Detroit Greenways Coalition-Family Friendly Biking

The Detroit Greenways Coalition is changing Detroit-one bike lane at a time.

The Motor City has traditionally been one of the least bike and pedestrian urban centers in the country, but the Detroit Greenways Coalition and its Executive Director, Todd Scott is on a mission to change that. Their ultimate goal is to “build a network of greenways, Complete Streets, and bike lanes that will connect people and places, improve the quality of life, beautify neighborhoods, and stimulate neighborhood-level economic development in Detroit.”

What I find especially compelling about the Detroit Greenways Coalition is their unwavering commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. This is significant in that Detroit, in its current incarnation is the story of the automobile, whose history is inextricably linked to the city itself. From decisions as varied as who has access to parks and nature and whose neighborhood was gutted by urban planners to install a freeway.

In a metropolitan area where the notion of connecting city and suburb by public transportation is fraught with controversy, usually economic rationales to mask racial biases, the advocacy of the Detroit Greenways Coalition to ensure all citizens have equal access to green: both in mobility and spaces.

In Detroit, many citizens have been left out of access to the automobile, the very symbol of the city, and are reliant on bicycling to access their activities of daily living: employment, education, medical care, and groceries. For years, this meant riding on a major street in the same lane as an automobile driver, usually unprepared for the concept of sharing the road.

In my own family history, both the automobile and bicycle play a significant role. Both of my grandfathers were employed by Ford Motor Company and lived in Dearborn, mere miles from the Rouge Foundry where they worked. Both my parents worked at some point for Ford Motor Company and anyone living in this region know many people that work for the “big three.”

I have been a driver for many years and to this day, the road trip provides one of my most enjoyable experiences. I love the moment when you are heading north, and the landscape changes, slowly, almost imperceptibly and then you look around and realize you have left the urban region of metro-Detroit. This is best with an amazing soundtrack blaring and you singing along lost in an culturally iconic moment.

Cars are freedom and speed.

Bikes on the other hand, require one to pay attention.

Biking is akin to a meditation practice-when you both forget yourself yet must pay close attention as one strewn tree branch, crack in the road, aggressive auto driver, can ruin your day.

As a child we would drive bikes through the neighborhood in ever expanding circles of freedom as we grew older. No longer did you have to simply play with the kids on your street, you could go blocks away or even cross a major street to see a friend.

We had a spot in a nearby park system that was hilly and filled with old rusty iron mattress springs and hubcaps which we cleared away to go up and down the small hills where we created jumps and whoop de doos.

When I was a little older I was able to tool around on an old Peugeot ten speed circa 1967 that an uncle brought from a Chrysler stint outside Paris. The Peugeot took me the 16 miles to my grandparents house in Dearborn when I was in 4th grade, at the time this seemed like an epic journey-now it is my daily round trip commute, which all these years later I have been trying to do with some frequency, on a Diamondback Curaca, given to me by a dear friend nearly 30 years ago and which has been all over Michigan and even to the East Coast for some mild family rides.

I ride now, through a suburban nightmare of a street system for various reasons of interest only to me, but these include fitness, mental health, fun, and, I hate to admit it-some defiance. It is almost as if suburban city planners went out of their way to make their streets anti-pedestrian and anti-bike and being a bike commuter is my way of saying “you will not stop us!”

That being said, I am no great rider. Probably a low-middlin rider at best, but I am out there doing it and for me that counts for something.

Biking has been a big part of our families recreational and leisure activities as well. Teaching the kids to jump from an asphalt parking lot several feet elevated above a grassy incline when they were young is one of our favorite memories!

I have seen the work of the Detroit Greenways Coalition for several years now, the green painted paths and white barriers along Cass Avenue near mid-town being the most visible and frequent example. But only recently, at the tip of my biking guru, have I begun to really appreciate the trail network.

A recent Sunday morning that was gray and overcast I through the bike in the back of the car and lit out with the goal of going at least 20 miles on the trail.

I started nearby my house at Grand River and Burt. This section of the trail runs along the northern side of the toad and extends about 2.5 miles to Southfield. It goes through the Grandmont Rosedale Communities, some of the most vibrant in the city. This is a true dedicated bike lane separated by white pylons many feet from the cars, with special concrete cutouts at bus stop areas for extra levels of protection.

Mural along Detroit Greenways Coalition bike path in Grandmont Rosedale

This would be a perfect ride on a Saturday or Sunday morning for families with younger children. There is minimal traffic and with a round trip of only 5 miles even young bikers would likely enjoy it. There are interesting murals, historic churches, and a variety of cool shops along this route. They were closed in the early morning, but they are all on my list of places to return to: Pages Bookshop, Detroit Vegan Soul restaurant, and Public Square Coffee at the top!

