban trails right here at home.