Great Lakes - A new international crossing for bicycles?

We've been working on a way to get bicyclists between Detroit and Windsor. Both cities have excellent cycling, especially along both sides of the Detroit River. However you must drive to get your bike between the two cities.

We do have a new port being built on the Detroit River that would accommodate ferry service. I happened to mention that to Senator Carl Levin on Monday and he then made the same pitch in front of the media and to the Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. It was pretty exciting.

More details on this potential river crossing for bikes (http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2009/10/12/welcome-to-the-riverwalk-secretary-lahood) are on the m-bike blog.

http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2009/10/12/welcome-to-the-riverwalk-secretary-lahood

To use either of the Detroit/Windsor border crossings, you have to be in a motor vehicle? I never knew that.

To use either of the Detroit/Windsor border crossings, you have to be in a motor vehicle? I never knew that.
Yes, that's correct. The tunnel is probably not a good choice to ride given the narrow lanes and air quality. The bridge is privately-owned and they choose not to allow bikes.

Windsor Transit has a bus line to Detroit, but they do not allow bikes on the buses.

I've posted more details on these other crossings at
http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2009/01/06/biking-between-windsor-and-detroit

Wow, that's great. Hey, the next time you talk to Senator Levin maybe you could mention the idea of getting Amtrak in Michigan to carry bikes?

Great point. We are working on the AMTRAK issue as well, though I didn't mention it to the Senator yesterday. I will be submitted comments on MDOT's High-Speed Rail proposal in regards to allowing roll-on bicycle service.

Cool! It would be very nice to be able to combine bike and train travel within the state. Thanks for your efforts.

I'm still scratching my head over why anyone in Windsor would *want* to go to Detroit...:twitchy:

I'm still scratching my head over why anyone in Windsor would *want* to go to Detroit...:twitchy:
If you're looking to take uninformed cheap shots at Detroit, this is not the thread to do so.

The city of Detroit is one of America's most bike friendly urban centers with plenty to see and do. During our recent Tour de Troit, we had a large number of Windsor cyclists among the 2,000 who rode. There is a significant cross-border traffic including work commuters, which a water taxi would certainly cater to.

I'm still scratching my head over why anyone in Windsor would *want* to go to Detroit...:twitchy:

Very constructive, thanks for contributing to the positive tone on BF :thumb:

I'm still scratching my head over why anyone in Windsor would *want* to go to Detroit...:twitchy:

Why anyone in Colorado would *want* to read the Northeast Regional Forum? :notamused:

Kudos to fishtoes2000 for all his efforts and postings.

So, either way, it would cost money to cross with a bike (kind of a bummer unless it would be reasonable)? I have no experience crossing the border on my own and don't know how much, if anything, it costs to cross the Ambassador or any of the other crossings (I imagine it's not free seeing it's privately owned) and it's been a while since I've been to Canada. I also don't know if I've ever crossed the Ambassador (maybe when I was much younger) but it sure would be nice to be able to cross with a bike without some second mode of transportation. I almost can't believe something like that is privately owned. There's a lot I don't know about Detroit (I knew this previously but just found it out relatively recently). Who would think something as vital as an international border crossing, being the bridge, would be privately owned though?

I'm also not completely clear on this project. I ride my bike down to the waterfront. It's always worth a ride and I noticed something is in construction and that it was a port but I'm interested to learn more about this port. There must be a lot more traffic that travels on the River and the Great Lakes than I was aware of because this is a considerable investment.

Also, what alternatives are there to ferry crossings for bikes that might be allowed? I know there have been talks of a new bridge to be buillt and I thought that I-75 construction was because of the bridge and thought it was going to be built but there appear to be issues, mainly with Mr. Manny Maroon I believe largely because he bought up so much vacant land that the bridge would be built on.

Crossing the Ambassador is not an option for cyclists. It does cost money for vehicles. If the new bridge (the DRIC) does get built, so far the plans have been to allow bicycles. I believe the cost to cross the International Bridge between Sault Ste. Marie is $1 for bicycles.

The port is being built to accommodate river ferries and Great Lakes cruise ships, that latter cannot dock in Detroit as of now. (They do dock in Windsor and the passengers are then bused over to Detroit -- not optimal.)