We’ve mentioned the possibility of having ferry service for bicyclists and pedestrians wanting to cross between the U.S. and Canada without needing a car. (Yes, pedestrians can use the Transit Windsor tunnel bus.)

Now the Windsor Star has an article discussing this possibility.

North America’s largest private passenger ferry company is in discussions with Windsor and Detroit port officials to link the two border cities by boat.

NY Waterway, operator of the largest ferry fleet in the New York harbour, has participated in several meetings locally about launching a service across the Detroit River that would focus on transporting commuters, operating tours and carrying fans to sporting events such as Detroit Red Wings’ games.

Of course this is far from being a done deal according to the article. NY Waterway still needs to determine if this is economically feasible.

We sure hope it is.

You may already know that Detroit is a leader in urban agriculture. This week you have the opportunity to witness it firsthand.

Wednesday evening, August 5th, is the 12th Annual Detroit Agriculture Network Tour of Urban Gardens and Farms.

From the press release:

This year’s tour will highlight a selection of prosperous, innovative, and visually stunning gardens and farms that are contributing to the new food system through bio‐intensive urban agriculture and commerce between local restaurants and farmer’s markets. The Garden Resource Program Collaborative (GRPC) works to support the emergence of a new, sustainable food system in Detroit through a network of more than 517 backyard gardens, 244 community gardens, and 46 school gardens. The GRPC facilitates resources, education, and training of urban gardeners, farmers, and community leaders through a variety of programming.

The bicycle tour will “weave through gardens located in the Cass Corridor, Woodbridge, and Greater Corktown.” At the end of the tour will be locally-grown food and refreshments created by local chefs!

There is also a bus tour option, but it is full as of today.

All tours start at the Catherine Ferguson Academy (2750 Selden in Detroit.) Sign in begins at 5pm and the tour starts sharply at 6pm.

There are still a few open spots on the bike tour.

Register ahead of time by contacting Ashley Atkinson at 313‐237‐8736 or via email at aatkinso@umich.edu. The tour fee is a sliding scale from $1 to $20 which offsets costs and helps “grow Detroit’s agricultural movement.”

And for those that can’t make it August 5th, there is a Garden Bike Tour on August 15th just south of the border. It’s part of Windsor’s 2nd Annual Summer Harvest Festival. (via Bike Windsor)

Here’s more positive bike news from south of the border.

The Windsor Star is reporting a warm public response to a proposal to add bike lanes to Tecumseh Road in Tecumseh, Ontario, just outside of Windsor.

A $17-million project to eliminate the two-metre deep ditch along the west side of Manning Road and add bike lanes has residents mostly asking one question.

How soon can you do it?

The town sought public comment Monday on the options for reconstructing Manning from St. Gregory Street to Riverside Drive as part of the environmental assessment process.

Read the entire article

(via Bike Windsor)

Coincidenly there were two videos posted yesterday about getting bike lanes in our area.

The first video is from the good folks at Scaledown. As we recently noted there’s a big battle brewing in Windsor over extending bike lanes along Riverside Drive. Their video reveals the likely source of resistance to the bike lanes: the landowners have apparently encroached on the Riverside Drive right-of-way.

This second video is from Mike Wendland whose enjoying the bike lanes while vacationing in Florida. Mike asks why we can’t have these in Michigan?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3b2cTcHGP8&eurl=http://clydesdalefitness.com/2009/02/why-cant-michigan-have-bicycle-lanes/comment-page-1/&feature=player_embedded

The photo on the right was taken yesterday while exploring a great bakery in Windsor’s historic Sandwich area.

The lead Windsor Star article is on-line. The synopsis?

Riverside Drive residents angry over losing small city-owned chunks of land fronting their properties to make way for bike lanes have launched a court challenge against the city’s plan.

This Windsor city plan for bike lanes and other traffic calming has already been approved. This same group of residents contested the environmental assessment but it’s been upheld by the Province, so now they’re suing.

Councillor Alan Halberstadt didn’t pull punches when he told the Windsor Star:

“It’s another delaying tactic,” Halberstadt said. “It’s a case of a few rich people holding up a better way of life for the city. It’s unfortunate our court system allows that to happen.

“The major concern is we are taking a part of property they have been using for years. That’s their hidden agenda.”

Besides Halberstadt, Windsor has some very good cycling advocates that are on top of this issue, including Bike Windsor and Embrace the Bike. We’ve got great confidence in them persevering on this matter and making Riverside a great place to bike from end to end.