Certainly the massive looming issue in Detroit is the future of our Big 3 domestic automakers.  It’s frustrating, depressing and much more.

If there’s any silver lining, this crisis might bring the region together as one.  It really does feel like Detroit vs. 49 other states.  It certainly makes the city-suburb divide look awfully trivial.

But this is a bike advocacy blog, so what does this mean for trails and greenways?

No one knows yet.  We do know that the Big 3 automakers contribute to trail development in the area.  Chrysler is a big supporter of DECC and the Conner Creek Greenway.  General Motors has put significant resources into the Riverwalk.  The Ford Motor Company is a partner in the Rouge Gateway project.

However we should note how the housing fallout was a big hit for trails.  Many of the non-profits developing trails in Detroit are also developing housing.  They rely on income from housing sales or other community development.  With the real estate market in the dumps, the income isn’t coming in like it was.  Many are struggling beyond the imaginable.

But fortunately there is still some funding available for trails.

Today the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy announced a $1 million donation from Wayne County.  It did not come from the county budget, according to County Executive Robert Ficano:

“This award to the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy represents the County’s support of the riverfront and how it positively impacts people’s lives. Through grant funds received by Wayne County for public safety and healthy living and wellness efforts, today I announce a $1 million award to the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy made possible from the county departments of Homeland Security/Emergency Management and Health and Human Services. The funds will be used to support the riverfront’s public safety initiatives and health and wellness activities on the riverwalk and its ajoining parks. While we will continue to explore ways support the riverfront project, there are no county general fund dollars being used in making this contribution.”

The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan also gave $500,000 for work on the near east-side neighborhoods, which includes the East Riverfront and Dequindre Cut.

Some huge Detroit trail funding announcements are expected in 2009.

Stay tuned, but in the meantime, pray for good news for the Big 3.

In 1969, 42 percent of students walked or bicycled to school.

In 2001, 16 percent of students between the ages of 5 and 15 walked or bicycled to or from school.  Less than half of students living within a mile of school walk or bike to school even once a week.

Is there any wonder there’s a child obesity epidemic?

The Safe Routes to School (SR2S) state and federal programs are aimed at reversing those trends.  The program pursues 5 – E’s to help get more kids walking and biking to school:  engineering, enforcement, encouragement, education and evaluation.

The good news is there’s SR2S grant money to help schools pursue this.  M-DOT is projecting over $6 million in grants for 2009.  Over 350 Michigan schools are already participating.

Tonight some of us gave a presentation to the School Board of Royal Oak about middle school science lesson plans and encouraged them to participate in this program.  It certainly seemed to many in attendance that this was a good idea.

Coincidentally, the school board meeting was held in my old (and now closed) elementary school.  I hadn’t been in the building for 25 years .  I noted that I almost always walked to school back then.

What can you do to help get your school district interested in SR2S?

Fortunately the Michigan SR2S and the National Center for SR2S are great web sites and a great place to get better acquainted with the program.  And since this program addresses student health and safety — and provides funding — it should be a relatively easy sell.

There’s also the upcoming annual statewide SR2S meeting on Monday, January 26, 2009 and it’s free.  It may be a simple “ask” to get a school representative at that meeting.

Crain’s Detroit Business has reported that the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan (CFSEM) awarded over $4 million in grants to help revitalize Detroit neighborhoods from the riverfront to the near east side.

Two of these grants are of special interest to those following trail development in Detroit.

The first is a $500,000 grant to the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy to help create recreational, fitness, cultural and educational programming.  This programming will be developed by working with local community groups, churches, schools and businesses.  It will likely be located or involve the Riverwalk and Dequindre Cut, both of which are managed by the Conservancy.

The second grant is $100,000 for the City of Detroit to begin planning a connection for “direct and safe” pedestrian access between the Dequindre Cut and Eastern Market.

The Trust Fund helped acquire the Clinton River Trail in Rochester Hills, Michigan

Governor Granholm recently signed Senate Bill 978 into law.  This bill adds the following directive for the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund:

The board shall give particular consideration to the acquisition of land and rights in land for
recreational trails that intersect the downtown areas of cities and villages.

Trails in urban areas have often been at a disadvantage when applying for Trust Fund grants.  They often don’t offer pristine natural resources yet they cost more than land located in more rural parts of Michigan.  To offset this disparity, the Trust Fund scoring system did provide extra points for regional trails.

It’s not clear how much of a change this will have in the grant process, but it should make trails in Southeast Michigan a bit more attractive.

Bikes Belong grant awards were recently announced.

Congratulations Flint!

This is a well-deserved nod for the regional bike efforts to make biking easier and safer in Flint. (And we’re jealous of you having sharrows — perhaps a first in Michigan.)

Five designated and aspiring Bicycle Friendly Communities will receive funds to help them make bicycling more safe, convenient and appealing places to ride.

These grants, designed to pinpoint specific needs outlined by each community in their Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) application, help pay for bike plans, technical assistance, pilot projects and innovative cycling initiatives.

Flint, Michigan
The Safe and Active Flint Coalition will receive $5,000 to improve bike safety and awareness through a Sharrow program. Flint received honorable mention in the last BFC round. They identified Sharrows—pavement markings encouraging cars and bicycles to share the road—as key to marking the first designated bike routes in the city.

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