MTGA at Detroit RiverDays

The Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance had a booth at the Detroit RiverDays event this past weekend. ?It was a great opportunity to discuss greenways, bike lanes, and Complete Streets ?in Detroit. The most popular question? “How do I get to the Dequindre Cut.” The MTGA booth was staffed with help from the Detroit Department of Health and Wellness Promotion, the Detroit Eastside Community Collaborative, Villages CDC, and Southwest Detroit Business Association.

Conner Creek Greenways Update

Model D has an article about the recently complete bike lanes added to St. Jean, which add another mile to the Conner Creek Greenway. This Greenway is on Detroit’s east side and will be 9 miles when completed. It will run from the Detroit River to Eight Mile near Van Dyke.

Going Green in Warren

The city of Warren is also looking at how to continue the Conner Creek Greenway north of Eight Mile. Different on-road routes are being evaluated.

In addition, Todd Scott and Nancy Krupiarz of MTGA are featured this month on the city’s Going Green program on Warren cable television. The half-hour segment discusses biking, Complete Streets, and much more.

Serious Summer Leisure Rides

Last week the Metro Times continued their love affair with cycling by creating a fine list of places to ride throughout Metro Detroit. It does include Hines Drive and their summertime closures to motor vehicles. This is a great time for cyclists to take over the street. Happening since the Eighties, this type of car free event (called a Ciclovia) is now gaining in popularity across the U.S..

The Detroit Free Press has some nice behind-the-scenes coverage of Faye Alexander Nelson, CEO of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy — the group responsible for the Detroit RiverWalk and Dequindre Cut.

Nelson speaks with pride and pleasure as she points out various attractions — the RiverWalk’s patio-pretty pavement dotted with parks, pavilions, play spaces and gardens; docking space for boats at Michigan’s first urban state park, and a paved trail that officially opened Thursday that allows people to go by foot, bike or Rollerblade from near the river to the Dequindre Cut, a former railroad track transformed into a nonmotorized trail.

It’s fitting that Nelson is at the helm of that bridge-to-bridge development. People who know her say she is indeed a bridge builder, uniting a diverse group of people behind the $300-million-plus project that is an undeniable bright spot in the issues-saddled city of Detroit.

“She has been a forceful and integral part of transforming Detroit’s riverfront into something spectacular,” said Hugh McDiarmid Jr., spokesman for the Michigan Environmental Council, which awarded Nelson the William and Helen Milliken Award for Distinguished Service on Wednesday.

And speaking of the RiverWalk, it’s home once again to the 2010 Detroit River Days event, which begins this Friday and runs through Sunday. River Days includes the Green Path (presented by Bank of America), which is numerous of environmental groups at Milliken State Park. The Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance (MTGA) has a booth where you can get the latest information on Detroit biking and walking news. You will also be able to register your support for a Complete Streets policy in the city of Detroit.

And River Days wraps up with one of the world’s largest fireworks displays at 10:06pm on Monday. Afterwards, vehicular traffic is at a standstill which means it’s a perfect to bike to. It seems many more Detroiters are biking to the fireworks each year, not only because it’s fun, but because it’s faster.

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.”