We recently wrote about W.K. Kellogg’s early bicycling advocacy efforts including his lifetime membership in the League of American Wheelmen.
Those efforts have continued through the Kellogg Foundation which has invested in trails throughout Michigan.
Here’s more good news as of last Monday.
It is expected that Senate bills 388 and 389 for the Recreation Passport will be voted on by the Michigan Senate and House this Thursday, November 12th, 2009.
There is a summary analysis on-line as well. This analysis provides all the details of what these bills would do if passed and signed into law. There’s also additional information (as well as media coverage links) on the Citizen’s Committee for Michigan State Parks web site.
We urge you to please contact your state senator and state representative and ask that they support these bills to help fund our state parks.
This funding is absolutely critical as the state parks have been kept afloat for years by relying on previous fund balances. Those fund balances are now drained. We should also note that since 2004, no state taxpayer money has gone towards our state parks.
This funding would also be a huge boost to Michigan trails, not only in state parks, but in state forests as well. Those trails are significantly unfunded.
The Mid-America Trails and Greenways Conference is underway in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It’s a well-attended event and a great chance to hear how others are developing trails throughout the Midwest.
Yesterday’s sessions included one very interesting topic: Rails-with-Trails (RWT).
Rails-to-Trails are more common. A railroad abandons a rail line, the tracks are removed, a public agency purchases the rail corridor, and resurfaces it for trail use.
But sometimes it’s feasible having a trail alongside an active rail line. Sometimes it’s the only option.
There isn’t a one-sized solution for implementing RWT. The variables include how wide the right-of-way is and the speed/frequency of the trains.
One possible RWT in Southest Michigan would be the Grand Trunk/CN line between downtown Royal Oak and Bloomfield Hills. Two parallel tracks were built with plans to add two more. The Great Depression stopped plans for the latter (as well as plans for an overhead expressway built on top of the railline for autos.)
While there is spare room alongside the Grand Trunk line, it’s not clear how one would propose separating the rail from the trail. Some RWT examples use walls and fences.
Of course the big issue is getting the railroad to grant an easement. Putting people near an active line takes convincing, especially with respect to safety. But RWTs have a great safety record across the U.S. And one also has to consider the alternative. RWTs have a greater safety record than riding on roads.
We’ve tried pushing this issue in the past with no success. With the non-motorized planning for both Royal Oak and the Woodward Corridor, it’s probably worth revisiting.
Mark your calendars. MDOT is holding an I-275 bike path construction open house from 6 PM until 8 PM on Thursday, August 13th. The open house will be held at Fellows Creek Golf Club (2936 South Lotz Road) in Canton.
This meeting is “to discuss upcoming construction work on the I-275 bike path in Wayne County. The project includes reconstruction of the path between US-12 (Michigan Avenue) and Edward Hines Drive. Interested stakeholders will have the opportunity to learn details regarding the project.”
Also, “Scheduled to begin in fall 2009, MDOT will reconstruct the bike path, rehabilitate pedestrian bridges, install signals at certain intersections and upgrade signs.”
The Free Press article, Detroit park to offer walk on the wilder side, provides a detailed update on the Tri-Centennial State Park Phase II expansion along the RiverWalk.
The planned 31-acre park will help plug a central gap in the city’s 3 1/2 -mile RiverWalk promenade on the east side.
Running about 1,000 feet along the waterfront, the new phase will feature walking paths winding through a created wetland planted with native grasses and other plants. Grasses will be left uncut to create a look similar to what the French found when they settled in Detroit in 1701.
Along with this much welcomed addition are additional details on the largest missing portion of the east RiverWalk: the Uniroyal site between the bridge to Belle Isle and Mt. Elliot park. According to Faye Nelson, Executive Director for the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, construction could begin as early as next year.
Extending the RiverWalk across the barren site known as Uniroyal will await an environmental cleanup there, Nelson said. But she said she was optimistic that a cleanup might begin next year.
WWJ is reporting $2 million dollar in funding has been allocated for the Macomb County Trail Loop. This money would be put towards the 17 miles that are not completed across the entire 70-mile loop, which includes the Macomb Orchard Trail and Metropolitan bike path.
The funding is attached to a jobs growth bill thanks to the work of Senator Debbie Stabenow. The Kettering Gateway Project in Flint also received $1.2 million through this same bill.