WTH? Riverside Park to be closed off again?

[John]

Update April 29, 2015: Mayor Duggan to hold presser to announce expansion of Riverside Park, improvements to train depot

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Well...its mid-July and Riverside Park is still 'closed'. But people are still finding ways to drive in there: Cars have been jumping the curb and driving on the grass. Trash cans are overflowing and trash is everywhere. The Recreation Dept. has posted signs stating that use of the park is 'restricted' pending further environmental investigation.

[Rocko]

This was highlighted by The Detroit News today:

July 15, 2012 at 1:27 pm
Detroit's Riverside Park still special to regulars despite contamination

By Jim Lynch



Bins overflow with trash along the Detroit River in Riverside Park. [[David Coates/The Detroit News)


Detroit— As a young man, Ackaliameer Assar Ackbar said he came to Riverside Park for much different reasons.

Then, the park meant games of Four Square, a playground and fishing. Today, the park is his quiet place to sit and meditate. Reginald Clark[[cq) fishing off Riverside Park

But the park, which was closed in late March, took on a different kind of quiet after elements of environmental contamination were discovered last year. And that action only added to the park's problems, regulars said.

People still come onto the site, despite recently erected city signs declaring "Restricted Use" and "environmental contamination."

On a recent Friday, it was business as usual, with the park entrance open and visitors able to drive up to the parking lot and onto the river walk area.

Those visitors regularly trash the 20-acre site. And with limited city services, the grass is overgrown and the authorized traffic has gutted the grounds.

Undeterred, Ackbar, who lives a few miles away, regularly visits the park, making his way through the overgrowth and garbage, to a spot where he can meditate for an hour or so.

Refreshed, he leaves, but never empty-handed, he said.
"I try to pick up as much trash as I can when I go," said the 40-year-old father of five.

Area residents are concerned about the future of the area.

Joe Rashid, a community activist, is among area residents concerned about the park that city officials in March said would be closed for "several months." However, no action has been taken on the cleanup.

Rashid, who is among those trying to save Riverside, said it's important that officials take the public's health and welfare into account. "At the same time though, people have been playing ball there for 30 years. We need to make sure everyone's protected before it reopens."

Preparing for park cleanup

The history of troubles is a long one.

The site, once the home of a tobacco processing plant and an auto parts production line, eventually housed a coal gasification plant for Michcon. The site was eventually acquired by DTE, which now bears responsibility for the grounds.

In addition, the park has been the center of a long-running standoff between community activists and the owners of the nearby Ambassador Bridge, over the bridge owner's attempt to annex some of the parkland.

In the aftermath of a dispute last summer, contractors discovered elements of environmental contamination in the park. Testing showed the presence of volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds that can be hazardous to human health, including mercury, a carcinogen that can cause nervous system damage.

Three parcels in the park appeared affected — areas that include the baseball diamonds and the boat launch area. Two of those parcels are the responsibility of DTE. And the third, which includes the river walk and fishing area, were likely contaminated by the other two, according to city officials.

"Right now, DTE and [[their consultants) are preparing a work plan," said John Shields, a project manager for Michigan's Department of Environmental Quality. "That will outline just what they propose to do to delineate and identify the types of contamination present on the property."

State officials said the investigation is ongoing, but no timeline is in place.

Westcott Co. working with it

Meanwhile, J.W. Westcott Co. is caught in the middle of the controversy. The company, whose ships have docked in the park area for almost 140 years, uses the launch site to bring mail and supplies out to passing freighters along the Detroit River.

Their spot, which sits right in the middle of the park, oversees one of the narrowest sections of the river and provides good visibility for miles up and down the waterway.

But the site, which has served as a tourist spot over the years, is suffering from the lack of attention given to the park these days.

"People, so many different people, come from all over the world to visit our place," said Sam Buchanan, a Westcott senior operator and mail boat captain.

"They just look at this area and shake their heads. They want to know what's wrong with Detroit and what's wrong with America when they see it."

He described how on a typical day at Westcott includes watching the homeless pouring through the park's garbage cans in search of bounty.
The unwanted trash, he said, is never returned to the cans and occasionally vagrants will threaten company workers.

A nearby fire hydrant has been put out of service, and was hard to find anyway, he said, because of the overgrown grass.

Appeals to the city have fallen on deaf ears, Buchanan said.

"We just want to operate safely and have a place where our customers can come and feel comfortable," he said. "Right now, we don't have that. It's very embarrassing."

jlynch@detnews.com
[[313) 222-2034








From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...#ixzz20kBp6qOV

[Zacha341]

Yeah, they closed off more this year. Up to this summer you could still enter and fish or river watch south of the Westcott dock. Now you have to come along the back end, without access to the horrid, but at least once available parking lot.

