Next Thursday, May 14th at 5 PM I’ll be giving a presentation at the Model D Speaker Series.

The topic is greenways and trails in Detroit and Hamtramck. I’ll bring everyone up to speed on what’s been going on through my work with the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance.

I’ll also be introducing our brand new Detroit Greenways Network brochure, a hint of which is shown at the right.

The location is the Green Garage in Midtown at 4444 Second Avenue, conveniently located just around the corner from Motor City Brewing Works.

Bil Lusa will also speak about this September’s epic Tour-de-Troit bike ride.

This is a free event though you’ll need to sign up.

Link: More Information

This could be one of Detroit’s shortest yet coolest greenways for peds and bikes.

It’s called the Green Alley Project and it’s located in Midtown near Second Avenue and Canfield. This Green Garage project will eventually connect to the planned Midtown Loop.

The project’s goal is “to create a model for sustainable alleys of the future for our city and region… yeah, maybe the world.” For now, we’d settle for it being a model for other Detroit alleys.

There is an opportunity to take leadership action in creating a new vision for one of the most under utilized assets of Midtown and the City of Detroit…our alleys. Today our alleys look abandoned with trash, broken pavement, overgrown weeds, and neglected sides of buildings. They are ribbons of blight throughout our communities. Imagine if one by one we changed our alleys into beautiful greenways that people wanted to be in because they expressed the best of our community.

This project represents that leadership action. We plan to transform one of our worst abandoned alleys in Midtown into a beautiful greenway for pedestrians and bicyclists to enjoy the beautiful gardens, stop and shop at the business establishments or gather with a few neighbors to talk about the day.

This is already a very bike-friendly part of town, but what makes this extra special is its proximity to the Motor City Brewing. This may be a great opportunity to emulate Buffalo’s Rusty Chain Beer program and raise funds for the bike racks to support the alley concept or to add more bike racks around town.

We’d raise a Ghettoblaster to that effort!

The Detroit Greenways Coalition is a group of non-profits involved in developing greenways and trails within the cities of Detroit, Hamtramck, and Highland Park.

The Coalition recently applied for and received a $3.5 million dollar grant to help continue and grow momentum for more non-motorized trails.  It’s a huge opportunity to get some significant projects completed and move others toward completion.

The grant specifically allocated monies to three projects: the Dequindre Cut extention (from Gratiot to Mack), the Midtown loop (Phase II), and the Conner Creek Greenway.  The grant money won’t pay for all of these project, but it will serve as matching funds to bring in MDOT and DNR grant funds.

The Free Press recently ran a story on this grant.

“I think it’s a really exciting contribution for Kresge to commit to Detroit neighborhoods in this way,” said Libby Pachota, project director for the Conner Creek Greenway. “And it’s exciting that folks want to support infrastructure development and green space in neighborhoods in Detroit.”

Stay tuned for more updates on Detroit trails.  It’s shaping up to be a good summer.

The Bureau of Urban Living is hosting a fundraiser for Detroit greenways this Thursday, August 7^th. 25% of the sales for the day will be donated to the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance for work in Detroit.

The Bureau is “a modern-day general store for city dwellers, [and] offers modern home goods and gifts.” It’s a very cool store carrying unique items that you’re just not going to find anywhere else in town.

The Bureau will have light refreshments from 5 PM until 9 PM. (They open at 11 AM.) They’re also have some brochures on the various trail projects under development across the City.

You can find the Bureau of Urban Living in the Canfield Lofts, 460 West Canfield Street in Midtown Detroit. They’re just next door to Motor City Brewing and across the street from the Traffic Jam and Snug.