It’s not everyday you see a car parked in the new Dequindre Cut.

But it was legit.

There were three artists adding graffiti. By the end of the day, their work was complete.

Model D has an article discussing this trail enhancement project.

Acting as project curators, CAID director Aaron Timlin and curator of graffiti art Tom Stoye selected four artists to create original murals along the Cut. Three writers — MALT, PHERS and TEAD — have completed murals on one wall near the Gratiot portion of the Cut, with an additional piece by GAME to be created in the same area this coming weekend.

According to the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, other non-commissioned grafitti continues to be added in other parts of the Cut.

We should also note that the sidewalk improvements from the Dequindre Cut to Eastern Market along Gratiot Avenue appear to be nearly complete. This is a major improvement.

article by Todd Scott

Chef Anthony Bourdain, the show’s punk-rock aficionado and proud New Yorker posted on his blog about his visit to Detroit and other rust belt cities.

I think that troubled cities often tragically misinterpret what’s coolest about themselves. They scramble for cure-alls, something that will “attract business”, always one convention center, one pedestrian mall or restaurant district away from revival. They miss their biggest, best and probably most marketable asset: their unique and slightly off-center character. Few people go to New Orleans because it’s a “normal” city — or a “perfect” or “safe” one. They go because it’s crazy, borderline dysfunctional, permissive, shabby, alcoholic and bat sh!t crazy — and because it looks like nowhere else.

From a cycling perspective, this is certainly true.

For instance, the super popular Tour de Troit bike ride doesn’t start in a Wallmart parking lot. It starts in front of a amazing yet decaying 1913 Beaux-Arts train station. The route doesn’t take you past a repeating background of national chain stores and restaurants. You won’t find a Heidelberg Project or a Hamtramck Disneyland or a Dequindre Cut in the suburbs, much less anywhere else in the world.

And you won’t find as many major streets with such minor traffic.

Biking in the city of Detroit is like nowhere else. As we mentioned before, we don’t just fit the bike-friendly mold that other cities are chasing and that’s just fine. Let’s celebrate and hone what we have while not trying so desparately to hide the blemishes that aren’t hurting anyone (like old Tiger Stadium.)

But off the soapbox and back to Bourdain’s blog, he does continue with a focus just on our fair city.

Detroit. Where just about everything cool originated. As angry as one gets looking at block after block of abandoned row houses in Baltimore and wondering how the hell that happened, it’s mind boggling to see how far Detroit has been allowed to fall. But what a truly magnificent breed of crazy-ass hardcase characters have dug in there. Of all three cities we visited, Detroit, oddly enough, even while looking the jaws of death straight in the face, remains closest to being a true culinary wonderland. This is due entirely to the successive waves of migration and immigration from all over the world, when people came to MAKE things in America — each group bringing their own food and traditions. Detroit IS the story of America, for better — and worse, and I think we’ve missed that, allowed ourselves to look away. Detroit, after all, made us who we are. Literally. A country of cars, highways, car culture, upward mobility, rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and what were once, unlimited dreams. Whatever happens next, Motown, Eminem and the Stooges’ “Fun House”, at least, shall surely outlast the automobile.

So, how does one tie together a post on Detroit, the Michigan Central Station, Tiger stadium and biking?

Eminem’s Beatiful video seems to do just fine. (Not safe for work, so watch it at home if you have to.)

Todd Scott Is The Detroit Greenways Coordinator

It’s grand opening in May officially kicked off the Summer of Dequindre Cut Love. It was far and away the most talked about trail at the MTGA RiverDays booth. And at the Palmer Park Green Fair, Lt. Governor John Cherry was quick to locate the Dequindre Cut on the Detroit Greenways brochure.

The word is out.

And one major reason is the world class graffiti along the Cut. Yesterday’s Detroit News ran an article that discusses that graffiti with some of the artists that created it. The article includes both a video and an audio tour. It was interesting to learn that some of the graffiti is over 20 years old.

Additional link: Photos of the Dequindre Cut graffiti prior to the trail construction
Detroit Ferry Service?

