Yes, there are “No Bikes” signs on the Dequindre Cut.

Yes, bikes will be allowed on the Dequindre Cut.

Those signs are merely in place to discourage use while the trail is under construction. They will eventually be removed. That’s also why the gated entrance at Lafayette Boulevard has been closed.

Don’t forget the Dequindre Cut grand opening is set for 10am on May 14th at the south end of the trail (at Woodbridge.)

Bring your parade bike and we’ll see you there!

The Metro Times just released their 2009 Best of Detroit lists.

Among the staff picks was Best Place to Break a Sweat with the winner being “bicycling”.

Detroiters have been getting more and more serious about bicycle love in recent years. First came the flirtation. It wasn’t love at first ride. No, it’s hard to fully commit to a self-powered two-wheel approach when you’re dubbed the Motor City, when coney dogs, cheap beer and Flaming Hot Chee-tos are local fare and, well, let’s face it, there aren’t too many bike-friendly paths. But flirt we did. After a couple dates, we started to grope the spokes and pump the brakes. One thing led to another and here we are … With the HUB of Detroit – that funky full-service (not-for-profit) bike shop set in the pit of Cass Corridor – the seed was planted. Then came “bike gangs” such as Ferndale’s Defying The Law B/C, and city-wide races like Alley Cat. Last year (almost to the day this goes to print) we witnessed the birth of Wheelhouse Detroit, a bike retail, rental and repair shop that lives right on the river and offers a wide array of bike tours that take riders through the architectural anomaly that is Detroit, through Corktown, Hamtramck, along the river and a number of others. A missing piece was put into place a couple years ago when the Dequindre Cut project was announced. The Cut runs along the Grand Trunk rail line, through Eastern Market, and ends at Detroit’s riverfront parks. The paved, lit, emergency phone-equipped bike-walk-jog stretch from Gratiot to south of Jefferson will get its grand opening May 14.

In last year’s polling, the Dequindre Cut won for the best project that’s not yet completed. Phase I will be completed this year, and as noted, the grand opening is May 14th at 10AM.

And in the Reader Polls, Best Place to Buy a Bicycle went to The Hub of Detroit.

The Hub of Detroit grew out of Back Alley Bikes, a youth program designed to get low-income youths their very own bicycles. The volunteer organization needed a way to fund their philanthropic endeavors and saw a need in Detroit for a bike shop. So the Hub was born, killing two birds with one ultra-cool stone. Not only do Detroiters now have a place to purchase a used bike, fix up an old set of wheels and to buy biking accessories, but all proceeds from the shop go directly to Back Alley Bikes. The staff which consists primarily of volunteers runs a variety of classes and programs for area youth, including having kids 13-18 clock volunteer hours in the shop to earn their own bike.

To see all the other 2009 “Best Of” winners, check out the Metro Times web site.

This could be one of Detroit’s shortest yet coolest greenways for peds and bikes.

It’s called the Green Alley Project and it’s located in Midtown near Second Avenue and Canfield. This Green Garage project will eventually connect to the planned Midtown Loop.

The project’s goal is “to create a model for sustainable alleys of the future for our city and region… yeah, maybe the world.” For now, we’d settle for it being a model for other Detroit alleys.

There is an opportunity to take leadership action in creating a new vision for one of the most under utilized assets of Midtown and the City of Detroit…our alleys. Today our alleys look abandoned with trash, broken pavement, overgrown weeds, and neglected sides of buildings. They are ribbons of blight throughout our communities. Imagine if one by one we changed our alleys into beautiful greenways that people wanted to be in because they expressed the best of our community.

This project represents that leadership action. We plan to transform one of our worst abandoned alleys in Midtown into a beautiful greenway for pedestrians and bicyclists to enjoy the beautiful gardens, stop and shop at the business establishments or gather with a few neighbors to talk about the day.

This is already a very bike-friendly part of town, but what makes this extra special is its proximity to the Motor City Brewing. This may be a great opportunity to emulate Buffalo’s Rusty Chain Beer program and raise funds for the bike racks to support the alley concept or to add more bike racks around town.

We’d raise a Ghettoblaster to that effort!

During the past week, at least three different trails have been written about in the Metro Detroit newspapers, though most of the information has already been reported on this site.

Here are some excerpts:

From The Oakland Press

Portion of dinner train route will soon be a trail

A section of railroad used for a dinner train will become connected to a West Bloomfield trail system.

A $1.5 million grant from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund will pay for the project.

Plans call for the section of railroad between Arrowhead Road and Haggerty Road to be abandoned, the tracks removed and the trail connected to the west end of the West Bloomfield Trail, a 4.25-mile trail that winds through the township and which was once rail lines.

From The Oakland Press

Pontiac to use $2.1 million grant to build bridge

A $2.1 million stimulus grant has been awarded to the city of Pontiac to build a pedestrian bridge over Telegraph Road to link pathways along the Clinton River Trail, city officials announced Thursday.

The bridge, north of Orchard Lake Road and south of Voorheis, will connect the 16-mile trail that links the cities of Sylvan Lake, Pontiac, Auburn Hills, Rochester Hills and Rochester.

Department of Public Works & Utilities Acting Director Allan Schneck said Pontiac has been the weak link in the line to connect trails from South Lyon all the way to Rochester Hills in Oakland County. Most of the trail has been connected except for the portion through Pontiac.

From the Detroit Free Press

Recreational path in Detroit to open May 14

The much-delayed Dequindre Cut Greenway, an urban recreational path connecting the east riverfront with the Eastern Market district, will finally open to the public on Thursday, May 14.

There will be a grand opening ceremony at 10 a.m. and activities and entertainment until 2 p.m., according to the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, the nonprofit organization that will maintain the Cut.

The 1.2-mile paved greenway was developed through a public, nonprofit and private partnership. It is part of a growing network of greenway paths developing around the city.

The Bagley pedestrian and bike bridge in Mexicantown is still under construction, but it’s coming along well since we last reported on it in February.

One can see in the photo to the right that the suspension cables are now being strung.

No one I’ve spoken with knows when it will be completed. The entire Gateway Project is 80% complete with and should be done by September.

There was a rumor that this bridge would be open by Cinco de Mayo, but given its current state, that looks doubtful.

The Detroit News recently ran an article on this bridge. They also made a very interesting video as well.