Anger Over The Dequindre Cut

[DetroitDad]

From the Metro Times letters to the editor;

http://www.metrotimes.com/news/story.asp?id=14006

A cut too deep
I take exception to the positive tone of the copy on page 54 of the May 13, Metro Times, issue referring to the Grand Opening of the Dequindre Cut "Greenway."

I've lived in Elmwood Park for 10 years. The Dequindre Cut is the spine between Lafayette Park to the west and Elmwood Park to the east in the area bounded by East Jefferson to the south, Gratiot to the north, Orleans to the west and St. Aubin to the east. [[The cut is to be developed from Woodbridge Street to Mack Avenue.)

I first heard of the Dequindre Cut Greenway Project at the June 2005 meeting of REAL [[Riverfront East Alliance), and have been objecting to it ever since as the most destructive environmental and neighborhood project in memory. Because the board of REAL did not object, I stopped paying my annual dues. When the train stopped running in the cut some 60 years ago, the cut filled with trees and wildlife, which obscured the ugly graffiti that has been allowed to remain because the Brooklyn Museum thinks graffiti is "art" so we're all supposed to agree — but I don't.

The wildlife in the tree-filled ravine included foxes, opossums, ducks, Canada geese, pheasants, bees, butterflies and birds. What Lafayette Park and Elmwood Park were [[past tense) constituted a greenway. A true Dequindre Cut Greenway Project would have been to annually cut down dead trees and remove trash in contrast to the expensive, false Dequindre Cut Greenway Project, which entailed chopping down most of the trees, leaving some dead trees and trees with tall, sawed-off trunks, paving half of it so it looks like a half-finished expressway because the real goal is to put "light rail" in the bottom of the ravine, which is 25 feet below ground level.

What I totally object to is the loss of all the beautiful trees and the environmental and aesthetic benefit to the twin parks of Lafayette and Elmwood and the city of Detroit. One would think that to obtain funding for a greenway, one would have to plant trees, not as with the Dequindre Cut Greenway, chop down almost all the trees that had been growing there for 60-some years. Since the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation and people of that mind-set are obsessed with "greenways" and "light rail" and know where the government and foundation money is available, my neighborhood lost all the benefits of all the trees and wildlife in the ravine. [[Yes, the street people are camping elsewhere, but if the City Council had passed an anti-camping ordinance, they would have had to leave the ravine.)

I've noticed that the signs do not refer to a greenway, but only to the "Dequindre Cut." The "Greenway" is a "Rail-Trail" project and part of a scheme, which I totally object to, to construct so-called greenways everywhere, so people can hike, bike, roller-blade and ride trains from one city, town, village and community to another and we can get rid of cars, cabs and buses and live in a totally regressive way!

—Barbara Sherwood, Detroit


Send letters [[250 words or less, please) to 733 St. Antoine, Detroit, MI 48226; faxes to 313-961-6598; e-mail to letters@metrotimes.com. Please include your telephone number for verification. We reserve the right to edit for length, clarity and libel.

Wasn't most of the foliage in the Dequindre Cut mostly ghetto palms and plants that were harmful to the native species of Michigan?

Of course, I hold the opposite views of Barbara Sherwood, Detroit, that adding options for transit is a step forward, not back.

[Detroitej72]

I hate to break it to Ms. Sherwood, but the trains didn't stop running through the cut 60 years ago. The last trains stopped sometime in the early 80's, which by my math is more like 28 years.

However, I can understand some of her frustrations, as I kind of liked the secluded, almost rural feel down there with all the trees and brush. It reminded me of some places I've visited out west, along abandoned rail lines, and I, for one enjoyed the gritty beauty.

Overall, this is still a good thing for the city. In the next few years, once the new trees have matured, I am confidant it will be another jewel for Detroit.

[RickBeall]

Wow! What a point of view!

>> I totally object to ... so-called greenways ... so people can hike, bike, roller-blade and ride trains from one city, town, village and community to another and we ... get rid of cars, cabs and buses ... in a totally regressive way.

I guess she's afraid that we will force senior citizens to strap on roller blades or something.

[DetroitHabitater]

my father definitely took the train to the RenCen in the early 80's working for Ford.

[Rocko]

Actually, although the last passenger trains [[SEMTA commuter trains going to Pontiac) ran through the cut in 1983, train service through the cut continued until the late 90s, maybe 1997 or so, to service the LaFarge Cement silo which was on the site of the Tri-Centennial Park extension currently under construction. And, rail service continues on the trackage north of Mack Avenue operated by the Detroit Connecting Railway.

I was also under the impression that in addition to the invasive and non-native species occupying much of the cut, the amount of trash and dumping through the cut was leeching out and damaging what wildlife was living there. Thank goodness they left half of the cut for commuter rail... someday...someday... we might need that.

[rjlj]

One person's opinion and perspective, not much of a big deal. If you want wildlife, go visit the zoo. If you live in a city, expect city life. If you want wildlife, live at 32 mile road.

[professorscott]

Well, I disagree with the author of that letter, but she's certainly entitled to her opinion. The Metro Times, though, surely by now has one of those computer programs that can count the words in a letter. Two hundred fifty my eye. Mrs. Sherwood must be the same person that empties her full grocery-cart at the "twelve items or less" lane at Kroger.

[East Detroit]

I would agree with Sherwood, except that most of the green in the DC was weeds, not glorious elm trees or wetlands or anything else really interesting.

In terms of habitat, the only supported lifesigns were butterflies and a few homeless people.

[wolverine]

Everyone is free to dislike something once and awhile, although it would have been nice if she formulated something a bit more factual. I question whether she actually experienced the cut firsthand prior to construction to be able to draw comparisons.

[Cooper]

Thank goodness they left half of the cut for commuter rail... someday...someday... we might need that.

