New Bicycle Trails Signal Downriver Revitalization

As part of the implementation of the West Jefferson Corridor Plan, which calls for revitalization of Jefferson Avenue as it runs through the cities of River Rouge and Ecorse, bicycle lanes are being installed along Jefferson Avenue this summer. Bike lane installation is currently being done in Ecorse.

The West Jefferson Corridor Plan was adopted last November by both cities, who have partnered with planning firm McKenna Associates. The goal is to revive both cities through infrastructure improvements, enhanced public spaces, and economic development, with a focus on the main thoroughfare running through both cities, West Jefferson Avenue. "The bike lanes, the new pavement on Jefferson, all that is a part of making Jefferson more attractive for the business community, which in turn, gives you more business, more people paying tax more dollars and generating revenue for the city which will help with services from the city," says Ecorse Mayor Lamar Tidwell.

Tidwell says work began in May with a resurfacing of the avenue and he expects work on the bicycle lanes to be completed in early fall. The bicycle lanes will stretch from the Detroit-River Rouge border to the Ecorse-Wyandotte border. Ecorse City Administrator Richard Marsh says "Wyandotte since has decided to put bike trails in their community starting at Ecorse...they're working on that too." The ultimate goal will be to link River Rouge, Ecorse, and Wyandotte to the Downriver Linked Greenways Trail, hiking and biking trails stretching through 50 miles of community trails, and offering close-to-home recreation. The Downriver Linked Greenways connects with Michigan's Iron Belle Trail, hiking and biking trails which extend more than 2,000 miles through48 counties in both Michigan peninsulas. "We're talking hundreds of miles of other trails," says Marsh.

The bike trails along West Jefferson are being completed thanks to a grant from MDOT. The grant was given to both River Rouge and Ecorse for cooperative improvements along the avenue. "We're doing a lot of joint projects as a result of the Jefferson Avenue Corridor Plan and this is just one of them," says Marsh. He says the new bike trails will provide opportunities for exercise and recreation for both residents and visitors to the area.

"Once they get on that trail and they come and they see some of the beautiful assets that we have in our park and on our riverfront, it's a way for us to promote our community and also quality of life opportunities for local residents and also for those in the region who want to experience the riverfront

here in Ecorse," says Marsh. "The overall goal is to make Ecorse a destination city, a destination on the riverfront; this is one of the ways of becoming that."