Detroit has the #1 best riverfront

[jcole]

Campus Martius is currently in 5th place for "Best Public Square"
Vote here to make it #1
https://www.10best.com/awards/travel...detroit/share/

[Bong-Man]

The last time I rode my bike on the riverfront & Belle Isle, I ran into a Mother & daughter who were on a bike riding vacation across the country. It was their opinion that Belle Isle and the Riverfront was the best urban ride they had done.

Pittsburgh has a scenic riverfront that leads to a nice park with a fountain at the meeting of the three rivers. Unfortunately, it's going the way of Hart Plaza as far as broken and uneven concrete. I was shocked at it's state of disrepair compared to a previous visit. Also didn't see any law enforcement anywhere, and shady folks everywhere.

[401don]

Pittsburgh has a scenic riverfront that leads to a nice park with a fountain at the meeting of the three rivers. Unfortunately, it's going the way of Hart Plaza as far as broken and uneven concrete. I was shocked at it's state of disrepair compared to a previous visit. Also didn't see any law enforcement anywhere, and shady folks everywhere.

I was in Pittsburgh about 10-12 yrs. ago for a Tigers weekend and that park was really nice. There was some food & music festival on. They're probably having the same problem as Hart Plaza, losing the revenue from festivals and falling into disrepair. The city started charging more when their finances were really bad and they needed to stop subsidizing policing for the Hoedown, etc. Without enough sponsors those festivals pulled out.

[Vic01]

still in 1st place... keep those votes coming

[jmcf1949]

Ask yourselves this: how many American cities have an international riverfront?

Or this: Why doesn’t Detroit use this resource to earn revenue?
It’s astounding to me that a great resource is largely wasted.

[bust]

Or this: Why doesn’t Detroit use this resource to earn revenue?

How?

[Kathleen]

Or this: Why doesn’t Detroit use this resource to earn revenue?
It’s astounding to me that a great resource is largely wasted.

For years, all we heard were complaints about people not having riverfront access. It's taken a great many years, but now we have riverfront parks that allow people to enjoy the space and the scenery, with more being developed to open it up from the Ambassador Bridge to the Belle Isle Bridge. And there must be some taxable revenue from the small businesses along the route, from the festivals and the people employed to work, the marina, the amphitheatre, the hotel, the tour boats, dinner cruises, and more. There's new housing in the vicinity, along with some restaurants and bars, and likely more housing and other amenities to come. What kind of revenue streams are you thinking should be there?

[Richard]

Detroit is likely the only large city with a riverfront that is not used to create revenue. What a waste.

Sometimes things are just a quality of life thing.

The only thing I see is it is run by a 501c,where as most city owned things like that,do draw revenue from the festivals etc. by charging vendors for the space,admission fees.

An example would be,say for instance a seafood festival.

Bunch of food trucks that pay for the space,$25 at the gate buys you a ticket for a meal,the city collects $5 off of the top pulse the rental space.

But as a 501c it is a quality of life aspect but not a revenue generator,sounds picky but it still costs the city in infrastructure added security etc.

They could have done a quasi public/private thing.

But that is also why many cities build their own convention centers etc,they look for ways to generate revenue,but it also helps if they have a surplus of revenue to start with.

You guys are cheating with the multiple voting,you only hurt yourself when you do not have a clear picture on things that may or may not need improvement,who cares what the rest of the country thinks.

[401don]

You guys are cheating with the multiple voting,you only hurt yourself when you do not have a clear picture on things that may or may not need improvement,who cares what the rest of the country thinks.

You're not gonna start talking voter fraud again are you?
Actually, it reminds of major league baseball. Every team encourages their fans to vote early & often for their favorite players on their own team then when the most popular players in the big cities get voted in, instead of the guy having the best season, everybody complains about the fans' choices.

[mikeg19]

It's really incredible to see where this has come from the early 2000's to now. Once the R.W park is complete and the Uniroyal site is incorporated into it, it will truly be an amazing attraction. I think the best part is that once that is finished, there is going to likely be ancillary development that spurns from the river moving back toward the city. There is PLENTY of land between Jefferson and the riverfront that could be developed with shops/apartments/etc including the GM parking lots. Assuming we move out of COVID in the next 12-24 months, it will be exciting to see what happens down there in the next decade.

[stasu1213]

Did the new section behind the Riverfront Towers open yet?