Is that why half the cut is empty and awaiting "natural grasses"? I walked from end to end on Sunday, and while I loved the graffiti, the letter writer has a point -- there's not much left in terms of trees or wildlife. There's no shade to speak of, and there are no plants at ground level, only on the embankments. But I guess it doesn't make sense to plant trees where you one day hope to lay down tracks?

[wolverine]

I think it's a safety issue. A newstory of someone being attacked by someone hiding in the brush would not cast a good light on Dequindre Cut. It actually makes a lot of sense to rip everything out that was there. That doesn't mean they can't plant a few trees here and there. I do agree with her that it appears like a half complete expressway. But heck, I'm not willing to criticize, it's a wonderful addition to the city IMO.

[MIRepublic]

I also tend to agree with her one point about the removal of most of the vegetation, but that's where the agreement ends. It had become a weed-and-debris-filled ditch.

[7051]

Move to the countryside...Barbara!

[Retroit]

I'd hate to see what this woman's yard looks like.

[Neilr]

My favorite Detroit poster is the Transformations in Modern Architecture poster from MOMA. It shows the trains coming in by Ren Cen.

[DetroitPlanner]

I can understand her frustration. Campus Martius used to be so much better when it was a black-topped free-for-all intersection. Now they force traffic to use lanes and have filled the center in with landscaping. Who wants all that loud music during lunchtime downtown anyways. Why I hear some rock and roll music... reminds me of a juke-joint!

[edgewood]

If you want wildlife, go visit the zoo. If you live in a city, expect city life. If you want wildlife, live at 32 mile road.

Wildlife by definition is not held in a zoological park.

The city of Detroit has both "city life" AND wild life. Pheasants, hawks, fox, that one wolf, feral dogs and cats... Probably as much as "32 mile road".

[Marc]

Not for or against, at the moment I'm on the fence. But, if it "makes sense" to rip out all of the trees and such because they may become hiding spots for villains and such, I have to ask does it really make sense to pave a path in the cut? Perhaps it makes more sense to improve the streets for bicycle traffic?? There was alot of money pumped into this thing, and it's going to take alot of money to keep it the way it is, if in 5-10 years the riverfront can't continue to maintain the cut, it will revert back to it's natural state [[the new cut is not natural in any form.) I understand the utopic idea this yellow brick road suggests, and I don't mean to be a neighsayer, but the whole effort just seems a bit half-hearted.

[wolverine]

Not for or against, at the moment I'm on the fence. But, if it "makes sense" to rip out all of the trees and such because they may become hiding spots for villains and such, I have to ask does it really make sense to pave a path in the cut? Perhaps it makes more sense to improve the streets for bicycle traffic?? There was alot of money pumped into this thing, and it's going to take alot of money to keep it the way it is, if in 5-10 years the riverfront can't continue to maintain the cut, it will revert back to it's natural state [[the new cut is not natural in any form.) I understand the utopic idea this yellow brick road suggests, and I don't mean to be a neighsayer, but the whole effort just seems a bit half-hearted.

It provided an opportunity for grade separated access to the riverfront without having to cross roads. That's safer for cyclists and pedestrians. The next issue was crime. There was a solution to that too by ripping out all the brush that I don't see any point complaining about.

It would be embarrassing if this couldn't be maintained. It doesn't seem to be a problem for most cities, whether privately or publicly financed.

[GREENTROIT]

Yeah, the old cut was filled with wonderful plant and animal life.... Look at this beautiful forest:

Attachment 1462

Attachment 1463

The new bike/walk path with adjacent landscaping is definitely a regression.... Should have left it in its beautiful wildlife state:

Attachment 1464


To argue that the old Cut was better in any way shape or form for the City and its residents is ridiculous and laughable.

[Todd_Scott]

It would be embarrassing if this couldn't be maintained. It doesn't seem to be a problem for most cities, whether privately or publicly financed.

It shouldn't be a problem here either. The Dequindre Cut has an endowment which is expected to cover its maintenance costs in perpetuity.

[EastsideAl]

The city of Detroit has both "city life" AND wild life. Pheasants, hawks, fox, that one wolf, feral dogs and cats

But, of course, much of that is a latter-day result of the conversion of a lot of Detroit's urban fabric into prairie. Living with wildlife is not something one would normally expect or should expect when moving to the middle of a city. If she loves wildlife so much one must wonder why she's living within sight of downtown.

[East Detroit]

How much foliage could I get for $68?

[hybridy]

a lot of foliage was removed to introduce native species that are both beautiful and sustainable. the thick heavy foliage was removed more to work with the security system put in place. I'd rather want someone to potentially see me getting mugged from above, than have ghetto palms. The whole greenway is a waste of resources if people don't think its safe to use.

[professorscott]

Re: "The whole greenway is a waste of resources if people don't think its safe to use."

The greenway is a waste of resources if we think of it as a stand-alone item, devoid of context. The greenway fits into the concept of revitalizing the urban-style connectedness that cities like Detroit once had. Look at newsreel footage from the 1920s, and downtown Detroit is bustling with pedestrian activity, plus streetcars, interurbans, cars and trucks. The east riverfront area was different then; it was heavy industry so had a completely different vibe, but look at what's happening and the concept which the Dequindre Cut fits into.

You have the riverwalk, Tri Centennial State Park, Ford Field and Comerica, Eastern Market, and Gratiot [[which is DDOT's second busiest bus line and SMART's busiest bus line), and these are all parts of a new emerging urban fabric for the lower east side. Throw in renovated housing and old-style city living, and the Dequindre Cut is a piece of infrastructure that connects all of this and ties the whole thing together.

All by itself, it's not much, and arguably not worth the cost. But if it becomes a centerpiece for this area's revival, then it's worth almost any amount you could fathom.