Mike Connolly: Dequindre Cut Grand Opening

Thursday May 14 I rode into Detroit for the grand opening of the Dequindre Cut, a 1.2 mile section of rail line that has been converted to a paved greenway space on Detroit's east side. Once the Dequindre Trail (an approximately 200 yard section of trail located on Tricentennial State Park property immediately to the south) is completed, these two bikeways will connect the Waterfront with Detroit's Eastern Market. This is a huge step in furthering Detroit's non-motorized transportation goal and the revitalization of the City in general.

Estimates were between a few hundred and a thousand people showed up to walk or bike the Cut Thursday morning. Detroit's new mayor, Dave Bing, three days into office, offered his support of the Cut in a short speech during the opening ceremonies.

All the local news stations were on hand for the opening ceremony, and my buddy Chris Frey even got interviewed by WDIV Channel 4 News, a small portion of which made it onto a short video segment while I stood by. I actually got some video of the interview on my camera, but it is really poor quality. That's me, Chris and his friend Kevin in the opening/final still shot video frame ;)

I had planned on staying in Detroit for the day to attend a presentation at 5pm, so after the ceremony I rode the Cut a few times then ventured to the waterfront for a spin, then rode back into town and hung out at Campus Martius for a while before riding back to Mid-town to meet up with a buddy for a coffee at the DMC. From there I ventured through Wayne State University campus and back down to the riverfront and rode again around JLA (the calm before the storm as a few hours later Red Wings fans would pack the arena to watch the Wings pull out an exciting game 7 victory against the Anahiem Mighty Ducks). From there I ventured over to Comerica Park for a photo op, and finally I made it back up to Mid-town for the Model D Speaker Series presentation at the Green Garage.

The presentation at the Green Garage was almost an extension of the Dequindre Cut opening, as the speakers included representatives from several community groups (Greenways Initiative, Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance, Tour-de-Troit, Great Lakes Urban Initiative) discussing greenways in Detroit and in general advocating biking in Detroit and around the Great Lakes. It was very informative and although I do a lot of biking in Detroit and like to think I have my finger on the pulse of the biking community and development in Detroit, I was absolutely amazed at how far we've come in the past 7-8 years as far as making Detroit bike friendly and sustainable. Granted we have a long way to go yet, but several organizations including those above, are actively working towards achieving that goal, and several million dollars of funding has been secured with a lot more potential funding available and being pursued. A lot of key people have really stepped up in the past few years to help make this happen and we owe them a debt of gratitude.

The presentation was sponsored in part by Motor City Brewing Works, which is around the corner from the Green Garage, and I was one of many who made my way to MCBW after the presentation. After fueling up and watching the first 1.5 periods of the Wings game, I hopped on my bike and headed home... just in time to catch the exciting final 3 minutes of the Wings game :)

All in all I ended up with 51 miles on the day, a little sun burn, some good photos, great conversations, a world of knowledge, a deeper respect and admiration for those individuals making a difference in Detroit.... and a Wings victory. Not bad for a Thursday!