m-bike.org » Bagley bridge http://www.m-bike.org/blog Promoting non-motorized transportation in the Motor City Tue, 15 May 2012 12:06:58 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Monday’s Detroit Bike News http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2010/05/09/mondays-detroit-bike-news/ http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2010/05/09/mondays-detroit-bike-news/#comments Mon, 10 May 2010 04:00:18 +0000 Todd Scott http://www.m-bike.org/blog/?p=3888 Vandals mar new pedestrian bridge in Detroit

The Detroit News is reporting on some vandalism which has already occurred on our recently opened bike/ped bridge in Mexicantown.

Less than a day after it opened, the Mexicantown Bagley Avenue Pedestrian Bridge was vandalized, Michigan Department of Transportation officials said.

Numerous individuals have “tagged” the $5 million bridge with spray paint and used knives to carve into a wooden bench in the middle of the span. Others signed their names with pens and magic markers on the bench, officials said.

In fact, an MDOT employee’s video camera caught one woman as she used a colored pen to scrawl on a bench in the middle of the 400-foot-long bridge.

“Yes, it was me,” said Oneita Jackson, a copy editor at the Detroit Free Press and author of Sunday’s “O Street”?blog.

Unbelievably pathetic.

10 tips for downsizing Detroit

Free Press Business Writer John Gallagher lists tips for rightsizing Detroit. He saved the best for last.

10. Use greening strategies to reinvent Detroit.

With so much excess land available, the city has the option to become a much more earth-friendly, environmentally sustainable place. Use the vacancy to lace the city with greenways, bicycle lanes, nature trails, pocket parks, urban farms and wildlife habitats.

Michigan lawmaker plans Arizona-like immigration bill

One state legislator is intent on stopping the illegal inflow of Canadians into Michigan according to a Free Press article.

A Michigan lawmaker believes the state’s law enforcement officers need the authority to arrest illegal immigrants and is drafting legislation similar to Arizona’s new immigration law.

Rep. Kim Meltzer, R-Clinton Township, said her bill would allow police to request proof of citizenship from people who are stopped and questioned on another offense, such as a traffic violation or selling fraudulent identity documents. Officers would have the authority to arrest people who can’t prove their legal status.

Okay, we’re kidding about the Canadians.

Still, if you roll through a stop sign on your bike and don’t have your driver’s license, it sounds like the police would have the option to arrest you.

Do you always bike with a driver’s license?

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]]> http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2010/05/09/mondays-detroit-bike-news/feed/ 1 New Bagley pedestrian bridge reconnects Mexicantown http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2010/05/06/new-bagley-pedestrian-bridge-reconnects-mexicantown/ http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2010/05/06/new-bagley-pedestrian-bridge-reconnects-mexicantown/#comments Thu, 06 May 2010 18:17:25 +0000 Todd Scott http://www.m-bike.org/blog/?p=3860 Yesterday, Cinco de Mayo, the new Bagley pedestrian bridge over I-75 in Detroit was officially opened. Mexicantown has been divided by I-75 for over 40 years and this biking and walking bridge helps close some of that gap.

And it does it with style as the below photos show.

Here are some details from the Detroit News:

The 407-foot-long bridge is the first cable-stayed pedestrian bridge in Michigan and varies in width from 10 feet on the western approach to 31 feet on the eastern approach.

The bridge also connects to plazas at both ends. It is adorned with 335 lights and surrounded by 900 trees, plants and shrubs.

The Bagley Avenue Pedestrian Bridge?cost $5 million to build and is part of the $230 million Gateway Project, which provides a direct connection from I-75 and I-96 to the Ambassador Bridge.

Mayor Bring addresses the crowd A large, colorful mural on the east ramp Michigan's first cable-stayed ped bridge Cesar Chavez leads the crowd over the bridge

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]]> http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2010/05/06/new-bagley-pedestrian-bridge-reconnects-mexicantown/feed/ 3 Bagley ped bridge to open on Cinco de Mayo http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2010/04/26/bagley-ped-bridge-to-open-on-cinco-de-mayo/ http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2010/04/26/bagley-ped-bridge-to-open-on-cinco-de-mayo/#comments Mon, 26 Apr 2010 11:12:48 +0000 Todd Scott http://www.m-bike.org/blog/?p=3714 The Southwest Detroit Business Association (SDBA) is inviting people to a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Cinco de Mayo marks the opening of the Pediestrian Bridge connecting East and West Mexicantown.