Currently the only convenient means for getting ones bike across the Detroit River into Canada is by driving it. That may change as the Wayne County Port Authority will soon have support facilities for ferry service on the RiverWalk. The Free Press is reporting their receipt of $7 million in funding to further that effort thanks to Senator Carl Levin.

Imagine if taking your bike to Windsor, Canada was as straightforward as taking it to Mackinaw Island (with customs, of course.)
Special Needs Bike Camp

Today’s Detroit News has a great article called, Bike camp clears hurdle for special needs children:

Because of their limitations, only 10 percent of children with Down syndrome and 18 percent of children with autism can ride a bike, said Dale Ulrich, director of U-M’s Center for Physical Activity & Health in Pediatric Disabilities.

But after the camp, most who attend can ride a bike, and the study is finding the children are more likely to stay physically active, leading to many health benefits. This is especially good for children with Down syndrome since it often leads to excess weight. Children with autism often suffer from sleep disorders that are treated with medications, some of which cause weight gain.

Besides the health benefits, learning how to ride a bike also helps the children become more social, verbal and independent, Ulrich said.
No Sidewalks

This Free Press article, Road sound raises residents’ fury, shows how backwards some communities can be.

…The residents did post one victory. The township board agreed not to run a sidewalk alongside Square Lake Road.

“The beautification project is not most important right now, safety is the issue,” township Clerk Janet Roncelli said.

Apparently pedestrians safety is not a priority for Bloomfield Township.
Downsizing Detroit

The Free Press revisits how we can manage the downsizing of Detroit. While not directly about biking, a planned downsizing would lead to vast greenspace and opportunities for additional greenways and trails.

And in a related vein, the Detroit News is noting the return of wildlife within the city, including red foxes.

The red fox is carving out a place of its own deep into downtown, joining the ranks of raccoons, skunks, opossum, white-tailed deer and red-tailed hawks finding homes in untended lots, houses and buildings in the rusting one-time car capital.
And don’t forget the red-necked pheasants!

Todd Scott Is The Detroit Greenways Coordinator

Both Crain’s and Model D are reporting updates on the trail connection between the Dequindre Cut and the RiverWalk.

From the Crain’s article:
The Economic Development Corporation of the city of Detroit today approved a $871,900 contract with Detroit-based WCI Contractors Inc. for an 800-foot extension of the Dequindre Cut, the Dequindre Trail extension, to begin in July.

The extension will continue the paved bicycle and pedestrian path from the below-grade Dequindre Cut on the street level between Woodbridge and Atwater Street and is expected to be completed by end of this year.

This is much welcomed news.

This reduces the confusion in getting between the two trails, especially for first-timers. While at the recent RiverDays event, the most often asked question is, “How do I get to the Dequindre Cut?” and unfortunately the answer wasn’t that straight forward.

We posted the conceptual design of this trail connection back in October.

Todd Scott Is The Detroit Greenways Coordinator

Detroit Riverfront Conservancy
Detroit Trails and Greenways

Grand Parade

Thursday, May 14, 2009, 10:00am – 2:00pm

At the south end of the Dequindre Cut
Woodbridge near Riopelle

The Dequindre Cut Greenway is a non-motorized trail that will extend from the Detroit River northward, with the future potential to connect to the Ferndale-Birmingham greenway in Oakland County.  The Detroit portion of the Greenway presents a unique opportunity to encourage reinvestment in adjacent properties by re-activating an abandoned rail corridor as a recreational amenity that links the downtown area and the Detroit River, with its parks and RiverWalk, to the Eastern Market District, the University Cultural Center Area, the Midtown Loop, and a number of residential neighborhoods.

Come join the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy and others in the grand opening of the Dequindre Cut, the exciting new rails-to-trail running between Eastern Market and the RiverWalk.
http://www.detroitriverfront.org/

This ride video is on the Dequindre Cut, from the Gratiot ramp south to the Jefferson Avenue bridge. The ride by Detroit Greenways Coordinator, Todd Scott was in July of 2008 before the Cut was landscaped. The Dequindre Cut is scheduled to officially open on May 14, 2009. The Parade will begin from the opposite end of the Cut.

