Overlooking the Phase II expansion from the large grassy mound at Tri-Centennial State Park

Tri-Centennial State Park on the Detroit River is all set to expand and connect with the Riverwalk’s Rivard Plaza.  This much awaited expansion means the Detroit Riverwalk will be longer and will provide a trail connection to the Dequindre Cut.

The State Park expansion will actually have two parallel paths: one for walking and the other for biking.  This should help reduce trail bottlenecks that are often seen on the Riverwalk between the Rivard Plaza and Joe Louis Arena.

The DNR is striving for a softer trail design.  In other words, there will be more natural features and less man-made.  There will also be more interpretive and educational opportunities along this trail.

And as anyone who’s been on this property knows, it’s popular with fishermen.  The DNR plans to accomodate them as well after construction is completed. (more…)

Okay, so this USA Weekend article is Photoshopped. Detroit was not listed.

Still it could be listed in the future.

A stunning network of trails and greenways is being developed. There is a plan for 400 miles of bike lanes.

And because Detroit is under one government, it’s going to be much easier to implement consistent city-wide biking plans compared with nearby counties. In the counties, bike advocates need to convince many individual city, village, and township governments to get on board, which is no small task.

Last Thursday was another monthly Green Tea event, this time promoting biking in Detroit. It was a great success with a very large and diverse turnout.

Wheelhouse Bike Tours

The Tea began with an introduction from our hosts Kelli and Karen from the Wheelhouse Detroit bike shop on the Detroit Riverwalk. The shop specializes in rentals, service, accessories, and bike tours. They have a freebie Wednesday night ride (9 PM). Now the are offering guided Neighborhood Tours, some of which include lunch. And of course you can rent a Wheelhouse bike as well. Check out the Wheelhouse web site for further details.

400 Miles of Bike Lanes

Next, I spoke to the group about Detroit greenways and the Non-Motorized Transportation Master Plan. The latter was developed by Giffels-Webster and was funded by MDOT. The plan inventoried the many cycling destinations across Detroit, including parks, schools, cultural centers, recreational centers, etc. It looked at how to best connect them with a network of on-road bike facilities — bike lanes and shared signed routes.

In summary, the plan calls for nearly 400 miles of bikes lanes across the City of Detroit that could be implemented during normal road maintenance by simply re-striping existing roads. [Additional details regarding this plan will be posted to m-bike in the upcoming week.]

And while this plan was accepted by Detroit’s Traffic Engineering Division, it had not gone before City Council. The GreenWays Initiative and MTGA worked to change that. Last month Giffels-Webster gave a presentation of the plan to Council President Ken Cockrel’s Green Task Force. We discussed the plan with other City Council members and distributed the copies of it.

On September 8th, City Council will have a discussion of this non-motorized plan. We need pedestrians and cyclists to attend and voice their support during the public comment period. The Council is meeting on the 13th floor of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center on September 8th at 11:15AM.

Biking to Eastern Market

Next, the group hopped on their bikes and rode from the Wheelhouse to Eastern Market. We were greeted at Shed 2 by Market President Dan Carmody and a box of healthy snacks. We discussed how to make Detroit more bike friendly and how the Dequindre Cut trail will be an excellent connection between the Riverwalk and the Market.

Special thanks to Kathryn Underwood and others for helping make this Green Tea a big success.

Original trestle over the Clinton River in Pontiac

The Clinton River Trail has come a long way after some long struggles. The negotiations to buy the land seemed endless at the time. One of the low points was when the railroad put up for sales signs on the property while we trying to negotiate an affordable price. Fortunately a lot of good folks were pushing for the trail, including Dan Keifer and County Commissioner Bob Gosselin (then a state representative.)

That low point was soon forgotten as the trail was acquired and developed into what it is now.

Last night was a visioning workshop to discuss and determine on what trail features and amenities need to be added in order to make the Clinton River Trail world-class.

It was a very successful workshop that was very well attended. There were the usual faces that have been supportive through the years, along with many new faces. It’s great to see the continued interest in this great community asset and it leaves little doubt that the trail is well on its way to becoming world class.

Model D recently posted this great video on the Dequindre Cut. Tom Woiwode from the Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan has been a major champion of this project from the start.

The big question is when will it be open. As of last week it was 90% to 95% completed. There are still some finishing touches to be completed. The target grand opening is October 1st.