Detroit’s Newest Greenway Emerges from a Once-Abandoned Railway Line
Located 25 feet below grade is the Dequindre Cut, an abandoned railway line in Detroit. A neon swath of graffiti – of surreal imagery and philosophical musings – cover the bridges that traverse the old track. Broken bottles, discarded building materials, and an overgrowth of vegetation characterize what was once a busy commuter and freight line for the city.
Fast-forward a couple of years, and take in the scene anew. Paved bicycle and pedestrian paths replace the garbage-strewn tracks, streetlamps light up the new landscaping and emergency call boxes dot the walls. And to the delight of many, the graffiti is still there. Considered a valuable example of urban art, it has become an outdoor exhibit of the city’s street culture. All this is thanks to a 3.75 million dollar investment by a combination of federal, state, and local sources.
At just over a mile long, and set to formally open in October, the path facilitates easy pedestrian access between two popular community institutions: Eastern Market, one of the nation’s oldest (circa 1840) and largest public marketplaces, and the Riverfront, the site of a recent multi-million dollar plan to bring retail, housing, green space and a five-mile network of recreational paths to a former industrial area.
In 1950, the population of Detroit was close to two million; by 2000 it had fallen to 950,000. The decrease in population meant much of the infrastructure that supported the city’s once thriving population – like the Dequindre Cut – was abandoned.
“Detroit was designed for the automobile,” says Tom Woiwode (pronounced Why-woody) founder of the GreenWays Initiative, a driving force behind the project and one of its funders. “At one point the city was considered the most obese in the country. We’re trying to transform the physical landscape to create a healthy experience and a cultural dynamic that simply cannot exist when you drive.”
Detroit officials hope greening projects like this one will help entice people to move back to the city, restoring the social and economic vigor of yore. “This is an investment in creating a vibrant, walkable community that people want to be a part of,” said Woiwode. “This new public space allows for the city to be explored in an entirely different way.”
“I would love to see a loop of greenways through the city,” he adds. “One thing that Detroit is not short on is open space.”
“But that’s not even in the dream stage,” he says with a chuckle. “It’s more in the hallucinatory state.”
Related Links:
1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdI41zSinHk&feature=related
2) http://greenways.cfsem.org/
Photo Caption: Much of the original graffiti on the Dequindre Cut will remain untouched as an example of urban art. (Photo by Krhn313)