Come down to the MDOT Welcome Center on Bagley, May 5, 2010 to mark this historic occasion! Event starts at 1:00 PM, with the official opening ceremony at 2:00 PM.

Come to celebrate the historic opening, Stay for a margarita!

How can you saw no? This much anticipated bridge will be opening in Mexicantown on Cinco de Mayo.

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]]> http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2010/04/26/bagley-ped-bridge-to-open-on-cinco-de-mayo/feed/ 0 Mid-April project photos from around Detroit http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2010/04/11/mid-april-project-photos-from-around-detroit/ http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2010/04/11/mid-april-project-photos-from-around-detroit/#comments Mon, 12 Apr 2010 01:28:14 +0000 Todd Scott http://www.m-bike.org/blog/?p=3747 Below are photos taken from various projects around Detroit that are key components to a more bike friendly city.

This new section of Milliken State Park opened late last year This new section of trail will connect the Dequindre Cut to Atwater/Riverwalk Henry Ford apprenticed at the Globe Building shown in the upper-right The west entrance to the Bagley pedestrian bridge, scheduled to open for Cinco de Mayo

Also, M-Live/Associated Press has published a more thorough story on the Midtown Loop, which is set to break ground this Thursday.

Construction starts next week on the Midtown Greenway, which by the fall will be an improved route for pedestrians and bicyclists around Detroit’s Cultural Center area and Wayne State University’s campus.

It’s the first part of a four-phase project that by 2012 is expected to link the area with Eastern Market and the Detroit riverfront. It will widen walkways, as well as add landscaping, bike racks, benches and small park areas.

“We wanted to create a more walkable district … and to beautify the neighborhood and to really help spur on more economic development,” Susan Mosey, president of the University Cultural Center Association, which is spearheading the project, said Friday.

Read the entire article

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]]> http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2010/04/11/mid-april-project-photos-from-around-detroit/feed/ 0 Nine Detroit Projects to Watch in 2010 http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2010/01/04/nine-detroit-projects-to-watch-in-2010/ http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2010/01/04/nine-detroit-projects-to-watch-in-2010/#comments Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:56:54 +0000 Todd Scott http://www.m-bike.org/blog/?p=3345 Here are nine bike- or trail-related Detroit projects scheduled for design, construction and/or completion in 2010.

9. Bus racks on DDOT buses

SMART buses already have racks and DDOT says their fleet should have them by the spring — or so we’ve been told.

8. Milliken State Park

Okay, technically this was opened in December, but given the weather, not many may know about this RiverWalk connection. One key is it brings the RiverWalk trail much closer to the Dequindre Cut. The DNR has already received some funding to continue the pathway around the large grassy mound.

7. Dequindre Cut Trail Extension

Construction is underway on this trail extension which connects the existing Dequindre Cut to Atwater and Milliken State Park. Construction should be completed by the fall.

6. Bagley Street Pedestrian Bridge

This critical non-motorized bridge over I-75 reconnects Bagley Street in Mexicantown. While the bridge appears complete, the ramps were not the last we’d seen them. We expect the construction to be completed early in 2010.

5. Anthony Wayne Drive/Third Avenue

Anthony Wayne Drive through the Wayne State Campus is being reconfigured to add more on-street parking and bike lanes.

4. Second Avenue

New Center Council is looking at reconfiguring Second Avenue between Grand Boulevard and the Wayne State Campus. It’s expected that the new configuration will become two-way with either bike lanes or shared-lanes.

3. Conner Creek Greenway

Two miles of this greenway are already completed near the city airport. More segments should be constructed this summer, including bike lanes along St. Jean between Mack and Jeffererson. Clairpointe from Jefferson to Maheras Gentry Park will also get bike lanes. A third segment along the Mt. Olivet cemetery and continuing north to Eight Mile is becoming ready to go as well.

2. Midtown Loop (Phase I)

Construction of the first mile of this new greenway should begin this spring along Kirby and John R. Phase II will complete the rectangular route along Canfield and Cass.

1. Corktown/Mexicantown Greenlink

Construction is expected to begin this year. The end product will be 16 miles of bikes routes and bike lanes throughout the Corktown and Mexicantown neighborhoods.

The city of Detroit currently has about 7 miles of bike lanes, nearly all of which are on Belle Isle. That number should break 40 miles by the end of the year.