Some folks drive up onto the grass and park at the waters edge as the remaining entrance area along the side can only accommodate so many cars.

BUT if the police cruise along [[in their spare time - smile) and see all the cars, they can and have done ticket sweeps [[for unlawful entry and grass parking) with a captive audience of cars to ticket unable leave 'without' receiving tickets since there's only ONE WAY OUT past the cops who block the narrow exit now! Good times.

I witnessed a 'warning' sweep two weeks ago - police bull horn - loud speaker warning everyone to get off the grass, which everyone did, sweeping up hot grills and fishing reels and all in their haste. That was a vision! I wasn't parked on the grass and backed out without fanfare.

I was told the day before they did tickets and in some cases further inquiries as to the driving 'status' of a few individuals. Even more good times!

The 'environmental' warning signs are all over the park. The trash is knee deep as well as the elephant grass! Yet you see some die-hards trying to git a glimpse of the water, a bit of a cool breeze - withstanding the trash stench - or read a few pages of a book or magazine by river side [[that was what I was doing)...

[John]

Mayor Duggan to announce expansion of Riverside Park, improvements to train depot

[Honky Tonk]

Mayor Duggan to announce expansion of Riverside Park, improvements to train depot

Well, this is a bit of unnerving news. The park I can understand, but what does the COD have to do with a privately owned building? What concessions did Dug-in promise the Moroun camp?

[Dbest]

Well, this is a bit of unnerving news. The park I can understand, but what does the COD have to do with a privately owned building? What concessions did Dug-in promise the Moroun camp?

Maybe the announcement of the park expansion coincided with the beginning of the publicized window work at MCS? It's a win for all parties, Moroun gets some good pub and the mayor attaches his face/city to the improvements. Thats not to say Duggan wasn't directly involved in the situation or could have offered them some incentive as you eluded to. I'm looking forward to seeing it with new windows though. Fingers crossed that "exterior" means power washed too.

Duggan might as well announce that the city's biggest eyesore is getting a clean-up, it continues to convey the message that Detroit is rebounding quickly and the mayor is facilitating the turnaround. People/Businesses in the suburbs are seeing these announcements week by week through local news outlets. The momentum seems undeniable, but is it sustainable?

[Honky Tonk]

Maybe the announcement of the park expansion coincided with the beginning of the publicized window work at MCS? It's a win for all parties, Moroun gets some good pub and the mayor attaches his face/city to the improvements. Thats not to say Duggan wasn't directly involved in the situation or could have offered them some incentive as you eluded to. I'm looking forward to seeing it with new windows though. Fingers crossed that "exterior" means power washed too.

Duggan might as well announce that the city's biggest eyesore is getting a clean-up, it continues to convey the message that Detroit is rebounding quickly and the mayor is facilitating the turnaround. People/Businesses in the suburbs are seeing these announcements week by week through local news outlets. The momentum seems undeniable, but is it sustainable?

Maybe putting a roof on it first would be the more prudent idea?

[Honky Tonk]

Screw you, Michael....

Mayor Duggan vows support for Moroun's effort to build a second span of the Ambassador Bridge. @detroitnews
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[mikeg19]

Well this is a insane twist. The new Riverside park is fabulous and looks great. Nice win for that area.

But it also appears that Duggan "supports" a secondary crossing built by Mouroun on top of the NITC. Not sure WTF he's thinking on that.

[Eric_c]

The roof on the tower was replaced a few years ago.

[Dbest]

Screw you, Michael....

Mayor Duggan vows support for Moroun's effort to build a second span of the Ambassador Bridge. @detroitnews
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You called it Honky, but does Duggan really believe theres a chance in hell this ever happens? If not, he's just using his vocal support of that bridge to leverage a speedier clean-up of MCS.

[mikeg19]

You called it Honky, but does Duggan really believe theres a chance in hell this ever happens? If not, he's just using his vocal support of that bridge to leverage a speedier clean-up of MCS.

That's the only thing I can think of. Duggan knows it won't get approved by the Government or obtain the required permits, so hopefully this is just leveraging to get the park redone and expanded. Although I'm disappointed that the "major news" on the MCS is just the windows getting put in by the end of the year, which we all knew was happening anyways.

[123456789]

The 2nd ambassador bridge isn't getting built. Anyone with a brain at this point is aware of this. The Canadian government will never allow it. I honestly think Duggan just voiced his "support" of a bridge he knows will never happen for $3,000,000 and a few extra acres of prime land. Pretty good deal for the city of Detroit IMO.

The train station part of the news was just extra irrelevant noise.

[animatedmartian]

Duggan's support is nothing more than a "good luck" to Moroun. And really that's how a politician threads the needle between full endorsement and outright alienating a private business operating within the city.

