UPDATE: State Backs Off closing Belle Isle to Public for 4 Days in Sept.

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Except if you are a member of the Detroit Yacht Club.

Now that we have a state park will it increasingly be made off limits to the public to host corporate and entertainment events?

It started with the Grand Prix who paved over a few acres and now this. Do you approve of this on the summer dates of Sept. 7-11?

For four days in September, Belle Isle runners, picnickers and anglers will be replaced by talking cars, driverless vehicles and high-tech traffic systems.

The futuristic Belle Isle demonstrations are part of the Intelligent Transport Systems 21st World Congress, running concurrently at Cobo Center Sept. 7-11.

The event occurs in North America every three years, this marking the first time it's been to Detroit. It’s expected to draw as many as 10,000 business executives, legislators and researchers to showcase the latest innovations in transportation.

Belle Isle will host live demonstrations of driverless cars, including passenger vehicles, commercial trucks and military vehicles, and robotics.

The island became a state park in February, when Michigan leased the city-owned park for 30 years relieving bankrupt Detroit from managing the area.

Scott Belcher, president of Washington, D.C.-based ITS America, said the state’s offer of using the park for the World Congress proved how serious the state takes its stake in automotive.
During the event, Belle Isle will be closed for four days to the general public, with the exception of owners of boats docked at the Detroit Yacht Club.
Full Article At Crain's