More Streetscapes coming, along with improved DDOT

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...FREE/904099962


• The city of Detroit, in coordination with the Downtown Development Authority, will streetscape Monroe Street from St. Antoine Street to Randolph Street, and Brush Street from Lafayette Boulevard to Gratiot Avenue in Greektown. Streetscape elements include decorative and scored sidewalks, new streetlights, bike racks, trash cans and trees. Cost: $1,525,000 [[stimulus).

• MDOT, in coordination with the city of Hamtramck, will plant landscaping and construct an ornamental fence along MDOT right of way on I-75. This project will greatly improve the visual impact of the freeway, and along with bridge rehabilitation work, will help to designate Hamtramck as a City of Promise. Cost: $655,000 [[stimulus).

• The city of Detroit, in cooperation with the University Cultural Center Association and the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, will build a pedestrian/bike path in the University Cultural Center area. This is the first phase of a four-phase project known as the Midtown Detroit Greenway Loop to connect Wayne State University and the Detroit Medical Center campuses to surrounding areas. Phase one construction will occur along Kirby Street [[from Cass Avenue to John R Street) and John R from Kirby to Canfield streets and include construction of the pathway. Project elements include benches, bike racks and storage lockers, pedestrian lighting, landscaping and trash cans. Cost: $2.3 million [[stimulus).

• MDOT, in coordination with the city of Detroit, and the New Center Council will construct a streetscape project on Woodward Avenue, from I-94 to Baltimore Street and then from West Grand Boulevard to Euclid Street. Streetscape elements will include trees with decorative grates, historic lighting, benches, trash receptacles and bike racks. Cost: $1,985,310 [[stimulus).

The Detroit Department of Transportation will install bike racks on all buses in service. Cost: $680,110, including $528,718 in federal transportation enhancement funds and $151,392 from DDOT.

Awesome, let's make it happen!

I still can't wait for the announcement about streetscape and other improvements coming to Capitol Park once the DDOT center moves on out of there.

Detroit has choices, it can invest in the city or it can squander money on demolition. Which choice is going to have the best long-term return?

tarring and feathering the city council and dumping them at the border of Ohio...oh was that not an option?

OK... I have some questions...

First of all I am in favor of these street improvements.... but what differentiates many of these improvements with those failed improvements of the 1970's?

That was when they put the proverbial "lipstick on a pig".... with improvements such as planters along the E. Jefferson/Chalmers area... plexiglass canopies over McNichols near Wyoming and Woodward near Grand Blvd..... and the most infamous "improvements" of all... the red tinker toys, trolleys, cement fountain and streetscapes along Washington Blvd.

What has been learned about street improvements since then?

Like I said, I'm in favor of these, but what differs these from the failed improvements of the past? :confused:

I think new sidewalks will make the city more walkable, safer, and inviting. I also read somewhere that Greektown will get new lighting, sidewalks, trees, and garbage receptables in one of the stimulas plans.

Just as you said Gistok, the streetscapes of the 1970s were more or less a disaster. Washington Blvd being perhaps among the worst in the city...

...but, so was the complete restoration of that street around 2005. That too was a streetscape improvement project, taking the form of a restoration to much of what it was like from the 20s through the early 70s. Broadway, lower Woodward, Gratiot near downtown and a few other places have all gotten streetscape improvements.

Hopefully, these stretches will look become all the more attractive when this happens.

How much of this work is redundant? Woodward between Grand Blvd. and Warren was given streetscape improvements just recently. Didn't the new lighting just go in within the last two years?

I don't mind streetscape improvements. However, money is being wasted if improvements are being done where improvements were just recently done.

Royce, I think this streetscape project is a continuation of the one completed on Woodward between I-75 and Wayne State University...

Also, from Model D this week, more about DDOT's share of stimulus money:

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Detroit Development News


April 7, 2009
DDOT will use $37.5M to upgrade fleet, signage, shelters

The Detroit Department of Transportation will receive $37.5 million in economic stimulus funds, which will be used to update its fleet and facilities. In a statement, Mayor Ken Cockrel, Jr. pledged to "put the money to good use, making travel in Detroit a more enjoyable experience.�

The funds will replace 50 older DDOT buses with 50 new buses, including gas-electric hybrid vehicles. The money also will pay for new bus shelters; new bus stop signs, such as those at Woodward and Warren and Woodward and Mack; and the improvement of the Shoemaker Terminal and Garage at St. Jean and East Warren. [[Model D writer and bus riding convert Terry Parris Jr. wrote about the need for better signage and shelters here.)

In other transportation funding for the city, the Department of Public Works will receive $37.5 million for road resurfacing. This $59.3 million package is the second for Detroit from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009; the first was more than $30 million in weatherization funds.

The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments will administer the distribution of any economic stimulus funds involving transportation in Southeast Michigan. The agency has indicated the transportation money for Detroit will be available by the end of the month.

Source: City of Detroit
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

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http://www.modeldmedia.com/developme...ddot18609.aspx

SEMCOG has awarded stimulus funds to the City of Detroit for a short segment of Michigan as well as Capitol Park. These are modest projects but a step in the right direction.

