Completion of ‘East Riverfront’ connects Riverwalk to Belle Isle Bridge
Visitors to the Riverfront can now walk or bike 3.5 miles along the river without any interruptions.
View of the Detroit Riverfront on a clear day
Twenty years ago, the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy had a vision.
Public and private leaders wanted to turn an area that had been cement factories and torn up roads into trails and parks that stretched from the Joe Louis Arena to the Belle Isle Bridge. Now, the nonprofit is celebrating the actualization of that dream with the completion of what it calls the “East Riverfront.” Visitors today can walk or bike 3.5 miles along the river without any interruptions.
“We’re so excited to see families out there already,” Mark Wallace, president and CEO of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy told WDET’s Laura Herberg. “People on bicycles, you know, senior citizens, it’s really amazing to see how excited people are to experience this new section on the Riverwalk.”
Wallace said the nonprofit first announced plans to complete the pathway 20 years ago — the last step being decontaminating what was once the site of multiple factories, including one that made Uniroyal tires until 1980.
“Basically, for 100 years, no one’s been able to get on that site unless they were actually working in one of the factories,” said Wallace. “So the fact that we’re gonna be having kids and families coming through here is really just transformational.”
With the opening of the East Riverfront, residents will have easy access to natural areas previously cut off from the rest of the riverfront, he said, adding that the nonprofit is also working to develop the West Riverfront with the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park expected to be completed within two years.
“[This] allows people to circulate throughout the city in a very, very different way that’s fun, that connects you to nature and puts you next to this big beautiful body of water,” said Wallace. “So I think people will love the experience of being out there. And I think it’ll have a really profound impact on our community.”
A ribbon cutting celebration was held on Saturday, Oct. 21 to mark the completion of the East Riverfront and Uniroyal Promenade.
Listen: Full interview with Mark Wallace, president and CEO of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, on completion of East Riverfront
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