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Final
phase of
the
Detroit
East
Riverwalk
projects
under
way
By
Karen
Hudson
Samuels,
National
Deputy
Editor
DETROIT
(Tell Us
Det) -
Detroit’s
East
Riverfront
is
getting
a $44
million
dollar
facelift
thanks
to $29
million
in
Federal
Highway
funds
and a
$15
million
dollar
investment
by the
Michigan
Resources
Trust
Fund.
“This is
a
significant
milestone
in the
most
ambitious
public-private
development
in the
city’s
history,”
said
Faye
Nelson,
President
and CEO
of the
Detroit
RiverFront
Conservancy.
The
makeover
will
connect
the
RiverWalk
from Joe
Louis
Arena to
the
Belle
Isle
Bridge
and
include
major
improvements
to
Gabriel
Richard
Park and
the Mt.
Elliott
Park and
Pavilion.
LED
lighting,
ornamental
trees
and
shrubs,
and a
playscape
with
wind
chimes
and
interactive
water
features
are
several
of the
construction
projects
planned
for Mt
Elliott
Park,
with
designs
that
ensure
universal
access
by all.
For the
under-utilized
Gabriel
Richard
Park
there
will be
a
pedestrian-bicycle
pathway
connecting
the
riverfront
to
Jefferson
Avenue,
a. new
parking
lot and
pathways
to
improve
access
to the
park.
The
Detroit
Riverfront
Conservancy
leadership,
Mayor
Dave
Bing,
Governor
Rick
Snyder
and
other
key
stakeholders
turned
out
Monday
morning
for a
groundbreaking
ceremony
to
announce
that
work
begins
immediately
on the
construction
projects
that
will
complete
the east
riverfront
development.
Senator
Carl
Levin,
who was
in
attendance,
and
instrumental
in
securing
the $29
million
in
federal
funds,
said “We
are to
celebrate
another
milestone
in the
effort
to give
Detroit
a
riverfront
worthy
of our
city,
worthy
of
people,
worth of
our
history.”
Providing
the
public
access
to the
Detroit
River
has been
the
mission
of the
Riverfront
Conservancy
since it
was
established
in 2003.
It has
succeeded
in
creating
a
popular
go-to
summer
spot to
walk,
bike,
and jog
along
the
city’s
international
waterway.
The new
projects
will
span
five-and-a-half
miles of
riverfront
property
that
have
gone
from
industrial
waste
land to
recreational
space. |