There are two other MDOT road projects that should have bike lanes but MDOT is providing flimsey excuses to not do so. Advocates are still pushing MDOT on those and if MDOT does the right thing, Detroit would surpass Ann Arbor’s bike lane mileage.

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]]> http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2010/01/04/nine-detroit-projects-to-watch-in-2010/feed/ 2 Brief Bike News from around Metro Detroit http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2009/07/02/brief-bike-news-from-around-metro-detroit/ http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2009/07/02/brief-bike-news-from-around-metro-detroit/#comments Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:21:15 +0000 Todd Scott http://www.m-bike.org/blog/?p=2313 Kathy Wendler of the Southwest Detroit Business Association addresses the ribbon cutting crowd

Bagley Bridge in Mexicantown

The ribbon cutting for the I-75 Gateway Project was Monday.

Northbound and southbound I-75 are now open. However, the Bagley bike and pedestrian bridge is not.

MDOT announced that the ramps will be completed in a later construction phase. According to the Detroit News, it won’t open until November.

Metro Detroit Trails

The Detroit News recently published an interactive map showing shared-use trails in Metro Detroit. It really shows how these trails are starting to connect into a larger regionwide network — a process largely led by the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance.

Draft Trailway Master Plan

The Spinal Column is reporting the completion of a draft master plan for the Huron Valley Trail extension eastward from Wixom to M-5.

The Commerce, Walled Lake and Wixom Trailway Management Council will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. on July 30 in the Commerce Township Hall to receive public comment on a proposed master plan for the Michigan Airline Railroad corridor.

The trailway council, made up of representatives of three communities that seek to acquire stretches of the railroad running through their jurisdiction, is expected to adopt the master plan at the July 30 meeting.

This plan was paid for by a $5,250 donation from the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance.

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]]> http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2009/07/02/brief-bike-news-from-around-metro-detroit/feed/ 0 I-75 Gateway ribbon cutting http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2009/06/25/i-75-gateway-ribbon-cutting/ http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2009/06/25/i-75-gateway-ribbon-cutting/#comments Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:55:52 +0000 Todd Scott http://www.m-bike.org/blog/?p=2280 gatewayCoffee, churros, and a ribbon cutting are planned for next Monday at the Mexicantown Welcome Center at 2835 Bagley in Detroit.

We’re looking forward to riding over the Bagley Street pedestrian bridge, whose progress we’ve monitored over the past year.

This is a great example of a transportation project that improves the livability of a community. This bridge helps mitigate some of the harm done when I-75 was first cut through the Mexicantown community and dividing it in two.

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]]> http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2009/06/25/i-75-gateway-ribbon-cutting/feed/ 0 42.3243370 -83.0815506 Bagley Bridge Closer to Complete http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2009/05/05/bagley-bridge-closer-to-complete/ http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2009/05/05/bagley-bridge-closer-to-complete/#comments Tue, 05 May 2009 18:02:35 +0000 Todd Scott http://www.m-bike.org/blog/?p=1820 img_2566While many pedestrian/bike bridges often provide critical trail connections, the Bagley bridge provides a critical community connection.

And it’s going to make that connection with some pizazz.

We’ve been tracking the progress on this bridge for some time now.

One rumor was it would be completed in time for the Cinco de Mayo celebrations, but unfortunately that rumor proved false.

Still, as this picture from May 3rd shows, it’s getting close.

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]]> http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2009/05/05/bagley-bridge-closer-to-complete/feed/ 1 Mores Updates on the Bagley Bridge in Mexicantown http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2009/04/05/mores-updates-on-the-bagley-bridge-in-mexicantown/ http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2009/04/05/mores-updates-on-the-bagley-bridge-in-mexicantown/#comments Mon, 06 Apr 2009 01:11:21 +0000 Todd Scott http://www.m-bike.org/blog/?p=1681 img_2353The Bagley pedestrian and bike bridge in Mexicantown is still under construction, but it’s coming along well since we last reported on it in February.

One can see in the photo to the right that the suspension cables are now being strung.

No one I’ve spoken with knows when it will be completed. The entire Gateway Project is 80% complete with and should be done by September.

There was a rumor that this bridge would be open by Cinco de Mayo, but given its current state, that looks doubtful.

The Detroit News recently ran an article on this bridge. They also made a very interesting video as well.

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