Spring means Bicycle Love in Detroit

The Metro Times just released their 2009 Best of Detroit lists. Among the staff picks was Best Place to Break a Sweat with the winner being “bicycling”. (click the above link for more from Todd Scott of M-Bike .org)

Welcome To Spring From The League of Michigan Bicyclists

Although March seemed to come and go like a lion this year, we did have some nice days to savor in the middle, as the luck of the Irish smiled upon this year with several glorious days leading up to St. Patrick’s Day.  I hope you have made it outside already.

Here is news from LMB providing reminders on early season rides.

May, National Bike Month, will be great fun, as National Transportation Week and Bike to Work Week coincide on the week of May 11, with Bike to Work Day (which you should celebrate as often as possible) on May 15. In Metro Detroit, there will be a Commuter Challenge the week of May 11, which kicks off with a transportation fair in Campus Martius from 11 to 2 on Friday, May 8.  The Transportation Fair will provide information about alternatives to the single occupant car commute, with each day of the following week emphasizing different alternate modes.

Whether you favor the stimulus act, cycling is a huge beneficiary, as many projects for greenways, bike lanes, and other needed improvements to the cycling infrastructure will receive funds.  In Metro Detroit, Kresge Foundation made a large grant to fund construction of a number of greenway projects, and the early word is that stimulus funding for Detroit’s Non-Motorized Transportation Plan (approved just last fall) is at the top of the list.

May 14 will mark the grand opening of the Dequindre Cut, which provides a multi-use path from the Riverfront to Eastern Market, and is the first part of what will be a Bike Super Highway in Detroit.

Steve Roach is the Region 1 Representative for the League of Michigan Bicyclists.  The LMB has established a Google Group for Region 1, which is used to provide updates, share information about rides, and to swap grand stories:  “This is a discussion group for LMB members and cyclists in Region 1.  The group can be used to discuss or inform other local cyclists about bicycle routes, events, bikes and parts for sale, advocacy issues and other cycling related concerns.”  Said Steve. If you wish to join the Region 1 Google Group, please send him an email at Roach@MillerCanfield.com or go to http://groups.google.com/group/lmbregion1?hl=en and ask to join.  If this link does not work right, do a search for LMB Region One Google Group.  You do not need to be an LMB member to join the Google Group.

Ride of Silence

On May 20, 2009, at 7:00 PM, the Ride of Silence will begin in North America and continue to roll across the globe. Cyclists will take to the roads in a slow, silent procession to honor cyclists who have been killed or injured while cycling on public roadways. Although cyclists have a legal right to Share the Road with motorists, the motoring public often isn’t aware of these rights, and sometimes not aware of the cyclists themselves. The Ride Of Silence is a free ride that asks its cyclists to ride no faster than 12 mph and remain silent during the ride. The Ride, which is held during National Bike Safety Month and Week, aims to raise the awareness of motorists, police and city officials that cyclists have a legal right to the public roadways.

This is a road ride, aiming at making the road safer for all cyclists, and giving us the opportunity to honor and remember family and friends, who’ve been injured or killed by motorists while enjoying a sport they love.

Join cyclist worldwide, in honoring our friends and family, and helping the make roads safer for all MI cyclists.

Detroit, “Belle Isle” Wheelhouse Detroit, from Belle Isle, fountain area, 10 miles
Contact: Steve Roach, Roach@MillerCanfiel d.com 313 496 7933
Kelli Kavanaugh info@wheelhousedetr oit.com

Detroit, “Grosse Pointe” Wolverine Sports Club, from American Cycle & Fitness, Mack Ave, Grosse Pointe Woods.
Contact: Russ St. John surfkumu@sbcglobal. net

Four Detroit Bicycle Tours In May(click here)

Detroit’s Green Alley Project

This could be one of Detroit’s shortest yet coolest greenways for peds and bikes.

Actions Have Reactions

Excitement over Detroit’s developing greenways projects was dampened a bit by the suspension of this years Detroit Festival Of The Arts. A discussion is taking place here.