$656,000 earmark targeted towards New Center infrastructure improvements

New Center Council is moving ahead with a number of infrastructure improvement projects intended to ready the neighborhood for better times. "These infrastructure projects are great right now because they create jobs and bring workers to New Center," says New Center Council vice president Karen Gage. "This helps struggling businesses that really benefit from the added population brought in by all these construction projects."

New Center is the recipient of a $656,000 federal earmark, part of which will be used to implement streetscape improvements along Woodward between I-94 and Euclid, sandwiching the improvements already completed near Grand Boulevard.

This project will be done in conjunction with the Michigan Department of Transportation's plans to resurface Woodward, which proved to be both timely and economical. "There's one bid, one contractor," says Gage. "There are a lot of savings by rolling this work into an existing project." Bids are expected to go out in the next two months with work finished by the end of summer.

Some of the earmark funds will be used to construct a surface parking lot behind the White Castle on Woodward at E. Baltimore. Gage says she hopes work will commence on the lot at the end of this summer and that the lot will benefit businesses along both sides of Woodward.

If any money is left over, New Center Council will put it towards improving the train viaducts that run over Second, Third and Cass. If not, Gage is determined to see that project forward even if the CDC has to raise other funds. "We are focusing on projects that make sense right now," she says. "And that's infrastructure projects that create a better environment for businesses, that makes New Center a better place to do business when the market pressure decreases."

Another project that Gage is currently raising money for is the implementation of a planning study that will focus on bike routes to connect New Center to Midtown and Woodbridge. She hopes to return Second Ave. to a two-way street at this time. "It's something we've been talking about for a long time," she says. "With all the new investments that have been taking place in New Center, its importance, from a safety perspective, is growing."

Before any bike lanes are constructed and after the planning study is completed, a traffic study, engineering report and construction drawings must be generated. New Center Council is working with Woodbridge Neighborhood Development Corp., Henry Ford Health Systems, and University Cultural Center Association to develop the plan. "We hope to promote connectivity and mobility with bike lanes," says Gage. "We can't just do it in New Center."

Source: Karen Gage, New Center Council
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh