I biked the Joe Louis Greenway so you don't have to (yet)
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A mural along the greenway near 3rd Avenue. Photo: Annalise Frank/Axios
🚲 Annalise here, reporting back after my impatience got the better of me and I biked about 10 miles along the unfinished Joe Louis Greenway.
Why it matters: Under construction since 2021, the $300 million pathway has big implications for Detroit neighborhoods and tourism. Its completion is highly anticipated.
State of play: I heard the city's interactive map may show some finished sections as under construction, so I rode the greenway near Hamtramck to Dearborn and back to see how much is actually ready.
What I found: Unless you stick to the west side, expect gaps in the paved trail where you'd need to walk your bike through uneven gravel. I can't safely recommend using those unfinished construction-zone sections.
- It's probably best to be more patient than I am.
The intrigue: I wondered why some sections are being finished out of order.
- Reasons include different deadlines for various buckets of money, land control and community engagement, city deputy chief greenways planner Idrees Mutahr said in a statement to Axios.
My route: I started at Adelaide's Superette on Joseph Campau Avenue, riding north in a street-side bike lane.
- Near Six Mile Road, there's an off-street paved section of the greenway going west that's open, though the city's map still shows it under construction.
- The bridge in Highland Park — you can see a big Joe Louis Greenway sign as you drive under it on Woodward Avenue — looks great, but unfinished gravel on both sides makes getting there tough.
- I walked my bike through several construction gaps in the paved path — including a fully impassable section under I-75 — before reaching a finished, breezy west-side section.
The vibe: The greenway glides by active and vacant industrial sites, murals, impressive landscaping, residential neighborhoods and busy intersection crossings.
- Some areas are straightforward, others confusing.
- There was camaraderie among those of us walking, running or cycling the path. Some of us knew where we were going and some were in it to explore.
Zoom out: The 29-mile cycling and walking loop crosses 23 neighborhoods in Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park. 12.3 miles are complete and another 5.1 miles are under construction, according to Mutahr.
- The city is building and will maintain the trail, working with the nonprofit Joe Louis Greenway Partnership on operations and programming.
The bottom line: Those looking to cycle as much finished greenway as they can should start at the Warren Gateway Trailhead, head north and turn around at Livernois Avenue.
- Or for now, satisfy your adventurous side by riding the Gordie Howe International Bridge.