DetroitPlanner - are these for streetscape improvements you speak of? Or something else for these short segments of road?

Southeast Michigan Transportation Stimulus List, source SEMCOG
The majority of transit funding in the state is coming to this region. The region is also getting about half of the highway funding. This list are of the projects in which the clock is ticking to get them built in a short time. Note decisions are not complete yet on congressional discretionary projects. These could fund projects along the high speed rail corridor.

Thanks for that link, DetroitPlanner, there are lots of worthwhile projects on that list for Detroit and the surrounding area.

Can we work on fixing the normal streetlights and the regular sidewalks before we try getting fancy? When is the last time you saw a streetsweeper? The roads and sidewalks are covered in grit scraped up from the winter plowing. Streetscape improvements are nice, but basic maintenance is better.

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Originally Posted by Russix

Can we work on fixing the normal streetlights and the regular sidewalks before we try getting fancy? When is the last time you saw a streetsweeper? The roads and sidewalks are covered in grit scraped up from the winter plowing. Streetscape improvements are nice, but basic maintenance is better.

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This funding source does not cover maintenance costs.

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Originally Posted by Russix

Can we work on fixing the normal streetlights and the regular sidewalks before we try getting fancy? When is the last time you saw a streetsweeper? The roads and sidewalks are covered in grit scraped up from the winter plowing. Streetscape improvements are nice, but basic maintenance is better.

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Doth protest to much! TO THE GALLOWS WITH YE AND YER COMMON SENSE!

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Originally Posted by d.mcc

Doth protest to much! TO THE GALLOWS WITH YE AND YER COMMON SENSE!

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It's Talk Like A Pirate Day again already? God, how time flies...

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Originally Posted by Todd_Scott

This funding source does not cover maintenance costs.

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The DDA can pay for maintenance, and can even bring in outside companies to do it.

Does anyone know if there are any DDA/TIF maps out there showing which areas are in a DDA or TIF?

Oakland County has a great set of maps for all of their DDAs and TIFAs.

http://www.oakgov.com/peds/program_s.../dev_maps.html

I couldn't find any maps for Detroit online. Detroit's TIFA covers the Poletown plant area. It's separate from the DDA which mainly covers downtown.

What I'd like to see is some streetscaping along W. Vernor, from roughly St. Anne to Livernois. There's already a lot of nice little businesses along that stretch but the sidewalks are a mess, the street is already cracking and half the street lights don't even stand up straight anymore. They should also make the parking lane they striped in a while back permanent similar to Michigan Ave. through Dearborn, with the nice wide sidewalks.

From Model D today:

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Detroit Development News


April 14, 2009
Fed stimulus to bring $1.5M to Greektown, $1.7M to Michigan Ave. for streetscaping


Michigan Avenue from Campus Martius to Cass will receive a $1.7 million facelift courtesy of federal stimulus funds. The project will consist of a complete roadbed reconstruction and new sidewalks and streetlights.

The finished product will look like the streetscape that fronts the Westin Book Cadillac, says project manager Malik Goodwin of the Detroit Economic Growth Corp. In some areas, the sidewalk will be widened, he says, "to allow for more pedestrian flow and sidewalk cafes for ground floor retailers."

Goodwin says the agency will pursue funding to take the improvements west to the Lodge Freeway. He hopes to see construction on this first phase begin this summer. The local match money for the project was provided by Downtown Development Authority TIF [[tax increment financing) funds.

Additionally, two main stretches of Greektown streets will be similarly enhanced with $1.5 million of stimulus funds, working with the City of Detroit. Decorative and scored sidewalks, new streetlights, bike racks, trash receptacles and trees will be installed on Monroe St. from St. Antoine St. to Randolph St., and Brush St. from Lafayette Blvd. to Gratiot Ave.

Read about additional transportation funds being made available to Detroit here.

Source: Malik Goodwin, DEGC
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

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http://www.modeldmedia.com/developme...iave18709.aspx

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Originally Posted by Rocko

From Model D today:

http://www.modeldmedia.com/developme...iave18709.aspx

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When it mentions the Streetscapes infront of the Westin. . .Do they mean the cool looking historic lights?

Yes, French, I believe so. Those are double Bishop lights, and the city has been installing them on most of their streetscape renovation projects for the past 4-5 years. The best part is, those are a modern remake of a very historic Detroit streetlight design, the originals date back a full 100 years, and many of the old ones are still visible on side streets and even some main streets in the older parts of Detroit. These new remakes are constructed differently than the originals, yet the exterior looks almost identical and they are very faithful to the oldies in outer appearence. There was a great thread on the old forums called Historic Streetlights in the City which has more information about these types, if you're interested. It is linked: http://atdetroit.net/forum/messages/5/172705.html?. Both archive pages and the last page are a treasure trove of history and photos.