[stasu1213]

It's really incredible to see where this has come from the early 2000's to now. Once the R.W park is complete and the Uniroyal site is incorporated into it, it will truly be an amazing attraction. I think the best part is that once that is finished, there is going to likely be ancillary development that spurns from the river moving back toward the city. There is PLENTY of land between Jefferson and the riverfront that could be developed with shops/apartments/etc including the GM parking lots. Assuming we move out of COVID in the next 12-24 months, it will be exciting to see what happens down there in the next decade.

Had work begun on the Uniroyal site yet?

[mikeg19]

Had work begun on the Uniroyal site yet?

Over the summer the remediation of soil along the river was started and was supposed to be completed in the fall. But the info isn't entirely clear if the entirity of the site along the water was remediated or only a portion was. I believe the short term goal is just to get the actual riverwalk connected to GR Park on the other side of the Belle Isle bridge and then go from there on the actual site. I know SOM was tasked with coming up with a site plan for the land but I don't know what the timeframe would be on that.

[Kathleen]

It's really incredible to see where this has come from the early 2000's to now. Once the R.W park is complete and the Uniroyal site is incorporated into it, it will truly be an amazing attraction. I think the best part is that once that is finished, there is going to likely be ancillary development that spurns from the river moving back toward the city. There is PLENTY of land between Jefferson and the riverfront that could be developed with shops/apartments/etc including the GM parking lots. Assuming we move out of COVID in the next 12-24 months, it will be exciting to see what happens down there in the next decade.

Agree!!! They've come along way in the last 10-15 years, but everything takes time as we well know. I am looking forward to see a thriving Riverfront and adjacent Rivertown community in the next decade!!

[jmcf1949]

After I got out of the Marine Corps in1970 I worked at Detroit Harbor Terminal located close to the bridge. There was a ton of shipping from all over the world coming here. Today it’s all gone I think.
We should have hotels, restaurants, casinos, and much more on the riverfront with boat slips. So much opportunity wasted.

[Ray1936]

Belle Isle, ain't bad. Zug Island....the other extreme. All depends where you are on the river.

[night-timer]

Detroit is likely the only large city with a riverfront that is not used to create revenue. What a waste.

At the time when I first starting post-ing on Detroit Yes a number of years ago, there was a discussion about things that could add value and attraction to Detroit to entice visitors and tourists.

Someone suggested tour-boats on Detroit River and was laughed out of town.

Maybe now it's possible? I don't really know. [[Summer only, of course.)

[Zacha341]

^ We have the Diamond Jack Tours fleet that give excellent tours from its three ships that can be rented for private events as well as public tours. I've loved riding them, but not sure they ran full tilt last summer...

https://diamondjack.com/

[Vic01]

1st place Best Riverwalk [[2021)

Detroit International RiverWalk named best in the U.S.

[Satiricalivory]

Good, the city deserves the recognition.

[stasu1213]

I am glad that we're number 1. I think that the Cut and other connecting trails could be completed sooner if the design for them were basic and practical instead of fancy. There had been delay after delay of the extension of the biking and walking trails since Faye Nelson had stepped down from being head of the Riverfront Conservancy. I had been to Lansings walking trail and it's more practical than flashy. Hooray for the Riverwalk but let's have simple trails so they could be constructed sooner, less cost, and could extend further

[Gistok]

I am glad that we're number 1. I think that the Cut and other connecting trails could be completed sooner if the design for them were basic and practical instead of fancy. There had been delay after delay of the extension of the biking and walking trails since Faye Nelson had stepped down from being head of the Riverfront Conservancy. I had been to Lansings walking trail and it's more practical than flashy. Hooray for the Riverwalk but let's have simple trails so they could be constructed sooner, less cost, and could extend further

Sorry that you feel that way. As comedian Rich Hall once said... "good things come to those who wait, but crap shows up right away!" Detroit had a once in a lifetime chance to get control back of the riverfront, got rid of the cement silos, and have slowly been getting back the rest of the riverfront. It might not be fast enough for some, but the slower pace is definitely worth the wait.

As they say... "a picture shows 1000 words"... the "Ralph Willson Contennial Park" [[paid in great part due to a $100 million grant from the Ralph Wilson Foundation) will be a jewel along the river... and not just a simple boardwalk and fence along the waterfront...

https://theneighborhoods.org/story/d...r-and-new-name

Detroit could have ended up like 100 other cities and towns with just a walkway along the river, but set their sights higher.

[JTburner]

When is groundbreaking on the Ralph Wilson park?

[Satiricalivory]

When is groundbreaking on the Ralph Wilson park?

I read an article that said later this year.

[Gistok]

2 days ago the Detroit News mentioned that Ralph Wilson's 2 deceased daughters trust left an additional $500K for a garden at the future park...

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/ne...ark/115668692/