Tagged: city parks

The city of Detroit will close 50 parks in the spring because of the City Council’s inaction on a proposal to make Belle Isle into a state park.

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing says that would have freed up about $6 million for the city to invest in other parks and recreation centers—and that effectively means $6 million they’d counted on to bolster other park services have disappeared.

So the city is responding by making cuts: closing 50 parks, limiting maintenance at another 38, and canceling plans to extend rec center hours and add 50 employees.

The city of Ironwood in the Upper Peninsula could soon join a handful of Michigan cities that ban smoking in city parks.

On Monday, city commissioners met to discuss a proposal that would ban all tobacco use in Ironwood city parks.

Soon, Michigan bicyclists might be able to pedal across the state on a new trail spanning both peninsulas.

Governor Snyder proposed the idea for the 599-mile path in his speech on the environment yesterday.

The trail would connect the state's existing asphalt, dirt, and gravel trails.

The route would wind from Belle Isle in Detroit, to the Mackinac Bridge and across the U.P. to Wisconsin.   

Ron Olson runs the state’s parks and recreation division.

He says obstacles to the plan include building paths on private lands and securing more funding.

"There is no yet-defined pot of money to be able to say, 'Well, we’re going to do this,'" he said.

Olson says he expects the funds to come from state and federal grants. He estimates the trail will be complete in five years.

-Elaine Ezekiel, Michigan Radio Newsroom

The Waverly golf course in Lansing could be a developer’s dream.    

City council president Brian Jeffries calls the 120 acre parcel of parkland ‘prime development property.’     

Still, the city council has been waffling on whether to ask voters for permission to sell the property. 

But now…it appears likely the council will put the issue on the August ballot when it meets on Monday.   

The sale could mean much needed revenue for the city, which is facing a multi-million dollar budget deficit next year.