The Toledo Blade had an interesting article on Sunday about possible rail-based commuter lines that could be constructed in Toledo.  I’d have to say that these are unlikely at this point, but there is no doubt that public transportation is a big time need in the Toledo-Monroe-Detroit corridor.  Check it out…

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070527/NEWS11/705270340&SearchID=73282766655816

And here’s the accompanying story about the old interurban lines that used to connect Monroe, Toledo and most of the surrounding communities.  I remember the old tracks in Downtown Monroe when I was a kid in the late 70s and early 80s.  Even then, I was a little bit bummed when they pulled them up.

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070527/NEWS11/705270330&SearchID=73282767275242

One of the more exciting regional trail developments is the proposed connection between Kensington Metropark and Downtown Milford.  This is an area filled with parkland.  There are already connections to parks like Island Lake State Recreation Area.  But the recent state budget difficulties have delayed the construction of this particular connector.  Check out the article…

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007705300377

Sterling Heights has put new rules in effect on its park paths.  Most deal with biker/hiker interactions.  Among the rules is one that limits bikes to 10 mph.  Tickets are written to people who ride faster.  Check out the Detroit News article about how the plan is going…

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007705300371

The City of Detroit has put plans to sell the 160 acre Camp Brighton in Livingston County to the Chaldean Catholic Church on hold.  Article…

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007705280329

The U.S. and Canadian governments are in the process of building an artificial reef off of Fighting Island in the Detroit River to help improve spawning habitat for lake sturgeon.

Lake sturgeon are some of the coolest fish around.  They have an average life span of 70 years and some live to be well in excess of 100 years of age.

Check out this Detroit News article:

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007705300384

It’s been a couple of days since this was printed, but you shouldn’t miss Adam Bennett’s article about the demolition of the old paper plant on the site of the River Raisin Battlefield.

http://www.monroenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070526/NEWS01/105260029/-1/NEWS 

This is a VERY important event for Monroe’s visual appearance.  But it is even more important in terms of Monroe’s trail and recreational development.  One day, we’ll be able to walk from the Navarre Anderson trading post with its bullet holes, past the old Custer family house on N. Custer, through Veteran’s Park and its war memorials, up past the Custer Statue, to the battlefield and out to the lake, where, with some binoculars, you can sometimes just about see the site of the Battle of Lake Erie.

It would be a compelling military history trail, especially with some spur routes to the Kentucky soldiers monument, some of the local cemetaries and and the Heck Park Vietnam Memorial.

Charles Slat has a good article in today’s Monroe Evening News about the beaches and parks in Monroe’s resort communities.  The parks are private and for the use of the residents only.  But that doesn’t stop outsiders from using them.

http://www.monroenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070530/NEWS01/105300050

BTW, I do have some thoughts on this.  First of all, the resort communities have every right to keep non-residents out.  And people should respect that. 

However, I’m not sure that I’ve every really liked the way Monroe County’s shoreline has been structured politically.  If you drive down Dixie Highway, what you see is Balkanization.  Every little community has its own little spot, shielded from view and off-limits to anyone else.  And the communities don’t really flow together.  Each is its own little fiefdom.  Personally, I think that it was some pretty bad overall planning.

I think it would have been better if our forefathers had taken a large-scale approach to the shoreline, developed the land off the lake and kept the actual shorefront for everyone’s public access.  Good planning these days means making connections between communities.

Of course, that’s not what happened.

But, I do think that there are some opportunities to make the situation better.  There are some plans to repave sections of Dixie Highway in the next few years.  I hope that some consideration will be given to building a pedestrian pathway along Dixie.  That way residents of the resort communities could bike safely to Sterling State Park.  And campers at Sterling could bike up to the Vince’s Hot Dog stand on Pointe Aux Peaux road or to the Detroit Beach Pizzeria.  It’s the next logical step after the Riverwalk gets connected to Sterling.

Here’s a link about one piece of the paving project:

http://www.frenchtownresortdistrict.org/Updates.htm

BTW, the idea of a pedestrian path along Dixie Highway between Sterling State Park and Pointe Mouillee State Game Area is one of the recommended objectives of the Frenchtown Township Recreation Master Plan.  The Goals and Objectives section is on P.40.  Check it out here:

http://www.co.monroe.mi.us/Monroe/uploadedFiles/frenchrecplan.pdf

Northville Township just purchased 153 acres north of 5 Mile Road and west of Ridge.  This was a part of an old jail complex owned by the City of Detroit.  According to the Detroit News, “The purchase officially is for ‘public purposes,’ like parks, recreation and public facilities, but the township has no plans for its use.”  So, it might be a park.  Or, it might not.  But 153 acres is big enough for a few miles of trail, if anyone was so inclined:)

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070529/METRO01/705290309/1003/METRO

Steve Pollick, in the Blade, has a good article about the Lake Erie “Dead Zone.”  This is an area in the center of the lake that lacks abundant oxygen.  The news is actually quite positive.

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070527/COLUMNIST22/705270347

The following web site suggests that Detroit Beach now has a fitness/walking trail.  If anyone knows anything about this, please pass on the info.  Thanks!

http://www.detroitbeach.org/Meeting%20Minutes.htm