Hill at Milliken State Park Coming Down

[Downriviera]

AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!! This is where I do my hill runs every week. Can anyone recommend another place near downtown to run sprints uphill?

I was going to say you could run up the pet coke hills, but alas they are gone too.

[downtownguy]

DinNC, a lot of the recreational activities you mentioned can still go between Atwater, the river and a new road south of Atwater. Look at a Google Earth satellite view and you'll see how much land is vacant. Now, with the hill gone, that will create more vacant land. Now, if they can carve out a beach area between Milliken Park and Rivard Plaza that would also be cool.

Royce, have you actually walked the area? I do every weekend and see no benefit from this idea. First of all, you say "the area between Rivard Plaza and Milliken Park." What area is that? They abut one another. The wetlands that the state has put in along with the walkways are perfect for that setting. I think the plan has always been to extend the wetlands all the way to Atwater, and perhaps with the hill coming down they will go east as well. What you're talking about is maybe three long city blocks at most. Are drivers so lazy that they need a detour to see a 3 block long stretch of the river's edge one block south of the existing road? It's a park, and as such, priority should be given to pedestrians, not cars. As for commercial development, there are plenty of good areas on the north side of Atwater suitable for that.

[royce]

Downtownguy, I can see your point but here's mine. When I go over to Windsor, I absolutely love the fact that Riverside Drive is so close to the Detroit River. And as close as the street is to the river, there is plenty enough room in between to do all of the activities that you suggested earlier. In my opinion, a roadway closer to the the water, whether its a river or a lake, motivates people to want to get out of their cars and experience some type of activity along the waterfront. When the roadway is hundreds of yards away, I believe people are less motivated to stop and get out.

Think about Belle Isle for a second. The western end is usually packed with cars lining the riverfront. I'm confident that a large percentage of those people get out of their cars and walk to the edge of the river. Or, they park there to walk or run. I don't know how many times I've done that in my life time. Also, cars travelling along the water's edge give people a sense of security, knowing that if they are confronted by someone trying to rob or assault them, that someone in a vehicle will be coming by soon to witness or assist them.

There are parts of the RiverWalk, particularly behind the GM-UAW Building, that I do not feel 100% safe walking behind. However, when I'm walking the RiverWalk behind Cobo and the Joe, I feel a whole lot safer because people are driving by and/or parking their cars . Also, I would not feel safe walking the wetlands section of Milliken Park in the early morning or late evening, but if there was a closer roadway near it and I could see people driving by in their cars or riding their bikes, I would feel safer.

Also, Downtownguy, if that large swath of land just west of the hill contained some residential units, then the second road that I'm suggesting wouldn't be necessary because the residential units would give that sense of security. I would also like to see the north-south roads, St. Aubin, DuBois, and Chene go south of Atwater to the RiverWalk if or when some of the residential developments go up so that people can walk and drive by them for that sense of security. For me, roads close to waterways offer more opportunities for people to experience the waterfront. Imagine someone who is handicapped and can't easily get out of a car to walk the RiverWalk. If a road was closer to the river, they could could enjoy the view from the car. Again, these are the reasons I would like to see a roadway closer to the river.

[Honky Tonk]

Royce, have you actually walked the area? I do every weekend and see no benefit from this idea. First of all, you say "the area between Rivard Plaza and Milliken Park." What area is that? They abut one another. The wetlands that the state has put in along with the walkways are perfect for that setting. I think the plan has always been to extend the wetlands all the way to Atwater, and perhaps with the hill coming down they will go east as well. What you're talking about is maybe three long city blocks at most. Are drivers so lazy that they need a detour to see a 3 block long stretch of the river's edge one block south of the existing road? It's a park, and as such, priority should be given to pedestrians, not cars. As for commercial development, there are plenty of good areas on the north side of Atwater suitable for that.

I believe a brisk walk past any Tim Horton's, McDonald's, or Burger King, on any given morning, will provide the answer to your question. AS for commercial development, there is PLENTY of empty land in Detroit, where something like that can be dropped. You don't need to screw up river and park area with that kind of development. Why aren't people ever happy until there's a structure on it?

[Det_ard]

It would be nice to have several places along the riverfront where you can have dinner or drinks, with outdoor seating during the nicer months. You can do this in a city or state owned park where the municipality owns the structure and they lease it to the restaurant or bar operator on a three or five year term. The riverfront area is long enough that even with three or four of these establishments, 95% of the riverfront would be as it is now, low intensity park land.

[Honky Tonk]

It would be nice to have several places along the riverfront where you can have dinner or drinks, with outdoor seating during the nicer months. You can do this in a city or state owned park where the municipality owns the structure and they lease it to the restaurant or bar operator on a three or five year term. The riverfront area is long enough that even with three or four of these establishments, 95% of the riverfront would be as it is now, low intensity park land.

There are several places already. Why not visit those first instead of creating more?

[Det_ard]

I've been to those over the last several decades, thank you, but while they're *close* to the river, they're not *on* the river. They're either a distance off the river, or on a canal/marina, ala Sinbads. Other cities I've lived in did a better job of offering riverfront [[or lakefront, or oceanfront) dining. Detroit ought to do the same. It wouldn't hurt a thing.

[DetroitHabitater]

I took a run on the riverwalk this morning.

I don't think they intend to remove all of the hill. If you look there are survey markers extending from where the bike path T's into the path perpendicular to the river. It looks as if they intend for the bike path to go up the hill and possibly for the front path to wrap around it.

[DetroitPlanner]

I hear they are going to sculpt it like the Crazy Horse memorial, only the subject will be Miley Cyrus and her dad Billy-Ray!

[marshamusic]

Looking for an incline? Shoot, the angle of Rivard, coming from Franklin to Jefferson is enough for me. I can hardly get my bike up there! [[then again, I'm an old lady)

[canuck]

I believe a brisk walk past any Tim Horton's, McDonald's, or Burger King, on any given morning, will provide the answer to your question. AS for commercial development, there is PLENTY of empty land in Detroit, where something like that can be dropped. You don't need to screw up river and park area with that kind of development. Why aren't people ever happy until there's a structure on it?

So very true.

[Al Czervik]

I took a run on the riverwalk this morning.

I don't think they intend to remove all of the hill. If you look there are survey markers extending from where the bike path T's into the path perpendicular to the river. It looks as if they intend for the bike path to go up the hill and possibly for the front path to wrap around it.

As I watch the progress, I am also unsure if they intend to remove the whole hill. They seem to be digging at the back [[east side) of the hill and moving that dirt to the other side. Perhaps they intend to extend the river walk along the riverside of the hill [[where it has been flattened) and then continue the path along the east side of the hill to meet up with the Dequindre Cut.

[Al Czervik]

I want to add that GM had planned on putting in a new street south of Atwater beginning at St. Antoine and Atwater that paralleled the RiverWalk and curved into Rivard Street at Rivard Plaza [[you can see the curvature with steel barriers near the Wheelhouse shop). They called the street "Riverside Drive." The rendering was shown in the daily papers at the time GM was planning development along the east riverfront

I really wish they would put in this road. I hate walking along the river walk in that area with the chain link fence. The road would also provide a nice separation of the river walk from the GM surface parking lot.