Last Thursday was another monthly Green Tea event, this time promoting biking in Detroit. It was a great success with a very large and diverse turnout.

Wheelhouse Bike Tours

The Tea began with an introduction from our hosts Kelli and Karen from the Wheelhouse Detroit bike shop on the Detroit Riverwalk. The shop specializes in rentals, service, accessories, and bike tours. They have a freebie Wednesday night ride (9 PM). Now the are offering guided Neighborhood Tours, some of which include lunch. And of course you can rent a Wheelhouse bike as well. Check out the Wheelhouse web site for further details.

400 Miles of Bike Lanes

Next, I spoke to the group about Detroit greenways and the Non-Motorized Transportation Master Plan. The latter was developed by Giffels-Webster and was funded by MDOT. The plan inventoried the many cycling destinations across Detroit, including parks, schools, cultural centers, recreational centers, etc. It looked at how to best connect them with a network of on-road bike facilities — bike lanes and shared signed routes.

In summary, the plan calls for nearly 400 miles of bikes lanes across the City of Detroit that could be implemented during normal road maintenance by simply re-striping existing roads. [Additional details regarding this plan will be posted to m-bike in the upcoming week.]

And while this plan was accepted by Detroit’s Traffic Engineering Division, it had not gone before City Council. The GreenWays Initiative and MTGA worked to change that. Last month Giffels-Webster gave a presentation of the plan to Council President Ken Cockrel’s Green Task Force. We discussed the plan with other City Council members and distributed the copies of it.

On September 8th, City Council will have a discussion of this non-motorized plan. We need pedestrians and cyclists to attend and voice their support during the public comment period. The Council is meeting on the 13th floor of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center on September 8th at 11:15AM.

Biking to Eastern Market

Next, the group hopped on their bikes and rode from the Wheelhouse to Eastern Market. We were greeted at Shed 2 by Market President Dan Carmody and a box of healthy snacks. We discussed how to make Detroit more bike friendly and how the Dequindre Cut trail will be an excellent connection between the Riverwalk and the Market.

Special thanks to Kathryn Underwood and others for helping make this Green Tea a big success.

Model D recently posted this great video on the Dequindre Cut. Tom Woiwode from the Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan has been a major champion of this project from the start.

The big question is when will it be open. As of last week it was 90% to 95% completed. There are still some finishing touches to be completed. The target grand opening is October 1st.

Leor Barak on the Detroit Riverfront

Green Teas are monthly meetings to promote green activities within the City of Detroit. Past topics include urban gardening and greenways.

The August 28th Green Tea is about biking, including what current projects are underway and how can folks can more involved.

If you plan on attending or need to rent a bike, RSVP to Jeff Williams via email or call 313.894.1030.

Here are the details:

THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 2008, 4:30 PM at Wheelhouse Detroit (located at Rivard Plaza on the Riverwalk, Atwater and Rivard.)

BYOB (Bring your own bike or rent one from Wheelhouse!)

Meet other folks who bike, share what you think would help facilitate biking in the city, connect with bike organizations, learn about biking opportunities along the riverfront and the Dequindre cut, find out about the Detroit non-motorized plan and how you can support it, share your favorite routes, find a commuting partner!

We will also take a short ride to the Eastern Market for refreshments! (In case of rain, the meeting will take place under Shed 2 at the Market).

Al Fields (DTE) and Greg Johnson (MDOT)

Al Fields was the primary bicycling proponent within the City of Detroit Mayor’s office. He was our “go to” guy for helping cycling advocates get things done, such as the mountain bike trail at Rouge Park. He was also responsible for getting bike lanes on Belle Isle. Outside of cycling, Al was instrumental in the success of Detroit’s Super Bowl and Red Bull Air Races. He also played bass in Torch with a Twist — and if you know what that is, I don’t need to highlight its coolness.

Unfortunately Al recently changed jobs. He’s now working for DTE. However, he does expect to still be quite involved in promoting cycling.

So thank you, Al, and we wish you the best of luck in your new job at DTE.

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.