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8
Oct 2007
River flows with potential
Posted by Scott Spielman
at 2:17 PM | Comments
Leaves crunched under our wheels as Henry and I sped along the river Saturday.
It was hot—way too hot for October—but the pathway was crowded with cyclists weaving their way around walkers, joggers or people on roller blades, anyway.
We stopped and bought a brownie so big we had to split it and topped off our water bottles from a fountain. It was a good day, the only detriment was that we had to drive about 30 minutes to get to the path and start our journey.
Gallup Park, along the Huron River, is just outside of Ann Arbor. It’s not the City of Wayne, obviously, but Wayne could have something like it.
A number of people are brainstorming up ideas for Dynamite Park, which is at the end of Josephine Street, off the westbound lanes of Michigan Avenue, just east of the downtown area.
They’ve come up with a number of ideas for the land, which already has some walking trails and hooks up to the Mill Trail and Washington Trail parks—essentially a smaller version of the paved pathway that runs through Gallup Park.
Henry and I have biked along that pathway, too—back when we could cross Michigan Avenue to get there. The problem with it is it’s just not long enough. I’d like to see it expanded, if possible, but I know that would take some creative thinking—and creative financing.
In Canton Township, work is under way on a sewer overflow line that is noteworthy because when the project is complete, a new paved pathway will be put in along the route, which is next to the lower Rouge River and could conceivably connect up to the Wayne trails, even if it would have to travel along the sidewalks on Michigan Avenue. Combined with the bike paths along the freeway—that hook up to Hines Park—and it could form the basis of a large, intercommunity bikeway shrouded in otherwise undeveloped green space.
It would take a monumental feat to pull this off, but now is a good time to start talking about it.
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