[Vic01]

Well, this is a bit of unnerving news. The park I can understand, but what does the COD have to do with a privately owned building? What concessions did Dug-in promise the Moroun camp?

Could Duggan have offered to help stall/roadblock the progress of the downriver bridge project? Block or delay land acquisitions?

Matty isn't just giving $$$ away, or doing a good deed to be "nice"... I'm speaking strictly of the land and park deal here.
The windows are BS, after letting the bldg rot for decades he's willing to put a new facade on it to fool any suckers that fall for the PR stunt...

[animatedmartian]

Could Duggan have offered to help stall/roadblock the progress of the downriver bridge project? Block or delay land acquisitions?

Matty isn't just giving $$$ away, or doing a good deed to be "nice"... I'm speaking strictly of the land and park deal here.
The windows are BS, after letting the bldg rot for decades he's willing to put a new facade on it to fool any suckers that fall for the PR stunt...

Of course he's not doing it to be nice. He's doing it to get land to build a bridge that he believes will get built no matter how hard he tries despite Canada being firmly against it.

[mikeg19]

After reading all the details on this deal and thinking about it, I actually think this is going to turn out to be a fantastic deal for the city. They basically traded 2 acres of land to a company that literally has a 0.000001% chance of ever getting a new bridge built for $5 million bucks, a huge upgraded park and additional Riverwalk access, plus windows for the MCS [[which at this point will almost be completely sealed off from the elements in preperation for a potential rehab).

Yea, they got a key piece of property they need to build a twin span, but that doesn't mean anything when you don't have the land on the other side, will never get the proper permits to construct the span, and have the other country's federal and local government fighting you tooth and nail. Good luck on that.

[Dbest]

plus windows for the MCS [[which at this point will almost be completely sealed off from the elements in preparation for a potential rehab).

Yea but Mike the building has been empty for forever! It doesn't matter what they do, its ruined for good. What good does sealing up the building do? There is no such thing as old building rehabs in Detroit, especially in that scary Corktown area. Let's focus on the past ok?

[Vic01]

After reading all the details on this deal and thinking about it, I actually think this is going to turn out to be a fantastic deal for the city...

Call me a cynic... I still say that we'll soon see that there is now an "understanding" that Duggan will help stall/roadblock the progress of the downriver bridge project... Blocking or delaying land acquisitions... That Matty bought another ally to help delay progress on his "competition" getting a bridge built.

We've seen years of delay tactics and buying politicians, for Matty a few million more is chump change to increase any chance of his remaining the only bridge... Any obstruction is worth a few million, within the year we'll see Duggan speaking out publicly against the downriver bridge and saying that Matty is a great partner to progress in Detroit. Bought and paid for... and political BS.

[warsaw7]

Yea but Mike the building has been empty for forever! It doesn't matter what they do, its ruined for good. What good does sealing up the building do? There is no such thing as old building rehabs in Detroit, especially in that scary Corktown area. Let's focus on the past ok?

I beg to differ. I don't believe that area of Corktown is scary. Yes the MCS makes it scary, but I feel relatively safe over there. And with a potential, and I emphasize potential, rehab of the MCS would eliminate the "scary."

[Wesley Mouch]

...snip...Assuming it was clean back then, and only used for recreational purposes since, how does it get "dirty" again? I can think of one way...

When you pass regulations and allow the regulatory state to control everything, don't be surprised when the 'powers' use environmental regulations to accomplish their means. After all, the ends justify the means. And if environmental regulation can be used to keep people out of the park, why not use them? After all, we do want you to be safe, you understand?

[mikeg19]

I beg to differ. I don't believe that area of Corktown is scary. Yes the MCS makes it scary, but I feel relatively safe over there. And with a potential, and I emphasize potential, rehab of the MCS would eliminate the "scary."

Warsaw, I think he was being sarcastic.

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

Sounds like a great deal to me, assuming that the bridge will not be built - and I doubt its at all feasible since the Canadians are so set on the other bridge.

A lot of folks thought the earlier news about the MCS windows would prove to not be true, but now it seems they will happen. Getting windows in that place, and the continued clean-up of the Packard would do wonders for getting rid of the two most prominent ruin porn picture opportunities.

[Scottathew]

My sources have told me that part of the deal is that Moroun will be installing four windows per year on the MCS, instead of the original two windows per year.

[Dbest]

My sources have told me that part of the deal is that Moroun will be installing four windows per year on the MCS, instead of the original two windows per year.

Your source must not be the story linked above or they would have told you this:

According to an agreement between the city of Detroit and the Ambassador Bridge Company, all 1,050 windows of the depot will be replaced by December 31, 2015.