Vandals mar new pedestrian bridge in Detroit

The Detroit News is reporting on some vandalism which has already occurred on our recently opened bike/ped bridge in Mexicantown.

Less than a day after it opened, the Mexicantown Bagley Avenue Pedestrian Bridge was vandalized, Michigan Department of Transportation officials said.

Numerous individuals have “tagged” the $5 million bridge with spray paint and used knives to carve into a wooden bench in the middle of the span. Others signed their names with pens and magic markers on the bench, officials said.

In fact, an MDOT employee’s video camera caught one woman as she used a colored pen to scrawl on a bench in the middle of the 400-foot-long bridge.

“Yes, it was me,” said Oneita Jackson, a copy editor at the Detroit Free Press and author of Sunday’s “O Street”?blog.

Unbelievably pathetic.

10 tips for downsizing Detroit

Free Press Business Writer John Gallagher lists tips for rightsizing Detroit. He saved the best for last.

10. Use greening strategies to reinvent Detroit.

With so much excess land available, the city has the option to become a much more earth-friendly, environmentally sustainable place. Use the vacancy to lace the city with greenways, bicycle lanes, nature trails, pocket parks, urban farms and wildlife habitats.

Michigan lawmaker plans Arizona-like immigration bill

One state legislator is intent on stopping the illegal inflow of Canadians into Michigan according to a Free Press article.

A Michigan lawmaker believes the state’s law enforcement officers need the authority to arrest illegal immigrants and is drafting legislation similar to Arizona’s new immigration law.

Rep. Kim Meltzer, R-Clinton Township, said her bill would allow police to request proof of citizenship from people who are stopped and questioned on another offense, such as a traffic violation or selling fraudulent identity documents. Officers would have the authority to arrest people who can’t prove their legal status.

Okay, we’re kidding about the Canadians.

Still, if you roll through a stop sign on your bike and don’t have your driver’s license, it sounds like the police would have the option to arrest you.

Do you always bike with a driver’s license?

Yesterday, Cinco de Mayo, the new Bagley pedestrian bridge over I-75 in Detroit was officially opened. Mexicantown has been divided by I-75 for over 40 years and this biking and walking bridge helps close some of that gap.

And it does it with style as the below photos show.

Here are some details from the Detroit News:

The 407-foot-long bridge is the first cable-stayed pedestrian bridge in Michigan and varies in width from 10 feet on the western approach to 31 feet on the eastern approach.

The bridge also connects to plazas at both ends. It is adorned with 335 lights and surrounded by 900 trees, plants and shrubs.

The Bagley Avenue Pedestrian Bridge?cost $5 million to build and is part of the $230 million Gateway Project, which provides a direct connection from I-75 and I-96 to the Ambassador Bridge.

The current issue of Momentum (“the magazine for self-propelled people”) features Detroit.

Following on the heals of Portland, the main article describes biking in Detroit — the conditions, culture, people and future.

There’s also a visitor’s guide, which is helpful for all those U.S. Social Forum folks who are biking to or at least biking around Detroit this June.

And, there’s a rider profile of Cassandra Spratling, a member of Sisters Cycling. We could not find the profile Wheelhouse Detroit co-owner Kelli Kavanaugh on-line, so you’ll want to head down to their bike shop and pick up a printed copy.

We really like this Momentum article and hope it brings a bit more national recognition for some of America’s best urban biking.

Disclaimer: We’re absolutely biased. We wrote the article.

The Detroit Free Press is reporting record sales for gas drilling rights on state-owned property.

Michigan oil and gas speculators bet the farm today on a newly developed natural gas field in the northern Lower Peninsula, paying well over $140 million for mineral rights at the halfway point of a record-breaking state auction.

The eye-popping auction results are a windfall for the state’s Natural Resources Trust Fund, which gets about 90% of the proceeds to buy recreational and environmentally sensitive property.

The oil and gas rush was apparently touched off by a single, deep well that went into Missaukee County over the winter. The well, owned by a Colorado-based company, has generated intense speculation on a possible boom in the Utica shale formation that underlies much of the northern Lower Peninsula. Utica shale and other deep shale formations have been productive in other states, but never before developed in Michigan.

Whether this is windfall is a long term or a bust remains to be determined.

Nonetheless, this is great news for the Trust Fund which should be able to provide more grant funding for items such as land acquisition and trail development. For example, the Trust Fund has paid for much of Milliken State Park, the RiverWalk, and Dequindre Cut — often through the DNR.

And, there may be a Trust Fund request in the near future for the Inner Circle Greenway — a trail that would combine with others and wrap around the city.

Until recently, the city of Detroit was not eligible for these funds since City Council had not endorsed a new recreation plan. As we reported earlier, Council endorsed the recreation plan which opens the door to more grant funding in Detroit.

Reuters recently wrote about new research on the benefits of “green exercise.” Apparently just five minutes is all need, which is good news for bike commuters.

Researchers from the University of Essex found that as little as five minutes of a “green activity” such as walking, gardening, cycling or farming can boost mood and self esteem.

“We believe that there would be a large potential benefit to individuals, society and to the costs of the health service if all groups of people were to self-medicate more with green exercise,” Barton said in a statement about the study, which was published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Many studies have shown that outdoor exercise can reduce the risk of mental illness and improve a sense of well-being, but Jules Pretty and Jo Barton, who led this study, said that until now no one knew how much time needed to be spent on green exercise for the benefits to show.

And don’t forget to mark your calendars. Bike to Work day in Detroit is May 21st. You can start from Royal Oak, Grosse Pointe or Dearborn. All rides head to Campus Maritius.