I was looking for something along the river and wanted to stretch out a bit more, so I headed to Michigan Avenue in Corktown. Again the on street parking was easy on a Sunday morning, and I parked just a few blocks from the old Michigan Central Station, a fitting landmark of the cities decline and it’s ongoing revitalization, for the morning which was starting to feel more like a pilgrimage than a mere bike ride to me.

This is the neighborhood where my father lived as a young boy and I imagined at some point him riding along these same streets. His family was poor though and he the second youngest of 11 children, did he even have a bike? He never mentioned it. I made a mental note to ask him some day, maybe today?

I headed along Michigan towards downtown with the goal of connecting to the River Walk and looping through Belle Isle.

There was construction going on downtown on the actual path, but a simple one block detour brought me closer to my destination. I was grateful it was Sunday morning. Although it was starting to get crowded with the Sunday breakfast folks, it was still not nearly as bad as it would have been during a weekday.

I made it to Jefferson past Hart Plaza, home to so much history- as a destination along the Underground Railroad, as home to the Ethnic Festivals of the 70’s and 80’s, home to the Detroit Jazz Festival, numerous protests and counter-protests and now the Movement Festival as well.

Along Jefferson I passed the Detroit-WIndsor Tunnel and mused about how fun it would be to ride through some day. Then I recalled that I heard an interview with Detroit Greenways Coalition Executive Director Todd Scott who was instrumental in advocating for a bike lane on the soon to be constructed Joe Louis Bridge across the Detroit River, bringing Detroit one step closer to a world class, European style city, in which biking across international borders is commonplace.

That is a bike lane I am looking forward to riding on for sure!

I was really starting to relax in the ride along the Detroit River Walk, another absolute gem of a cultural accomplishment, where cars are far away and the pathway is flat, paved and easy to follow-perfect for recreational bikers and those with younger children. It does not go completely to the Belle Isle bridge yet, so I looped up to Jefferson to cross the MacArthur Bridge and onto Belle Isle.

The lane is quite narrow here, but those with younger riders could hop onto the sidewalk and take it slow to enjoy the view and avoid the traffic.

They were beginning to set up for the Detroit Grand Prix and it was with great irony and enjoyment that I pedaled slowly along the course that soon would be filled with the roaring of engines and the squealing of tires around the corners. I did grant myself one fist pump as I crossed the finish line, pretending that the yellow jersey of a certain bike race would soon be mine!

On the return home, I veered away from the river and stayed on the bike lane on Jefferson which was smooth and well-marked and as long as you pay attention to car doors, you will be perfectly fine.

As I passed through Corktown on the return I was a few miles short of my goal so I continued along the pathway towards Mexican Town, finally turning around near Junction.

Mural along the bike path near corktown

Serendipitously, my ride playlist was playing some Stevie Wonder at this point and I imagined what Detroit was like during its heyday, when streetcars would zoom along this street and families in their Sunday best would stream from the myriad churches along the way.

Stevie segued into “When Doves Cry” by Prince, one of my all time favorite songs. Somehow this was the perfect song for my mood. For Detroit is a tragic city in a way that many other cities are not. The economics of the Rust Belt are similar to others, but the promise of economic prosperity cutting across racial divides and allowing families to own their own homes before the winds of change and blatant hostility tore the city apart seems unique to Detroit.

It is a song too for my own experience the tumult of emotion and plaintaive searching: “How could you leave me standing/Alone in a world so cold?”

How do we cross the chasm of our cultural and individual histories and connect with care and compassion rather than with indignation and pride: “Why do we scream at each other?”

My red Diamondback after riding along bike path of the detroit greenways coalition

WIth this on my mind I put the bike in the car and walked down the street to a coffee shop, one of the only open shops in the area at the time. It was in an old building rehabbed with the perfect amount of grit and urban chic on the corner of Michigan and Vermont. Just blocks from the house where my dad lived 75 years ago.

Lucky Coffee in corktown

The song playing from the speakers, “Raspberry Beret” also by Prince. I smiled and walked the stairs to Lucky’s Coffee Shop on the second floor.

I was tired and a bit saddle sore, but I knew I was right where I was meant to be.

Like all truly great travel experiences I was no longer a site seer, I had become a pilgrim and I had travelled decades and miles, only to return home-again.

Thanks to the Detroit Greenways Coalition the intermingling of past, present and future will bring solace, connection and well-being to those who hop on their bikes and ride.