The Michigan Recreation and Parks Association is having a Michigan Trails Summit on February 9th at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa.

The Summit’s theme is “Sustainability – We built it, now what do we do?”

The cost is $95 and includes a lunch. You can download the summit brochure and registration form.

Here is information on the scheduled sessions:

State of Michigan Trails

Jim Radabaugh, State Trails Coordinator – DNRE

The 2011 Trails Summit will kick off with an opening session that gives the current state of Michigan Trails. Updates will be given about the Trails Advisory Council, the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance, and the MRPA Trails Committee.

Marketing Your Trail

Wayne Hoffman, Wade Trim

Wayne Hofmann, Wade Trim’s Finance and Funding Coordinator will be presenting on how to take basic marketing techniques and use them to your advantage for your trail network.

Trail Towns Manual

Harry Burkholder, Land Information Access Association
Steve Schnell, Cheboygan County
Jim Muratzki, Land Information Access Association

This presentation will discuss a new “Trails Towns Manual” a document that describes and illustrates how communities can use a unique crowd-sourcing website to promote and encourage visitors to their trails. This document demonstrates how to support tourism, future business and economic development opportunities.

The Long and Short of Trail Maintenance

Jim Schneider, Trail Manager, Green County, OH

This presentation discusses the all aspects of trail maintenance for aggregate, concrete and asphalt trails. In addition, Jim will cover everything from the day-to-day items through long-term care. We will talk about tools and equipment for trail maintenance and offer some tips working smarter.

Lunch and Lightening Rounds

Best practices will be the theme of this lunch and learn session. Of course, there will be food but also plenty of opportunities to learn what others consider their best practices. This session will be fun but will provide lots of information to all.

Complete Streets Module

Nancy Krupiarz, Michigan Trails & Greenways Alliance

Complete streets is an inclusive, context-sensitive design framework and infrastructure that enables safe and convenient access for all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders of all ages and abilities and motor vehicle drivers. What does this mean to trail advocates, planners and promoters? Find out in this presentation by Nancy Krupiarz, Executive Director, Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance.

State Wide Water Trail Meeting

Mary Bohling, MSU Extension, Sea Grant

Water trails provide recreational opportunities for people to enjoy and there are unique considerations important when planning a new water trail. Join Mary Bohling, Michigan State University, Sea Grant Educator as she facilitates this meeting of advocates from across Michigan on developing a state wide water trail. This collaboration just recently formed to help promote Michigan as an outdoor paddle sport destination.

MDOT Director to remain

We heard a rumbling last week that a new director of MDOT would be named. That would have been a shame since Kirk Steudle has been very supportive of Complete Streets and non-motorized transportation.  However, his support of the DRIC had cost him Republican support, to the point where some asked the state attorney general to look into allegations of MDOT publishing misleading data.

The Free Press is now reporting that he will continue to lead MDOT. We think this is a big positive for Michigan bicyclists.

West Bloomfield trail to grow

The West Bloomfield rail trail just added 2.3 miles of new abandoned rail line according to the Spinal Column.

“This acquisition has been over three years in the making. We are excited that all the past work and negotiations will eventually result in a universally-accessible trail in a few years,” said Parks and Recreation Director Dan Navarre. “It’s wonderful that the grant funding made this acquisition possible by funding the majority of the purchase.”

We’re not sure when the trail will be resurfaced to match the existing trail conditions. The article makes it sound as though cyclists and walkers could use the trail before it is completed. That would  be similar to what happened with the Clinton River Trail (part of the same railroad corridor) in Rochester Hills.

Windsor’s Riverside Drive

The Windsor Star is reporting on continued, thought apparently limited opposition to redeveloping Riverside Drive.

The project, which would see bike lanes and new pedestrian crossings installed across the city’s entire riverfront from east to west, would produce a huge improvement to the quality of life for a large number of Windsor residents at a relatively low price, while providing a major boost to the city’s image.

City planners had considered widening parts of the road, which was originally built on a narrow right-of-way to service cottages along the Detroit River.

But widening the road for vehicular traffic was rejected as unwanted by a majority of city residents, who cherish the road’s rustic, tree-lined character for jogging and cycling, not to mention Sunday drives with the top down.

That plans sounds like a Complete Street to us. We hope to see it built.

The Detroit News is reporting about an initial clean up of Fordson Island in the Rouge River.

As noted in the article, the island is part of greenway connection between Hines Drive/Rouge Gateway and the Southwest Detroit Greenlink/Corktown.

A conceptual master plan from 2002 shows the Rouge Gateway continuing to follow the Rouge downstream. Currently the Gateway trail ends at Michigan Avenue, but with this plan it would extend southeast to the Fort Street bridge over the river. Fordson Island is directly upstream from that bridge.

And  as we mentioned a couple years ago, the Marathon Oil Company, the island’s primary land owner, wants to donate it for public greenspace. And that pledge to donate the land meant a proposed change to the master plans. That change is to shift the trail from the east river bank to the west and have the trail go across the island.

This connection could really spur economic development — even if it only connects those hungry cyclists on Hines Drive with the awesome Southwest Detroit taquerias.

Last week we mentioned that the Detroit RiverWalk, Dequindre Cut, and Milliken State Park were recommended for $34.4 million grant funding. While it would be nearly impossible to top that news, there are other RiverWalk updates since then.

To begin with, the following was posted on the Detroit Riverfront page on Facebook (which has 12,929 likes!):

News Flash: The construction project on the Dequindre Cut is complete and the entire 1.35 mile greenway is open. Also, the parking lot at Rivard Plaza is now open!

While we have not been there yet to confirm, this rebuilt segment of Atwater is to have bike lanes.

More on the Uniroyal site

Today’s Crain’s Detroit Business includes an article on the Uniroyal site cleanup.

This site is the abandoned river property which sits between the MacArthur Bridge (to Belle Isle) and Mt Elliot Park. This is a major missing segment of the RiverWalk. It could also be the terminus for the Gleaner’s Greenway currently being studied.

But it’s not just development plans riding on the cleanup of the Uniroyal site.

Its access to the Detroit River makes it among the last unfinished sections of the 3.5-mile RiverWalk path, said Faye Nelson, CEO of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy.

She said the funds have been secured to build the RiverWalk on the Uniroyal site once the cleanup is finished.

“Once this site is made available to us, we can make a critical connection to make up the majority of the remaining construction,” she said. “We’re eagerly looking forward to beginning work there.”

If the cleanup begins next March and lasts 18 months as stated then the RiverWalk construction could begin as early as 2013.

A perfect Holiday gift

Want to give something that will last forever? The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy is selling bricks on the RiverWalk.