MDOT recently announced another round of Transportation Enhancement grants. This funding comes from the federal transportation bill and is the major funding source for bike projects in Michigan.

There are a couple bike-related local projects receiving this funding.

The first is for a Anthony Wayne Drive, which is really a continuation of Second and Third Streets through the Wayne State University campus in Detroit. This street of road will be made into a Complete Street, including more bike lanes. These bike lanes will connect with those planned by the New Center Council on Second Avenue to the north and those planned by the city to the south.

The second project is less exciting from a cycling perspective, though it does include bike racks.

The village of Lake Orion and Lake Orion Downtown Development Authority will develop a project that will create a sense of arrival and enhance the historic nature of a unique downtown district. The project area includes Broadway Street, from M-24 to Shadboldt, and Flint Street, from Lapeer to Anderson. Project elements include replacing streetlight globes and installing brick pavers, benches, bike racks, trees and tree grates. The project cost is $684,535, including $444,948 in federal TE funds and $239,587 in match from the Lake Orion Downtown Development Authority.

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.

Great news!

Shortly after 3pm today, Governor Jennifer Granholm signed the four state park funding bills — collectively known as the Recreation Passport — into law.

The Department of Natural Resources is now working on Question & Answer sheets that explain the effects of this new fundamental change in how our Michigan state parks as well as state forest recreation, are funded.

The Michigan Senate passed the State Park funding bills today and sent them on their way to their final stop — the governor’s desk.

This morning Detroit News published an article on these bills prior to their passage:

“We have not had any general fund support for our parks for almost six years now, and in the meantime the infrastructure continues to deteriorate,” [Senator Patty] Birkholz said. “We’ve barely been able to keep up (with basic maintenance).

“This gives us a way to streamline how we operate our state parks, so that now we can have parks people that were in booths out working in the parks to improve them.”

The Governor is expected to sign the bill package.

The last three bills — SB 389, SB 1057, and HB 4677 — in a four-bill package for state park funding have passed the House today with an 81 to 27 vote. They are headed to the Senate where they may be voted on as soon as tomorrow.

Please contact your State Senator and ask that they support these bills.

HB 5752 passed the Senate last week, was ordered enrolled and was presented to the Governor.

More information on this state park funding legislation, also known as the Recreation Passport, visit the OurMichiganParks.org web site.