Ironically, while most of the streetlights currently along that portion of Michigan Ave. are rather new [[post 1960s), I believe there are a few poles mixed in which date from the 1920s. Although the lamp fixtures and arms are newer, the poles themselves are almost as old as the original Bishop types. These old poles are distinct with their ornate base, pole fluting, and some still sport the original pineapple finial at the top. I'll have to go down and take a close look sometime before this project gets going to see for sure. I know a few of these old poles survive on the stretch just west of this area on Michigan - at the 1st St. intersection, and between there and the Lodge bridge.

>>>Rocko, formerly BusterWMU, looking for elements of streetscapes past!

Russix - I thought of your comment when I saw today a streetsweeper in Detroit sweeping in action!! The Belle Isle bridge is nicely swept now :)

I drove down that stretch of Michigan Avenue between Campus Martius and Cass today to see if I could identify some of those old early-20th Century streetlight poles still in action. I noted four or five still in service. These are really old poles, but have been fitted with modern "cobrahead" streetlights to match the newer installations. All are painted up in that nice hunter green common to downtown streetlights... I really like how those green ones look. Anyhow, I noted 4-5 of these old poles in this stretch, and at least 8-12 more west of Cass between Cass and the end of the other streetscape improvement project west of the Lodge. The locations I specifically noted along this stretch were two in front of 1001 Woodward on the Michigan Ave. side, 1 at the corner of Mich & Shelby, and 1-2 at the intersection of Michigan and Cass.

Interestingly, there are actually two old types represented here, something I have not realized up until just today. I'm going to do some photo hunting and try to crop them down so I can clearly articulate and show what I mean, on the off chance anyone else out there cares!

The cool lights I mean are the 5 globe ones in the median of Washington Ave. I love the design of them!

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Originally Posted by Rocko

Russix - I thought of your comment when I saw today a streetsweeper in Detroit sweeping in action!! The Belle Isle bridge is nicely swept now :)

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The irony is I also spotted a convoy of three street sweepers the day after posting that comment making their way east down McNicholas somewhere between Wyoming and Livernois. Glad somebody was listening!

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I drove down that stretch of Michigan Avenue between Campus Martius and Cass today to see if I could identify some of those old early-20th Century streetlight poles still in action. I noted four or five still in service. These are really old poles, but have been fitted with modern "cobrahead" streetlights to match the newer installations. All are painted up in that nice hunter green common to downtown streetlights... I really like how those green ones look. Anyhow, I noted 4-5 of these old poles in this stretch, and at least 8-12 more west of Cass between Cass and the end of the other streetscape improvement project west of the Lodge. The locations I specifically noted along this stretch were two in front of 1001 Woodward on the Michigan Ave. side, 1 at the corner of Mich & Shelby, and 1-2 at the intersection of Michigan and Cass.

Interestingly, there are actually two old types represented here, something I have not realized up until just today. I'm going to do some photo hunting and try to crop them down so I can clearly articulate and show what I mean, on the off chance anyone else out there cares!

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Below are some crops of photos I've taken in the past which illustrate the two different types of old streetlight bases I mean. Maybe someone else besides me will find this interesting!

The first photo below [[twin light base) shows the base of streetlights which were installed around downtown on several streets c. 1930 [[still can't get a pinpointed date yet). They had the most ornate base and fluted pole and two acorn style lights hanging down from a fancy frame at the top of the pole.

The second photo below [[pineapple base) shows the base of streetlights which were installed beginning in 1916 and for at least the next decade, along major thoroughfares and at cross streets, etc. These have a more simplified base, but still ornate trimwork between the base and the fluted pole, and featured a single acorn lamp with decorative pineapple finial on top. These can be found in many places around the city.

The third photo depicts the full light type of the twin light, which today in its original form can now only be found on Lower Woodward, from Jefferson to I-75, and around Campus Martius park. These lights were also originally installed on Fort, Griswold, Lafayette, Gratiot and elsewhere around the center of downtown, and were later modified [[1970s-1980s?), with the fancy twin light fixture and decoration removed from the top and a standard "cobrahead" affixed there instead. I'm working on getting a photo of one with this modification, but I can tell you for sure there's one at the NE corner of Fort and Washington Blvd, two in front of 1001 Woodward on the Michigan Ave side, and one at the apex of the American Coney Island point at Lafayette and Michigan. You will never see one of these with a pineapple decorative finial on top, because they never had them in the first place.

The fourth photo depicts a full Pineapple light in it's original form. Many of these survive around the city, both in the green paint here or more modern battleship gray. Some have lost their pineapple decorative finial along the way through the years, but the fancy base and fluting remain on the pole.

The last photo shows a modified Pineapple light, which had the fancy old acorn fixture removed and replaced with a more modern cobrahead lamp. You can see the old base and pole fluting clearly here. This one has lost it's pineapple, although many retain them today. This is the same modification that the "twin-light" types received on all streets other than lower Woodward. Many similar to this exist on Michigan Avenue near Clark, for example.

http://modeldmedia.com/developmentne...ward18809.aspx

Streetscapes from I-94 to Euclid Street!!

Would streetscapes from New Center to Euclid street make businesses more likely to spring up?