From MDOT:

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is hosting an open house-style meeting to provide an overview on the upcoming construction work on the I-275 Metro Trail in Wayne County. The project includes reconstruction of the bike path between US-12 (Michigan Avenue) and Edward Hines Drive. Interested stakeholders will have the opportunity to learn details and provide feedback regarding this project.

Scheduled to begin this spring 2010, MDOT will reconstruct approximately 7 miles of the Metro Trail, rehabilitate pedestrian bridges, install signals at certain intersections and upgrade signs.

WHEN: Tuesday, March 2, 2010, 6-8p.m.

WHERE: Canton Township Administrative Building, Freedom Room, 1150 Canton Center Road, Canton
(Special accommodations: 734-394-5100)

You can optionally RSVP for this event on Facebook.

MTGA’s Nancy Krupiarz and I are in New Orleans for the Urban Pathways to Livable Communities conference. With the ever growing expansion of Detroit’s greenways, this should be an excellent opportunity to understand more best practices from communities similar to Detroit.

The Urban Pathways to Livable Communities conference begins tomorrow in New Orleans. Hosted in part by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, the conference aims to create connections between the fields of transportation, public health and planning on the local, state and national levels. The first day of the conference is hosted by RTC’s Urban Pathways Initiative. It will bring together trail advocates and professionals from across the nation to discuss best practices for building and encouraging use of trails in low-income urban neighborhoods.

There is additional information and a podcast on the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy web site.

— Todd Scott, Detroit Greenways Coordinator, MTGA

The Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grants millions of dollars each year for park land acquisition and trail development. One requirement is the grant recipients must have a recreation plan on file with the DNRE.

Until last week, the city of Detroit did meet that requirement.

They had a recreation plan that calls for adjusting the city’s parks, repositioning some, and investing in others to best serve the needs of the current population. Developed in 2006, the plan had been held up in city council committee.

Right-sizing the park system was called “controversial” by the Detroit News and others. More recently a Detroit News editorial said “it is essential to begin rallying the public to the benefits of right-sizing.” Clearly the wall between the news and editorial staff works.

With a new council came new committee chairs. Council member Kwame Kenyatta now chairs the Neighboorhood and Community Services committee. After a presentation on the rec plan and some positive public comment from MTGA, this committee voted out the proposal. Two weeks later it was approved by the city council.

The Recreation Department expects to submit Trust Fund grant requests due this April.

But some Detroit greenways may be seeking grants as well. The Trust Fund has specifically prioritized funding for greenways and trails that connect urban centers. Projects like the Conner Creek Greenway and Dequindre Cut could make excellent requests for development funding.

C and G Newspapers ran a recent article on the rail-with-trail proposal in Royal Oak:

City officials have begun to look into the possibility of a recreational trail along the railroad lines that run through the city and into the downtown. The administration was tasked at looking at the issue after Commissioner Jim Rasor brought it forward at the Jan. 25 meeting. Any potential trail would run alongside the existing railway, where there is a large amount of open area.

“This would really enhance recreation possibilities for Royal Oak and the region,” Rasor said.

Rasor said he would like to see the trail constructed from the downtown area to the northern Royal Oak boarder, which is a length of approximately four miles.

A long-range goal, Rasor said, would be to eventually link up to the Clinton River Trail in Pontiac, which runs from Pontiac to Rochester Hills and eventually dumps into the Macomb Orchard Trail, which goes 26 miles to Richmond.

Since this article was published, I’ve met with city of Royal Oak staff to discuss next steps — which is basically information gathering. I’ve also kept the Active Transportation Alliance, the organization that will create Royal Oak’s non-motorized plan, in the loop.

There was a question about whether a feasibility study was the next step. In speaking with the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy they asked. “Is it being used now?” The answer is sure. They said that if people are already using the pathway next to the rail lines then it’s feasible.

Below is a link from a 1932 article discussing the history of this rail right-of-way. “All cuts and fills were constructed for four tracks, but at present only two tracks have been laid.” Two of the lines were intended for suburban train service while the other pair for freight. As noted earlier, the third and fourth line were never added, which leaves room for a non-motorized trail.

Link: Grand Trunk Relocation on Detroit-Pontiac Line, Engineering News-Record, October 21, 1932

Interestingly enough, the original plan was to build an “elevated motor speedway” above the rail lines. It was to be a toll road allowing motorists to travel between Pontiac and Detroit in under 30 minutes.

This was the vision of Joseph A. Bower and he had a good reason to build a highway to downtown.

He’d just built and opened the Ambassador Bridge.

MarketWatch has a recent article on the top ten “must-have” features that home buyers are looking for according to a recent survey.

The feature list includes nine home features (e.g. large kitchen) and one community amenity:

Community landscaping, with walking paths and playgrounds. Forget about golf courses, swimming pools and clubhouses. Buyers in large planned developments prefer hiking among lush greenery.

This is not surprising as trails have been among the most desired community amenities for years now.

Metromode ran a related article on greenspace preservation in Metro Detroit.

Norman Cox, president of The Greenway Collaborative, Inc., has consulted in the region for over 20 years, mostly on greenway, trail, open space, and non-motorized transportation planning. He’s worked with several communities and finds the environmental ethic ingrained in regional culture. “You’d be hard-pressed to find a recreation plan of a county or a significant-sized township or city that does not have an open space component,” he says. “They’re looking at things a lot more holistically, realizing that parks aren’t just points on a map, but how can they be part of a system that’s preserving a functioning natural system from water and wildlife standpoint as well as providing recreational resources.”

Community research consistently notes that residents, and would-be residents, want places to walk, bike, and safely move without having to use their automobile, Cox says. “If you are a community trying to be an attractive place to not only retain the businesses that are there but attract new businesses, it’s a good economic move to provide these resources. This is what people are looking for. Yes, there is a cost for developing and maintaining them but there is a good economic pay-back — as a matter of fact it’s almost a matter of survival these days.”

How do you create green space in a dense urban environment? You look for natural opportunities, such as an abandoned rail corridor, a riverside or waterfront, or other abandoned land. “Sometimes you have to be more creative,” says Cox. “We are big proponents of an urban greenway that utilizes the existing local street network. Most pedestrians and bicyclists have their secret ways to get from one place to another, using local roads, trails through schoolyards, and parks. We look at formalizing those.” Cox is currently working on the Clinton River Trail, which runs about 10-12 miles through five communities.

And speaking of Norm Cox and the Greenway Collaborative: They are part of a team (along with Smith JJR and the Active Transportation Alliance) to develop a plan which includes extending the RiverWalk east to the Conner Creek Greenway and beyond.