Plans are under way for a promenade from the Belle Isle Bridge to the Ambassador Bridge. But there s one small geographic detail often left out. A riverfront promenade that stops at the Ambassador Bridge stops a mile and a half too soon. The walkway and bikeway should extend from the Belle Isle Bridge to Historic Fort Wayne. There is new optimism with the recent designation of the Detroit River as an American Heritage River.
Greenways do all of the above.
They are corridors for wildlife, habitat for diverse plant communities. Schools use them as outdoor environmental classrooms. Commuters use them as an alternative to car or bus. The riverfront walkway and bikeway should extend from the Belle Isle Bridge to Historic Fort Wayne. Historic structures along old train lines find adaptive reuses as restaurants, ice cream parlors or bike shops when a greenway is created.